CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 955522 SK
TARIFF NO.'s: 4820.10.2010
Sherry Baker
Wholesale Supply Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 24600
Nashville, TN 37202
RE: Classification of diaries; day/week/month planners; agendas;
organizers; engagement books; subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA;
HRL 089960 (2/10/92); HRL 953413 (3/29/93).
Dear Ms. Baker:
This is in response to your letter of December 2, 1993, in
which you request a binding classification ruling for a leather
agenda, referenced item 369L. A sample was submitted to this
office for examination.
FACTS:
The submitted sample, referenced item 369L, is a burgundy
leather agenda featuring a three-ring loose-leaf binder and a
snap closure. The agenda contains various sections of
predominantly blank paper that are lined and intended to be
written in. The first section is entitled "Weekly Planner".
This section is followed by a daily engagement calendar section
which contains spaces for the notation of appointments in half-hour increments. Other sections are for telephone numbers and
addresses, and another section has graphs which are used for
financial calculations. In its closed condition, item 369L
measures approximately 9-1/2 inches by 7 inches by 1/4 inches.
ISSUE:
Whether the article at issue is classifiable under
subheading 4820.10.4000, HTSUSA, as an article similar to
registers, account books, notebooks receipt books and diaries, or
whether classification is proper as a diary under subheading
4820.10.2010, HTSUSA?
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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.
Heading 4820, HTSUSA, provides for, in pertinent part, notebooks, memorandum
pads, diaries and similar articles. At issue is whether the subject merchandise fits the
definition of "diary" or whether the article is more aptly described as similar to a diary; this
distinction governs classification of the subject merchandise at the eight digit level within
heading 4820, HTSUSA.
In HRL 089960, dated February 10, 1992, and in HRL 953413, dated March 29, 1993,
Customs relied on lexicographic sources in making the determination as to what constituted a
diary. The term "dairy" is defined in the Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary,
1987, as:
2. A book prepared for keeping a daily record, or having spaces with
printed dates for daily memoranda and jottings; also applied to calendars
containing daily memoranda on matters of importance to people generally
or to members of a particular profession, occupation,
or pursuit.
In HRL's 953413 and 089960, this office held that articles known as daily
planners/calendars and agendas fit the definition of "diary" as set forth in the Compact Edition
of the Oxford English Dictionary. Similarly, this office is of the opinion that item 369L also
fits squarely within the perimeters of this definition. The weekly and daily engagement
calendars facilitate daily record keeping (we note that not all methods of record keeping
require significant amounts of writing space as is normally associated with traditional diaries in
which the minutia of daily life is recorded in detail). The note pad provides space for record
keeping and jottings and the personal directory, also referred to as an address book, provides a
place to keep names, addresses and telephone numbers in a convenient and organized manner.
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It is this office's position that the analysis set forth in HRL 089960 is correct and
applies to the article currently under review. Accordingly, item 369L is classifiable as a
bound diary under subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
Item 369L is classifiable under subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA, which provides
for, inter alia, bound diaries and address books dutiable at a rate of 4 percent ad valorem.
There is no textile quota category applicable to the merchandise at this time.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division