CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 953992 ch
Linda Brown
Import Manager
D.J. Powers Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 9239
35 Barnard Street
Savannah, Georgia 31412-9239
Re: Classification of a molded plastic cooler from China;
bicycle accessory; Sports Graphics.
Dear Ms. Brown:
This is in response to your letter of April 20, 1993,
requesting tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) for an insulated
cooler which may be attached to a bicycle. Please reference your
client, Janko USA, Inc.
This ruling letter takes into account the arguments raised
in your correspondence to this office of April 20, 1993, your
letter of March 26, 1993 to the District Rulings Coordinator,
Savannah, Georgia, and correspondence of April 23, 1993 to this
office on behalf of your client by Mr. James Crawford.
FACTS:
You have not provided this office with a sample of the
subject merchandise. However, in your letter of March 26, 1993,
you supply the following description of an article designated as
the "Cycle Buddy":
Cycle Buddy is a bicycle accessory made of light,
durable, brightly colored high impact [molded] plastic,
measuring approximately 11 inches high, 9 inches thick,
and 12 1/2 inches wide, weighing approximately 5
pounds. It has a storage compartment (with lid)
featuring a polyurethane insulated cooler which holds
up to 10 - 12 ounce cans. It features a specially
designed bracket which securely and quickly hooks
product over handle bars of most bicycles. A locking
handle facilitates the attachment of product to
bicycles. Cycle Buddy also features special bike
reflectors on both its bracket and its front exterior
surface. The "Cycle Buddy" (tm) logo appears on the
front and lid of product. Cycle Buddy is designed to
be used in conjunction with a bicycle. The
specifically designed bracket and reflectors lend
essential character to the product. Cycle Buddy, is a
new product which will be sold through bike shops,
sporting goods stores, and sporting goods departments
of major department stores.
In addition, this office has received a sales brochure for
the Cycle Buddy. This material indicates that the Cycle Buddy is
detachable, and possesses a handle for ease of carrying in the
hand.
ISSUE:
What is the proper tariff classification for the product
designated as the "Cycle Buddy"?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that
classification is determined first in accordance with the terms
of the headings of the tariff and any relative section or chapter
notes. Where goods cannot be classified on the basis of GRI 1,
the remaining GRI will be applied in order.
Heading 4202, HTSUSA, provides for:
Trunks, Suit-Cases, Vanity-Cases, Executive-Cases,
Briefcases, School Satchels, Spectacle Cases, Binocular
Cases, Camera Cases, Musical Instrument Cases, Gun
Cases, Holsters and Similar Containers; Travelling-
Bags, Toilet Bags, Rucksacks, Handbags, Shopping-Bags,
Wallets, Purses, Map-Cases, Cigarette-Cases, Tobacco-
Pouches, Tool Bags, Sports Bags, Bottle-Cases,
Jewellery Boxes, Powder-Boxes, Cutlery Cases and
Similar Containers, of Leather or of Composition
Leather, of Sheeting of Plastics, of Textile Materials,
of Vulcanised Fibre or of Paperboard, or Wholly or
Mainly Covered with Such Materials or With Paper.
(Emphasis added).
By its terms, heading 4202 encompasses the enumerated articles
and containers similar thereto. The subject merchandise is not
specifically described in the heading. Hence, it is classifiable
under heading 4202 only if it may be considered "similar" to the
enumerated articles.
In addition, heading 4202 is divided into two parts by a
semi-colon. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System, which is the official
interpretation of the nomenclature at the international level,
state, in pertinent part at page 613, that:
[T]he articles covered by the first part of the heading
may be of any material...The articles covered by the
second part of the heading must, however, be only of
the materials specified therein or must be wholly or
mainly covered with such materials or with paper.
The Cycle Buddy is composed of molded plastic, which is not one
of the materials specified in the second part of heading 4202.
Therefore, it cannot be classified as a container similar to
those enumerated in the second part. However, it may be
classified under heading 4202, regardless of its material
composition, if it is a container similar to those listed in the
first half of the provision.
Containers of the first part of the heading include
suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases and briefcases. These
articles may be rigid, square or rectangular in shape, and are
designed to store and carry personal effects (i.e. privately
owned movable goods or property) during travel. The Cycle Buddy
is a hard-sided rectangular receptacle suitable for storing and
carrying personal effects from place-to-place. Indeed, the
advertising literature for the Cycle Buddy states:
Keep It Cool, Hot & Dry!
Now you can carry cold drinks and snacks or sports gear
and valuables conveniently on your bicycle. This
brightly colored, durable cooler easily attaches to
your bike -- yet it detaches quickly so you can carry
it along anywhere. (Emphasis added).
On this basis, we conclude that the Cycle Buddy is similar to
containers of the first part of the heading. Therefore, it is
classifiable under heading 4202.
The description of the Cycle Buddy which you have provided
suggests that you are of the opinion that it should be classified
as a bicycle accessory. Parts and accessories of bicycles are
classifiable under heading 8714. The EN to heading 8714, at page
1437, provide in part that:
This heading covers parts and accessories of a kind
used with...non-motorised cycles..., provided the parts
and accessories fulfil both the following conditions:
(i) They must be identifiable as being suitable
for use solely or principally with the above-
mentioned vehicles;
and
(ii) They must not be excluded by the provisions
of the Notes to Section XVII (see the
corresponding General Explanatory Note).
(Emphasis in original).
The General Explanatory Notes encompassing parts and
accessories are found at pages 1410 through 1412. The General
EN, at page 1410, state that parts and accessories of Section
XVII, which includes parts and accessories of heading 8714, "must
not be more specifically included elsewhere in the Nomenclature
(see paragraph (C) below)." Therefore, an article which
qualifies as a part and accessory for a bicycle may be excluded
from heading 8714 if it is more specifically described in another
provision of the tariff schedule.
Paragraph C, at page 1412, provides that:
Parts and accessories, even if identifiable as for the
articles of this Section, are excluded if they are
covered more specifically by any other heading
elsewhere in the Nomenclature, e.g.:
* * *
(4) Tool bags of leather or of composition leather, of
vulcanised fibre, etc. (heading 42.02)
(Emphasis in original).
Hence, tool bags are classified under heading 4202 even when they
may be deemed parts and accessories to, for example, a bicycle.
The exclusion of tool bags from the parts and accessories
provisions of Section XVII demonstrates that headings 4202 and
8714 are not mutually exclusive provisions. In addition,
mounting accessories such as brackets, which bring a tool bag
within the ambit of heading 8714, do not alter the character of a
tool bag so as to remove it from heading 4202. Finally, the
exclusion suggests that when an article is classifiable in both
headings 4202 and the parts and accessories provisions of Section
XVII, heading 4202 will be regarded as the more specific
provision. This interpretation is supported by the fact that
heading 4202 is limited to containers. On the other hand, the
parts and accessories provisions may include but are not limited
to containers.
The Cycle Buddy is an article classifiable under both
headings 4202 and 8714. The fact that this item is secured to a
bicycle by means of a bracket does not remove it from heading
4202. Although you note that the Cycle Buddy also possesses
reflectors, your description of the merchandise indicates that
this feature is ancillary its main purpose as a container to
transport and store food and beverages. Therefore, this article
retains its character as a container classifiable under heading
4202. Pursuant to the General EN to Section XVII, articles
classifiable as parts and accessories are excluded from this
section if they are described more specifically elsewhere in the
nomenclature. As heading 4202 more specifically describes the
Cycle Buddy, it is not classifiable as a part and accessory to a
bicycle.
In Mr. Crawford's submission of April 23, 1993, he draws our
attention to Sports Graphics, Inc. v. United States, 806 F. Supp.
268 (CIT 1992). In that case, the Court of International Trade
addressed the proper classification of a soft-sided insulated
cooler under the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS).
In Sports Graphics, the Court acknowledged that in the past
articles similar to the cooler had been found to meet the
statutory definition of "luggage." Id. at 271; See Prepac, Inc.
v. United States, 78 Cust. Ct. 108, 433 F. Supp. 339 (1977)
(insulated plastic picnic bags with handles and zippers
classified as "luggage"); Aladdin Int'l Corp. v. United States,
13 CIT 1038 (1989) (plastic lunch box properly classified as
"luggage"). However, it declined to follow this precedent, and
found that an insulated cooler fit the statutory requirements for
item 772.15, TSUS, which provided for articles chiefly used for
preparing, serving or storing beverages. Id. at 272.
Mr. Crawford argues that the Court in Sports Graphics found
that an insulated cooler was not ejusdem generis with the
articles enumerated in the luggage provision under the TSUS, and
that this finding should preclude the classification of similar
merchandise under heading 4202, HTSUSA. In addition, he states
that coolers have the principal function of storage; i.e. to keep
food and beverages cold. The fact that coolers may be used to
transport food and beverages is only of secondary importance.
Hence, in light of the reasoning utilized in Sports Graphics, the
"chief use" of coolers is storage and heading 4202 is
inapplicable. In the alternative, he suggests that the Cycle
Buddy is properly classified under heading 3926, which provides
for other articles of plastic.
Sports Graphics does not operate as precedent in this case,
as it was decided under the TSUS. The TSUS has been superseded
by the HTSUSA. The applicable headings at issue under the TSUS
are not analogous to the applicable headings under the HTSUSA.
For example, heading 4202, HTSUSA, and item 706, TSUS, vary in
scope, as heading 4202 contains language and exemplars not
included in item 706. Similarly, item 772, TSUS, which provides
for articles chiefly used for preparing serving, or storing food
or beverages, bears no resemblance to heading 3926, which
encompasses other articles of plastic.
Furthermore, the Court in Sports Graphics relied on General
Interpretive Rule 10(e) to resolve the dispute. This rule
governed classification of goods based upon the principal of
"chief use." General Interpretive Rule 10(e) was not carried
over into the HTSUSA. In addition, the doctrine of principle use
is not at issue in this case as containers classifiable under
heading 4202 are completely excluded from heading 3926. See
Chapter 39, note 2(h), HTSUSA. Based on the foregoing, Sports
Graphics does not control the outcome of this ruling.
Accordingly, the Cycle Buddy remains classified under heading
4202.
HOLDING:
The subject merchandise is classifiable under subheading
4202.12.2025, HTSUSA, which provides for trunks, suitcases,
vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels and
similar containers: with outer surface of plastics or of textile
materials: with outer surface of plastics, structured, rigid on
all sides: other. The applicable rate of duty is 20 percent ad
valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director