CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 953486 SK
6304.92.0000;
Port Director
U.S. Customs Service
4735 Oakland Street
P.O. Box 390335
Denver, CO 80239-0335
RE: Internal Advice Request; lace and non-lace doilies; table
linen of heading 6302, HTSUSA v. other furnishings of heading
6304, HTSUSA; EN to heading 6302, HTSUSA; HRL 950530 (12/17/91);
HRL 086701 (10/31/90); HRL 086761 (6/26/90); HRL 950129
(12/16/91); HRL 950368 (12/5/91); NYRL 886899 (6/8/93); lace
doilies are not table linen.
Dear Sir:
This ruling is in response to a request for internal advice
initiated by the law firm of Stein Shostak Shostak & O'Hara on
behalf of their client, Lin Lyn Trading Ltd. At issue is the
proper classification of lace and non-lace doilies. Samples were
sent to this office for examination.
FACTS:
The textile doilies at issue, representative samples and
photographs of which are referenced Exhibit 1 in your submission,
are made of 100% cotton or a blend of cotton and linen. They are
imported in various shapes (round, oval, heart, bell, star and
square) and they range in size from six to twelve inches in
diameter. Photocopies of catalogue pages show miniature doilies
that measure two to three inches in diameter. The samples
labeled 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and 1E are made from woven fabric and are
decorated with embroidery, cutwork or lacet lace edging. Sample
1F is made from crocheted lace and 1G is made from lacet lace
(also known as renaissance or battenberg lace).
ISSUES:
Whether the non-lace doilies at issue are classifiable under
heading 6302, HTSUSA, as table linen or under heading 6304,
HTSUSA, as other furnishing articles?
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Whether lace doilies are precluded from classification under
heading 6302, HTSUSA?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is governed by
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that
classification shall be determined according to the terms of the
headings and any relative section or chapter notes, taken in
order. Merchandise that cannot be classified in accordance with
GRI 1 is to be classified in accordance with subsequent GRI's.
The threshhold issue is whether the non-lace doilies
submitted to this office, referenced styles 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D and
1E, are properly classifiable as table linen within heading 6302,
HTSUSA, or as other furnishings within heading 6304, HTSUSA.
Heading 6302, HTSUSA, provides for bed linen, table linen, toilet
linen and kitchen linen. Explanatory Note (EN) 2 to heading
6302, page 863, describes table linen as encompassing "table
cloths, table mats and runners, tray cloths, table centres,
serviettes, tea napkins, sachets for serviettes, doilies and drip
mats" [emphasis added].
The express inclusion of "doilies" within the EN to heading
6302 notwithstanding, our second inquiry is whether doilies are,
in fact, articles of table linen, or whether they are primarily
used to decorate and protect furniture in which case they would
be classifiable as "other furnishing articles" of heading 6304,
HTSUSA. This office consulted several lexicographic sources in
an effort to establish the common definition of the word "doily."
Nearly every dictionary defined "doily" as both an article of
table linen (i.e., a small napkin) or as a home furnishing
article (used under vases, lamps and center pieces for protection
or on tables, chairs and sofas as decoration). In The Butterick
Fabric Handbook - A Consumer's Guide to Fabrics for Clothing and
Home Furnishings, (1975), doily was defined as "a piece of
fabric, round or square or rectangular in shape, which is used
under plants and decorative objects partly to protect furniture
surfaces and partly as decoration." In The Modern Textile &
Apparel Dictionary, 4th Ed. (1973), however, doily was defined as
"a small, matlike napkin for use under dishes on a table." In
Fairchild's Dictionary of Textiles, doily is defined both as "a
small decorative piece of linen, lace, etc., or a small napkin
used for table service, under center piece, etc., to protect the
surface of the furniture. Named for London merchant who
introduced this fabric as linen napery during the years 1707-
1714."
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A reading of the above definitons indicates that doilies are
used both as table linen and as home furnishing articles.
Although both headings 6302 and 6304 potentially govern the
classification of the subject merchandise, it is only the EN to
heading 6302 which specifically provide for "doilies".
Accordingly, the non-lace doilies at issue, referenced styles 1A,
1B, 1C, 1D and 1E, are classifiable within heading 6302, HTSUSA,
as this heading provides more specifically for the articles at
issue than does heading 6304, HTSUSA. See Headquarters Ruling
Letter (HRL) 950530, dated December 17, 1991, in which this
office held that "doilies, if not constructed from a fine
decorative fabric unsuitable for use while dining, [are] ...
properly classifiable as table linen."
The final issue is whether lace doilies are classifiable
within heading 6302, HTSUSA. The EN to heading 6302 state that
the articles of this provision are "normally of a kind suitable
for laundering." The EN further provide that "certain articles
of the above descriptions, (e.g., table centres made from lace,
velvet or brocaded materials) are not regarded as articles of
table linen; they are usually classified in heading 6304"
[emphasis added]. The exclusion of certain articles made of fine
or delicate fabrics from heading 6302, HTSUSA, is based on the
recognized fact that table linen is designed to protect diner and
table from heat and the spillage of food and beverages. See HRL
950530. Obviously, fabrics which are not washable, fabrics which
would not withstand the rigors of repeated washings, or fabrics
which are so loosely crocheted or woven that they do not serve to
protect diner and/or table, are not suitable for use as table
linen. These sort of articles are deemed predominantly
decorative in nature and are more appropriately classifiable as
"other furnishing articles" within heading 6304, HTSUSA.
We further note that the exclusionary language in the EN is
not limited to table centers of lace, velvet or brocade; table
centers made from these fabrics are merely cited as an example of
the sort of ornamental article that is not suited for use as
table linen. Any of the aformentioned exemplars of heading 6302,
HTSUSA, if made of lace, velvet, brocade or any fine or delicate
material, may be deemed more appropriately classifiable in
heading 6304, HTSUSA, if the article is deemed impractical for
use as table linen. In essence, Customs' position is that if
the article is made of a fine or delicate fabric which is not
suitable for repeated laundering, which would not withstand the
wear and tear associated with dining (i.e., heat, moisture,
spillage, stains), or which would not provide the coverage
necessary to protect table and/or diner (i.e., loosely crocheted
or woven articles or those measuring only two to three inches in
diameter), the article is considered decorative in nature and
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classifiable as an other furnishing article of heading 6304,
HTSUSA. See HRL 086701, dated October 31, 1990.
It is on this basis that we consider style 1F and 1G,
doilies made from crocheted lace and lacet lace respectively, to
be unsuitable for use as table linen. These two styles are
excluded from classification within heading 6302, as per EN (2),
and are classifiable as other furnishing articles in heading
6304, HTSUSA.
As no samples of the miniature doilies shown in the
catalogue submitted to this office were provided for Customs'
examination, they are not deemed part of the request for internal
advice. Even without samples, however, it is apparent that these
miniature doilies are not suitable for use as table linen due to
their small size (approximately 2 to 3 inches in diameter).
Customs has previously held that miniature doilies are
classifiable under heading 5810, HTSUSA, which provides for
"embroidery in the piece, in strips or in motifs." See New York
Ruling Letter 886899, dated June 8, 1993, issued to Lin Lyn
Trading Ltd. Customs has also classified miniature hats made
from starched lace doilies under heading 6304, HTSUSA, as
decorative articles. See HRL's 950129, dated December 16, 1991;
950368, dated December 5, 1991.
We also recognize that the doilies currently under review
are distinguishable from the felt coasters the subject of HRL
086761, dated June 26, 1990. In that ruling, decorative felt
coasters used under drinks to protect furniture were classified
as other furnishing articles under heading 6304, HTSUSA. That
ruling erroneously referred to the felt coasters as "doilies"; in
fact, the coasters were thick pieces of opaque felt glued
together in a decorative pattern which in no way resembled a
doily. While the holding in HRL 086761 is correct, that ruling
should not have used the term "doily" and "coaster"
interchangeably.
HOLDING:
In counsel's submission to Customs, specific fabric content
information was only provided for Style 1B (55% linen/45%
cotton), Style 1D (100% cotton), Style 1F (100% cotton) and Style
1G (100% cotton). The remainder of the samples are described as
made from cotton or a cotton and linen blend. Accordingly,
classification is as follows:
* Style 1B is classifiable under subheading 6302.52.2000,
HTSUSA, which provides for, inter alia, "other table linen: of
flax: other...", dutiable at 6.2 percent ad valorem. The
applicable textile quota category is 899;
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* Style 1D is classifiable under subheading 6302.51.4000,
HTSUSA, which provides for, inter alia, "other table linen: of
cotton: other...", dutiable at 7.2 percent ad valorem. The
applicable textile quota category is 369.
* Styles 1A, 1C and 1E, if predominantly cotton, are
classifiable under subheading 6302.51.4000, HTSUSA. If
predominantly linen, they are classifiable under subheading
6302.52.2000, HTSUSA. The respective rates of duty and
applicable textile quota categories are set forth above.
* Style 1F is classifiable under subheading 6304.91.0020,
HTSUSA, which provides for "other furnishing articles, excluding
those of heading 9404: other: knitted or crocheted... of
cotton...", dutiable at 11.5 percent ad valorem. The applicable
textile quota category is 369.
* Style 1G is classifiable under subheading 6304.92.0000,
HTSUSA, which provides for "other furnishing articles, excluding
those of heading 9404: other: not knitted or crocheted, of
cotton...", dutiable at 7.2 percent ad valorem. The applicable
textile quota category is 369.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division