CLA-2-CO:R:C:M 954913 MMC
Ms. Bettie Jo Shearer, Manager
International Department
Wholesale Supply Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 24600
Nashville, Tennessee 37027
RE: PC874018 Affirmed; Combination floor lamp with shade, table,
and magazine rack; HQRL 082572
Dear Ms. Shearer:
This is in response to your letter of August 20, 1993,
requesting reconsideration of preclassification ruling 874018
dated May 15, 1992, concerning the classification under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), of a
combination floor lamp with shade, table, and magazine rack.
FACTS:
The merchandise is identified as item 110LP, Beacon House
Magazine Table/Floor Lamp, #21 on page 379 of the 1993/1994
Service Merchandise Catalog. The catalog depicts the merchandise
as a combination magazine rack, an end table, and a floor lamp
with shade. The magazine rack, table, and part of the lamp base
are made of oak veneer, with the magazine rack at the base of the
combination unit and the table in the middle. Two wide oak
veneer panels serve as both sides for the magazine rack and
support for the table surface. The lamp, which extends upward
from one end of the oval shaped table surface, also contains a
brass swing arm and 3-way switch and bulb socket. The lamp is
covered with a shade. The combination unit is imported
unassembled; packaged together in the same carton for retail
sale.
In preclassification ruling 874018, the article was
classified in subheading 9504.20.80, HTSUS, as a floor standing
lamp. You have asked that we reconsider this ruling and classify
the article as other wooden furniture in subheading 9403.60.80,
HTSUS.
ISSUE:
Is the merchandise classifiable as a floor standing lamp or
as other wooden furniture?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. GRI 1, HTSUS, states in part that for legal
purposes, classification shall be determined according to the
terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes.
The headings at issue are as follows:
9405.20 [l]amps and lighting fittings including searchlights
and spotlights and parts thereof, not elsewhere
specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated
nameplates and the like, having a permanently fixed
light source, and parts thereof not elsewhere specified
or included: [e]lectric table, desk, bedside or floor-
standing lamps
9403.60 [o]ther furniture and parts thereof: [o]ther wooden
furniture
Inasmuch as the subject combination magazine rack, table, lamp,
and shade is a composite good described in both of these
headings, it cannot be classified according to GRI 1.
When goods cannot be classified by applying GRI 1, and if
the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the
remaining GRI's are applied in descending order. GRI 2(a) states
in pertinent part that:
[a]ny reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to
include a reference to that article incomplete or
unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or
unfinished article has the essential character of the
complete or finished article. It shall also include a
reference to that article complete or finished (or falling
to be classified as complete or finished by virtue of this
rule), entered unassembled or disassembled.
We are of the opinion that as imported, the combination unit
has the essential character of a combined magazine rack, table,
and floor lamp. All the necessary elements for creating the
article, are contained in the same carton; ready for assembly.
It remains however to determine, whether the combination unit
creates a floor lamp, described by subheading 9405.20, HTSUS, or
other wooden furniture described in subheading 9403.60, HTSUS.
GRI 2 (b) states, in pertinent part, that any reference in a
heading to a material or substance shall be taken to include a
reference to mixtures or combinations of that material or
substance with other materials or substances. The classification
of goods consisting of more than one material or substance shall
be according to the principles of rule GRI 3.
GRI 3 states that when, by application of rule 2(b) or for
any other reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two
or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:
(a) The heading which provides the most specific
description shall be preferred to headings providing a more
general description. However, when two or more headings
each refer to part only of the materials or substances
contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the
items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to
be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods,
even if one of them gives a more complete or precise
description of the goods.
The combination magazine rack, table and floor lamp cannot
be classified according to the relative specificity provision of
GRI 2(a) because the applicable subheadings describe only part of
the article and are thus considered equally specific. Therefore,
GRI 3(b) must be applied.
GRI 3 (b) states in pertinent part that:
(b) Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different
materials or made up of different components, and goods put
up for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference
to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the
material or component which gives them their essential
character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be
consulted. The Explanatory Notes (EN), although not dispositive,
are to be used to determine the proper interpretation of the
HTSUS. 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128, (August 23, 1989).
EN IX, pg. 4, states in pertinent part that:
(IX) [f]or the purposes of this Rule, composite goods made
up of different components shall be taken to
mean...those in which the components are attached to
each other to form a practically inseparable whole but
also those with separable components,...
The article in question qualifies as a composite good
because the magazine rack, table and floor lamp are attached to
each other to form a practically inseparable whole. The legs of
the table form the sides of the magazine rack and both structures
serve as a base for the lamp.
EN VIII to GRI 3(b), pg. 4, states that:
[t]he factor which determines essential character will vary
as between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be
determined by the nature of the material or component, its
bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a
constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.
It is our opinion that the floor lamp portion imparts the
essential character of the subject merchandise. This is
consistent with Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQRL) 082572 dated
February 12, 1990. In HQRL 082572, we held that the magazine
rack and end table portions of a floor lamp, end table, and
magazine rack combination, merely enhanced the use of the article
as a floor lamp. Additionally, although the end table and
magazine rack imparted the greatest bulk and weight of the
composite article, the subject merchandise was marketed for sale
as a floor lamp. Therefore, the floor lamp imparted the article's
essential character.
The same can be said for the present article. The magazine
rack and table merely enhance the use of the article as a floor
lamp and the article is advertized in the lamp section of the
catalog. Therefore, the article is classifiable in subheading
9405.20, HTSUS. Classification to the eight digit level is
dependent upon the base metal composition of the lamp.
PC874018 properly classified the combination floor lamp,
magazine rack, and table as a electric table, desk bedside or
floor-standing lamp in subheading 9405.20.80, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The combination floor lamp, magazine rack, and table are
correctly classified as electric table, desk, bedside or floor-
standing lamps in subheading 9405.20.80, HTSUS. PC874018 is
affirmed.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director