CLA-2:RR:CR:GC 961464 AML
Port Director of Customs
1000 2nd Avenue
Seattle, Washington 98104-1049
RE: Protest 3001-97-100259; Acrylic display cases with wood frames; NYRLs 872070, 814365, 814362
Dear Port Director:
The following is our decision regarding protest 3001-97-100259, dated April 24, 1997, concerning your classification of acrylic display cases with wood frames pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Photocopies were provided for our examination.
FACTS:
Based upon the information and photocopies provided, the articles consist of rectangular display cases made of acrylic plastic with wooden frames. The accompanying literature describes the cases as being available in two sizes: a small display case, 11" in width, 9 1/4" in depth, and 19 1/4" in height; and a large display case, 11 1/4" square and 25" in height. Each case is claimed to be designed to hold and display dolls and collectibles. It appears from the photocopies that the acrylic components predominate the bulk of the products. The products were entered on October 15, 1996, and the entry was liquidated on January 24, 1997. The protest was timely filed on April 24, 1997.
ISSUE:
Whether an acrylic display case with a wooden frame should be classified under subheading 3926.90.55, HTSUS, as other household articles of plastics, or 3926.90.98, HTSUS, as other articles of plastic, or 4420.90.80, HTSUS, as other boxes or containers of wood, or 9502.99.00, HTSUS, as other parts and accessories for dolls representing only human beings?
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, 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 applicable headings and subheadings under consideration are as follows:
3924 Tableware, Kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of plastics:
3924.90.55 Other.
* * *
3926 Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914:
3926.90.98 Other.
* * *
4420 Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewelry or cutlery and similar articles, of wood; statuettes and other ornaments, of wood; wooden articles of furniture not falling within chapter 94:
4420.90 Other:
Jewelry boxes, silverware chests, cigar and cigarette boxes, microscope cases, tool or utensil cases and similar boxes, cases and chests, all the foregoing of wood:
4420.90.80 Other.
* * *
9502 Dolls representing only human beings and parts and accessories thereof:
Parts and accessories:
9502.99.00 Other.
Counsel for the protestant claims that the products should be classified under subheading 9502.99.00, HTSUS, as parts and accessories for dolls representing only human beings. Consideration of the relevant chapter notes and previous rulings reveals that the acrylic display cases are not, by definition, parts and accessories for dolls representing only human beings.
Note 3, Chapter 95, HTSUS, provides:
3. Subject to note 1 above, parts and accessories which are suitable for use solely or principally with articles of this chapter are to be classified with those articles.
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.
Explanatory Note 95.02, p.1711, provides in pertinent part:
Parts and accessories of dolls of this heading include: heads, bodies, limbs, eyes (other than those unmounted of glass, of heading 70.18), moving mechanisms for eyes, voice-producing or other mechanisms, wigs, dolls’ clothing, shoes and hats (Emphasis in original).
The display cases that are made of acrylic and wood and which are sold separately from any other product can in no reasonable manner be construed to be parts or accessories of dolls representing only human beings. Taken as entered, disassembled, without any article entered with it to immediately be displayed within it, the product is simply a display case. No reasonable argument can be made that the article is “solely” or “principally” intended for display of dolls; nor can the product be construed as a part or accessory of dolls representing only human beings, especially as delineated by the Explanatory Note.
In support of its position, protestant cites and relies upon New York Ruling Letter (NY) 872070, dated March 25, 1992, wherein Customs held that a doll stand with a hardwood base, a metal support bar and an adjustable insert that fastened around a doll’s waist was designed for use principally with a doll representing only human beings and was therefor classifiable as an accessory for such use. The subject display case is readily distinguishable from the display case classified in NY 872070 - this case contains no supports or metals specifically intended for the display of a doll. The article is a display case which can be used for any number of articles other than dolls (e.g., floral arrangements, keepsakes, souvenirs). Accordingly, we find that the acrylic display cases are not parts and accessories for dolls representing only human beings.
The cases are described by headings 3924 and 3926, which provide for articles of plastic. Because they are comprised of two separate and distinct constituent materials, the wooden frames require consideration as well. Therefore, the heading in which the cases must be classified cannot be determined pursuant to GRI 1. Resort must then be made to the remaining GRI’s.
GRI 2 (b) provides in pertinent part that “[a]ny reference to goods of a given material or substance shall be taken to include a reference to goods consisting wholly or partly of such material or substance [and] [t]he classification of goods consisting of more than one material or substance shall be according to the principles of [GRI] 3."
GRI 3 states, in pertinent part:
When by application of [GRI] 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 . . . , 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 . . . which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified by as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.
EN V to GRI 3(a), 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 [GRIs] 3(b) or 3(c).” The product under consideration is one in which different materials form a practically inseparable whole. Resort then, to GRIs 3(b) and 3(c) must be made in order to make a classification.
EN VII to GRI 3(b), 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 VIII to GRI 3(b), p. 4, gives guidance, stating 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.
Recently, there have been several decisions by the Court of International Trade (CIT) which addressed “essential character” for purposes of GRI 3(b). Better Home Plastics Corp. v. United States, 916 F. Supp. 1265 (CIT 1996), affirmed, 119 F. 3rd 969 (Fed. Cir. 1997), involved the classification of shower curtain sets, consisting of an outer textile curtain, inner plastic magnetic liner, and plastic hooks. The Court examined the role of the constituent materials in relation to the use of the goods and found that, although the relative value of the textile curtain was greater than that of the plastic liner, and that although the textile curtain also served protective, privacy and decorative functions, because of the fact that the plastic liner served the indispensable function of keeping water inside the shower, the plastic liner imparted the essential character upon the set. See also Mita Copystar America, Inc. v. United States, 966 F. Supp. 1245 (CIT 1997), motion for rehearing and reconsideration denied, 994 F. Supp. 393 (CIT 1998), and Vista International Packaging Co. v. United States, 19 CIT 868, 890 F. Supp. 1095 (1995), in which the Court also looked to the role of the constituent material in relation to the use of the goods to determine essential character.
Consideration of the acrylic cases reveals that although the wood frame provides support and aesthetically enhances the product, it is the acrylic panels which impart the essential character of the product. The acrylic protects the item housed therein, and facilitates the display of the article. The clear acrylic plastic is the primary constituent material which accomplishes this function. The essential character of the product is imparted by the acrylic components.
We note that the other criteria listed in EN VIII to GRI 3(b) (bulk, quantity, weight or value) also lead to the conclusion that the acrylic plastic component of the article imparts the essential character of the case.
New York Rulings (NY) 814362 and 814365, both dated September 33, 1995, are also consistent with our determination. NY 814362 covered an acrylic desk top case with a hinged lid. NY 814365 covered acrylic stands used to display items in museums or retail establishments. Both products were classified under subheading 3926.90.98, HTSUS, as other articles of plastics.
This decision is also consistent with HQ 962331, dated January 19, 1999, in which we classified similar articles under subheading 3926.90.98, HTSUS, as other articles of plastics. As was the case in HQ 962331, the contents displayed by the acrylic containers may be considered to be decorative or ornamental; however, the cases, in and of themselves, can not be considered to be ornamental. Their is nothing unique to these cases which limits or customizes their use. The cases can be used to house and display innumerable other articles, such as flower arrangements, figurines or other collectibles. It is the item displayed which is ornamental, not the acrylic case, and the articles will be classified accordingly.
HOLDING:
The products, clear acrylic display cases with wood frames, are classified in subheading 3926.90.98, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of plastic, other. The column 1, general rate of duty is 5.3% ad valorem.
The protest is DENIED. 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 the decision, the Office of Regulations and Rulings
will make the decision available to Customs personnel, and to the public on the Customs Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.customs.ustreas.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division