CLA-2:RR:CR:GC 962331 AML
District Director of Customs
2nd and Chestnut Streets
Room 102
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106-2999
Re: Display cases for sports memorabilia; NY 814263; NY 814365; HQ 955104
modified
Dear Sir:
This is in reference to Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 955104, issued to your office on October 11, 1994, in response to Protest No. 1103-93-100496 concerning the classification of plastic display cases and holders for baseballs and hockey pucks, and protective boxes, sleeve bags, and loose-leaf pages for sports cards, pursuant to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). HQ 955104 held, in part, that plastic display cubes and holders for baseballs and hockey pucks, and holders for hockey pucks with pictures or sports cards, were classified in subheading 3926.40.00, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of plastics . . . statuettes and other ornamental articles.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), notice of the proposed modification of HQ 955104 was published on December 9, 1998, in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN, Volume 32, Number 49. No comments from the public were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The polystyrene cubes for holding baseballs and hockey pucks consist of two U-shaped units which slide together and snap lock to form a 3 inch cube. The holders for baseballs or hockey pucks are in the shape of those items, with pedestal bases. There are also holders which encase hockey pucks along with pictures or sports cards. The holders are made of acrylo nitrile butadiene styrene. The products were described in HQ 955104 as follows:
The hockey puck/picture holder consists of two clear rigid plastic rectangular panels designed to be held together when inserted into a rigid plastic holder or stand. The panel(s) have molded recesses which are form shaped to the shape of a hockey puck and a sports card, respectively. This permits the puck and card to be sandwiched between the panels.
The last group of products covered by the instant protest consist[s] of a cube for displaying a baseball or hockey puck and a holder in the shape of a baseball or hockey puck with a pedestal. Counsel states that these products are “specifically designed to contain a single baseball or hockey puck for the express purpose of protecting the items, which usually bear autographs of baseball or hockey players, from soiling or other damage either when displayed at collector shows, or in transit to or from collector shows. The items have no other use except for the packing or housing of baseballs and[/] or hockey pucks and are sold exclusively by collectors or by collector supply stores to be a box or case which contains the autographed item.”
ISSUE:
Whether plastic display cases and holders for baseballs and hockey pucks should be classified under subheading 3923.90.00, HTSUS, as other articles for the conveyance or packing of goods of plastic; 3926.40.00, HTSUS, as other articles of plastics . . . statuettes and other ornamental articles; or 3926.90.98, HTSUS, as other articles of plastic?
LAW and ANALYSIS:
Classification of imported merchandise 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[.]” 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 subheadings under consideration are as follows:
3923 Articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastic . . . :
3923.90.00 Other.
* * *
3926 Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914:
3926.40.00 Statuettes and other ornamental articles;
3926.90 Other.
3926.90.98 Other.
In HQ 955104, dated October 11, 1994, plastic display cubes and holders for baseballs and hockey pucks, and holders for hockey pucks with pictures or sports cards, were classified in subheading 3926.40.00, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of plastics . . . statuettes and other ornamental articles. The contents displayed by the acrylic containers may be considered to be decorative or ornamental. However, the cubes and holders, in and of themselves, cannot be considered to be ornamental; nor are they statuettes. That is, it is the item displayed within the case or holder which is ornamental, not the display case. Accordingly, the articles cannot be classified in subheading 3926.40.00, HTSUS.
The subject articles also cannot be classified under heading 3923, HTSUS, the provision for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, because they are not of a class or kind used primarily for packing and conveying goods; they are for the storage and display of sports memorabilia. EN 39.23 makes clear that the articles covered by heading 3923 are various kinds of containers; spools, caps, bobbins, and similar supports; and stoppers, lids, cops and other closures. Such articles are not of the kind under consideration.
Inasmuch as heading 3923, HTSUS, does not describe the articles, and they cannot be classified in subheading 3926.40.00, HTSUS, or any of the other eo nomine provisions of heading 3926, HTSUS, they are classified in the residual provision. This is consistent with New York Rulings (NYs) 814362 and 814365, both dated September 13, 1995. 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 articles were classified under subheading 3926.90.98, HTSUS, as other articles of plastics.
HOLDING:
Plastic display cases and holders for baseballs and hockey pucks are classified in subheading 3926.90.98, HTSUS, which provides for: other articles of plastic, other.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
HQ 955104 is modified, as set forth in this decision. In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c)(1), this ruling will become effective 60 days after publication in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN. Publication of rulings or decisions pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1625(c)(1) does not constitute a change of practice or position in accordance with section 177.10(c)(1), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 177.10 (c)(1)).
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division