CLA-2: RR:CR:GC 967260 DSS
Port Director
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection
610 S. Canal Street
Chicago, IL 60173
RE: Protest No. 3901-04-100851; Paper trimmers
Dear Port Director:
This is our decision on Protest No. 3901-04-100851 filed by Carl Manufacturing USA, Inc. (protestant), against your decision regarding the classification, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), of certain rotary and personal paper trimmers, as well as a replacement mat.
FACTS:
The articles at issue consist of the following: a six-inch personal rotary trimmer (item no. DC-95 - #12095), a 12-inch personal rotary trimmer (item no. DC-100 - #17100), a 12-inch/A4 personal paper trimmer – (item no. RBT- #12001), and a mat replacement for rotary trimmers (item no. RM 15 - #16124).
Entry No. 510-xxxxxxx-2 was entered on April 28, 2003. Entry No. 510-xxxxxxx-3 was entered on April 21, 2003. Both entries were liquidated on March 12, 2004. This protest was filed on June 9, 2004.
At liquidation, you classified the two entries under protest under subheading 8214.90.9000, HTSUSA. The protestant advocates classification of the rotary and personal trimmers under subheading 8441.10.0000, HTSUSA, as “Other machinery for making up paper pulp, paper or paperboard, including cutting machines of all kinds, and parts thereof: Cutting machines.” The protestant advocates classification of the replacement mats as parts under subheading 8414.90.0000, HTSUSA.
Protestant states that the instant paper trimmers are substantially similar to the paper trimmers that were classified under subheading 8441.10.0000, HTSUSA, in four rulings that were published in the Customs Bulletin on May 19, 2004 (vol. 38, no. 21): Headquarters Ruling Letters (HQs) 966582, 966583, 966602, and 966603.
In HQ 966605, CBP described the two paper trimmers at issue as follows (citing New York Ruling Letter (NY) G84202, which it revoked):
The samples you provided are two Fiskars paper trimmers, which will be packaged together for retail sale. Item 95808994 is the Fiskars 12-inch/30 cm Rotary Paper Trimmer. It consists of a non-skid plastic base holding a guide rail. A plastic blade holder containing a rotating metal blade is attached to the rail. By placing cutting material on the base under the rail, a user can trim the material by pushing the blade across it.
Item 95909494 is the Fiskars Personal Paper Trimmer. It is similar to the other trimmer, but is smaller and designed to be carried in a standard ring binder. Both of these items are intended to be used on a desktop or similar work surface, and not in the hand. Both bases are printed with a measuring grid as a guide, but the principal function of the items is to cut paper.
ISSUE:
Whether the instant paper trimmers are substantially similar to the paper trimmers in HQ 966605.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Based on the information in the protest, the instant rotary and personal paper trimmers are substantially similar to the paper trimmers classified in HQ 966605.
HQ 966605 states in the LAW AND ANALYSIS section that the two paper trimmers at issue are considered machinery for making up paper for tariff purposes. Thus, both the rotary paper trimmer and personal paper trimmer at issue in that ruling fell under heading 8441, HTSUSA. This classification was further confirmed in HQ 967232, dated July 13, 2004. The analysis applied in HQ 966605, and further confirmed by HQ 967232, applies here. The LAW AND ANALYSIS section of HQ 966605 is incorporated by reference.
According to the information submitted by the protestant, the replacement mats are made from PVC, and function as a cutting mat for the rotary paper trimmers. The replacement mats are classified as parts of paper trimmers and are classified under subheading 8414.90.0000, HTSUSA, as “Other machinery for making up paper pulp, paper or paperboard, including cutting machines of all kinds, and parts thereof: Parts.”
HOLDING:
The rotary and personal paper trimmers are classified under subheading 8441.10.0000, HTSUSA, as “Other machinery for making up paper pulp, paper or paperboard, including cutting machines of all kinds, and parts thereof: Cutting machines.” The 2003 general rate of duty is free.
The replacement mat is classified under subheading 8441.90.0000, HTSUSA, as “Other machinery for making up paper pulp, paper or paperboard, including cutting machines of all kinds, and parts thereof: Parts.” The 2003 general rate of duty is free.
Duty rates are provided for convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov.
You should ALLOW the protest. In accordance with the Protest/Petition Processing Handbook (CIS HB, June 2002, pp. 18 and 21), you are to mail this decision, together with the Customs Form 19, 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 the decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision the Office of Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the CBP Home Page on the World Wide Web at www.cbp.gov, by means of the Freedom of Information Act, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial Rulings Division