CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 956425 ch
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
700 Doug Davis Drive
Atlanta, Georgia 30354
RE: Internal Advice No. 1/94; Tariff Classification of
Nylon Raschel Knit Drawstring Bags.
Dear Sir:
This is in response to your request for internal advice,
dated December 16, 1993, requesting tariff classification under
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA) for certain nylon raschel knit drawstring bags. A
representative sample was provided to this office for
examination.
FACTS:
The submitted sample is a nylon raschel knit bag with a
drawstring closure. It measures 9 inches by 12 inches, and is
also representative of larger bags measuring 12 inches by 18
inches, and 18 inches by 24 inches.
The importer, ABC School Supply, Inc., has submitted three
catalog advertisements. The first advertisement is entitled
"Storage - cards, bags, boxes." The bags are displayed and
described as follows:
NYLON MESH STORAGE BAGS
Nothing better for construction materials storage.
Available in three sizes, in three assorted colors,
red, yellow and blue, each with a strong, drawstring
closure.
Various storage crates, trays and boxes are pictured and promoted
on the same page.
A second catalog advertisement is entitled "Math Resource
Sets." The drawstring bags are presented as part of the "Math
Manipulative Lab," described below:
A fit companion to the popular resource guide,
"Mathematics Their Way," this manipulative lab contains
components which encourage sorting, grouping,
classification, and other activities important to
understanding basic math and geometric concepts. The
Lab includes: 100 colored counting cubes in drawstring
storage bag; 10 sorting dishes; 500 linking cubes in
drawstring storage bag; 250 plastic pattern blocks in
drawstring storage bag; 10 geo-boards -- 7" x 7"; 400
geo-board rubber bands; 48 logic blocks in plastic
storage box; 400 counting and stacking disks in
drawstring storage bag; 500 counting and sorting
buttons in plastic storage tub; 500 rainbow links in
drawstring storage bag; over 2,700 pieces. For
convenient storage, all elements come in a
14"Wx24"Lx11"D hard plastic Stor-N-View box with a lid.
The drawstring bags are displayed with their contents.
A third catalog advertisement is entitled "Furniture --
Classroom Storage." The merchandise is marketed as "Nylon Mesh
Bags With Drawstrings." The bags are displayed and have been
filled with sports gear or balls. The advertisement includes
pictures and descriptions of other articles, such as a bookcase,
storage carts and storage trays.
ISSUE:
Whether the drawstring bags are classifiable in subheading
6307.90.9989, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up textile
articles; or subheading 4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, which provides in
part for travel bags of man-made fibers?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Subheading 4202.92, HTSUSA, provides for travel, sports and
similar bags of textile materials. Chapter 42, Additional U.S.
Note 1, states that:
For the purposes of heading 4202, the expression
"travel, sports and similar bags" means goods, other
than those falling in subheadings 4202.11 through
4202.39, of a kind designed for carrying clothing and
other personal effects during travel, including
backpacks and shopping bags of this heading, but does
not include binocular cases, camera cases, musical
instrument cases, bottle cases and similar containers.
On the other hand, heading 6307, HTSUSA, provides for other
textile articles not more specifically described elsewhere in the
tariff schedule. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to heading 6307, at
page 867, state in pertinent part that the provision includes:
(5) Domestic laundry or shoe bags, stocking,
handkerchief or slipper sachets, pyjama or
nightdress cases and similar articles.
(6) Garment bags (portable wardrobes) other than
those of heading 42.02.
In addition, the EN to heading 6307, at page 868, state that the
heading excludes "travel goods (suit-cases, rucksacks, etc.),
shopping-bags, toilet-cases, etc., and all similar containers of
heading 42.02."
The foregoing EN indicate that travel containers of heading
4202, HTSUSA, are excluded from heading 6307. Moreover, the
exemplars cited as examples of bags classifiable within heading
6307 suggest that certain storage bags are excluded from heading
4202.
In practice, the distinction between travel and storage bags
is often difficult to apply. For example, garment bags, shoe
bags and similar bags may be principally used for either storage
or travel depending upon their construction or design.
Furthermore, heading 4202 is not limited to containers used for
travel purposes. For example, jewelry boxes are classifiable
under heading 4202, despite the fact that they are principally
used to store and/or display their contents. Other containers of
heading 4202, including cutlery cases, cigarette cases and
similar cases, may principally be used for storage purposes,
depending upon their construction.
In this instance, the drawstring bags are marketed as
storage containers. Moreover, they are composed of an
insubstantial raschel knit material which would not withstand the
rigors of travel over a prolonged period of time. Consequently,
we conclude that the bags cannot be classified as travel, sports
and similar bags within heading 4202, HTSUSA. Accordingly, they
are classifiable in heading 6307, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The subject merchandise is classifiable in subheading
6307.90.9989, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles,
including dress patterns: other: other: other, other: other.
The applicable rate of duty is 7 percent ad valorem.
This decision should be mailed by your office to the
internal advice requester no later than 60 days from the date of
this letter. On that date the Office of Regulations and Rulings
will take steps to make the decision available to Customs
personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public
via the Diskette Subscription Service, Lexis, Freedom of
Information Act and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director