FILE: CLA-2-85:RR:CR:GC:961130 AML
Port Director of Customs
4735 Oakland Street
Denver, Colorado 80239
RE: Protest number 3307-97-100111; combination carseat-stroller; GRI 3(c); HQs
961266; 961331
Dear Port Director:
The following is our decision regarding protest number
3307-97-100111, dated August 28, 1997, concerning your
classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUS) of the "Sit 'n' Stroll 5 in 1
Carseat/Stroller." A sample was provided. For the reasons
stated herein, the protest will be granted.
FACTS:
Based upon the information and sample provided, the Sit
'n' Stroll 5-in-1 Combination Car Seat and Stroller is a
child safety seat which incorporates and disguises the
hardware of a baby stroller through the use of compartments.
Separate levers and switches can be used to extend or
retract the handle, wheels and supports of the stroller, as
needed. The device appears to be an ordinary car seat/child
safety seat, complete with heavy plastic frame, padding and
washable covering. It incorporates plastic anchors for
securing it with safety belts in motor vehicles and
aircraft.
The merchandise was entered in 1997, under subheading
9401.20.00, HTSUS, as child safety seats. The entries were
liquidated on July 18, and August 1, 1997, with
classification under subheading 8715.00.00, HTSUS, as
strollers. The protest was timely filed on August 28, 1997.
ISSUE:
Whether the Sit 'n' Stroll 5-in-1 combination car seat
and stroller should be classified under subheading
9401.20.00, HTSUS, as a child safety seat, or under
subheading 8715.00.00, HTSUS, as a baby carriage (including
strollers)?
LAW and ANALYSIS:
Classification of imported merchandise for rate of duty
and statistical purposes is accomplished pursuant to the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
Classification under the HTSUS is guided by the General
Rules of Interpretation of the Harmonized System (GRI's).
GRI 1, HTSUS, provides 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 applicable headings under consideration are as follows:
8715.00.00 Baby carriages (including strollers) and
parts thereof.
* * * * * * * * *
9401 Seats (other than those of heading 9402), whether
or not convertible into beds or parts thereof.
9401.20.00 Seats of a kind used for motor
vehicles.
While the product can be partly described by both of
these headings, it cannot be classified according to GRI 1.
Resort must then be made to the remaining GRI's.
GRI 3 provides, in pertinent part:
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 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.
(b) Mixtures, composite goods consisting of
different materials or made up of different
components, and goods put up in sets 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.
(c) When goods cannot be classified by
reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be
classified under the heading which occurs last in
the numerical order among those which equally
merit consideration.
When interpreting and implementing the HTSUS, the
Explanatory Notes (EN's) of the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System may be utilized. The EN's,
while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a
guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are
generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the
HTSUS. See, T.D. 89-90, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August
23, 1989). The guidance of the EN's is necessary in the
instant analysis.
EN Rule 3(a)(V), p. 4, states in pertinent part that
"when two or more headings each refer to part only of the
materials contained in mixed or composite goods . . . 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 than the others. In such cases, the
classification shall be determined by Rule 3(b) or 3(c)."
In this regard, EN Rule 3(b)(IX), p. 4, states in pertinent
part that "composite goods made up of different components
shall be taken to mean . . . those in which the components
are attached to form a practically inseparable whole[.]"
The product under consideration is one in which the
components are attached to form a practically inseparable
whole. Resort then, to GRIs 3(b) and 3(c) must be made in
order to classify the product under the HTSUS.
EN Rule 3(b)(VII), p. 4, states that in "all these
cases the goods are to be classified as if they consisted of
the material or component which gives them their essential
character, insofar as this criterion is applicable."
The term "essential character" is not defined within
the HTSUS, GRI's or EN's. EN Rule 3(b)(VIII), p. 4, gives
guidance, stating that "the 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."
As to which component imparts the essential character
to the Sit n' Stroll 5-in-1 Carseat/Stroller system, the
relevant ENs authorize Customs to consider the nature of
each component in the good, its weight or value, or its role
in relation to the use of the good. We recognize that
considerations as to value, construction in accordance with
applicable Federal safety standards, and diversification of
use, all may militate in favor of a conclusion that the car
seat imparts the essential character. Nevertheless, the
stroller is similarly capable of a transport function,
particularly for a toddler or an older child, and with less
strain on the parent. Moreover, both the stroller and the
car seat would appeal equally to prospective buyers. For
this reason, we are unable to establish an essential
character for the article.
Under GRI 3(c), therefore, we find that the article is
to be classified in heading 9401, as that heading occurs
last in numerical order among those which equally merit
consideration.
This is consistent with Headquarters Ruling Letters
(HQs) 961266 and 961331, dated June 4, 1998, and June 16,
1998, respectively, in which we held that nearly identical
products, the 4-in-1 System Infant Car Seat/Stroller, and
the Travel System, were classifiable in subheading
9401.20.00, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
The Sit n' Stroll 5-in-1 Combination Carseat and
Stroller is classified under subheading 9401.20.00, HTSUS,
as a for child safety seat. The 1997 column 1, general rate
of duty is 1.2% ad valorem.
The protest is GRANTED. In accordance with Section
3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4,
1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision,
together with Customs Form 19, should be mailed by your
office to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date
of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in
accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to
mailing of this decision. Sixty days from the date of this
decision the Office of Regulations and Rulings will take
steps ro make the decision available to Customs personnel
via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public via the
Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom of Information Act,
and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division