CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H055383 TNA
Port Director, Long Beach Sea Port
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
301 E. Ocean Blvd. Suite 1400 Long Beach, CA 90802
Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No: 2704-08-103070; Door Bells
Dear Port Director:
The following is our decision regarding the Application for Further Review (AFR) of Protest No. 2704-08-103070, timely filed on September 2, 2008, on behalf of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc (“Wal-Mart”). The AFR concerns the classification of Door Bells under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue is item number 001830993 and stock number MDQ-6X533 described as “BW 23IN Door Bell.” There are five different color variations of the product, but each has the same components: three jingle bells attached to varying lengths of cord. The top of each cord hangs from a circular-shaped ring. A coiled bow is tied to each ring. The material composition of the items as a whole is 90 percent iron and 10 percent polyester. The item is designed to be hung on a door so that the bells sound when the door is opened or closed.
On August 31, 2007, the subject merchandise was entered at the Long Beach Sea Port under subheading 8306.10.00, HTSUS. CBP liquidated the entry on July 11, 2008 in subheading 8306.10.00, HTSUS, as bells, gongs and the like. On September 2, 2008, Wal-Mart filed a Protest and Application Further Review (“AFR”), arguing that the subject merchandise is properly classified in subheading 8306.29.00, HTSUS, as statuettes and other ornaments.
ISSUE:
Whether strings of jingle bells should be classified under subheading 8306.10.00, HTSUS, as bells, gongs, and the like, under subheading 8306.29.00, HTSUS, as a base metal statuette or ornament, or under subheading 9505.10.25 as a festive article?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The protest was properly filed under 19 U.S.C. §1514(a)(2) as a decision on classification. The protest was timely filed, within 180 days of liquidation for entries made on or after December 18, 2004. (Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, Pub.L. 108-429, § 2103(2)(B)(ii), (iii) (codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3) (2006)).
Further Review of Protest No. 2704-08-103080 is properly accorded to Protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(c) because the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to involve matters previously ruled upon by the Commissioner of Customs or by the Customs courts but facts are alleged or legal arguments presented which were not considered at the time of the original ruling. Specifically, Wal-Mart argues that based on its post-entry review, the subject merchandise should have been classified differently because it is an ornamental item incorporating bells and is designed essentially for decorative purposes.
Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes.
GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in their appropriate order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5.
The HTSUS headings under consideration are the following:
8306 Bells, gongs and the like, nonelectric, of base metal; statuettes and other ornaments, of base metal; photograph, picture or similar frames, of base metal; mirrors of base metal; and base metal parts thereof:
8306.10.00 Bells, gongs and the like, and parts thereof…
Statuettes and other ornaments, and parts thereof:
8306.29.00 Other…
* * * * * * * * * * * *
9505 Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof:
9505.10 Articles for Christmas festivities and parts and accessories thereof:
Christmas ornaments:
Other:
9505.10.25 Other…
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
The EN for heading 8306 states, in pertinent part, the following:
(A) BELLS, GONGS AND THE LIKE, NON ELECTRIC
This group covers non-electric bells and gongs of base metal. It includes bells for places of religious worship, schools, public buildings, factories, ships, fire-engines, etc.; door bells; table bells; hand-bells; cattle or other animal bells; bells for bicycles, scooters or perambulators; bells for fishing tackle (without the addition of external clamps, clips or other mounting devices); door chimes, table gongs, etc.; decorated bells such as those for tourist souvenirs.
This heading also covers metallic parts such as clappers, handles and domes (including those suitable equally for electric or other types of bells). It also includes metallic buttons and turn keys for non electric table or door bells…
(B) STATUETTES AND OTHER ORNAMENTS
This group comprises a wide range of ornaments of base metal (whether or not incorporating subsidiary non metallic parts) of a kind designed essentially for decoration, e.g., in homes, offices, assembly rooms, places of religious worship, gardens.
It should be noted that the group does not include articles of more specific headings of the Nomenclature, even if those articles are suited by their nature or finish as ornaments…
Note 1(l) to Chapter 95, HTSUS, states that “this chapter does not cover bells, gongs or the like of heading 8306.” Since the subject merchandise is primarily made up of bells, it cannot be classified in heading 9505, HTSUS. As a result, the remaining competing classifications are at the six digit level. Under GRI 6, the issue is whether the bells are classified as such in subheading 8306.10, HTSUS, or as other ornaments in subheading 8306.29, HTSUS.
The subject merchandise consists of cords bearing non-electric jingle bells made out of base metal for hanging on a door. GRI 3 states that “when goods are classifiable under two or more headings, the heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description.” The EN to GRI 3 further states that a “description by name is more specific than a description by class.” Under this rule of relative specificity, we look to the provision with requirements that are more difficult to satisfy and that describe the article with the greatest degree of accuracy and certainty. Russ Berrie & Co. v. United States, 381 F.3d 1334, 1338 (Fed. Cir. 2004), citing to Orlando Food Corp. v. United States, 140 F.3d 1437, 1441 (Fed. Cir. 1998).
Subheading 8306.10.00, HTSUS, is the more specific subheading for the subject merchandise because subheading 8306.29.00, HTSUS, includes a broader range of goods, statuettes and other ornaments, made of base metal. Part A of the EN to heading 8306, HTSUS, lists “door bells” as included in subheading 8306.10.00, HTSUS, whereas Part B to the EN, describing ornaments of subheading 8306.29.00, HTSUS, excludes articles of more specific headings, and, by GRI 6, subheadings.
CBP has consistently classified articles of bells, including items of jingle bells, in subheading 8306.10.00, HTSUS. For instance, in New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) F85885, dated April 25, 2000, we classified ten brass jingle bells suspended by various lengths of metallic gold twisted rope and topped with a metallic gold, sheer, fabric bow, in subheading 8306.10.00, HTSUS. See also NY G85029, dated November 30, 2000 (jingle bells mounted onto steel wire to form a wreath); NY L86302, dated July 18, 2005; NY I83301, dated June 19, 2002 (bell doorknob hangers consisting of 3 base metal jingle bells attached to a 14-inch strip of plastic); NY E86535, dated September 18, 1999; NY 810536, dated June 1, 1995; N022642, dated February 6, 2008; NY M80871, dated March 16, 2006; NY L86302, dated July 18, 2005; NY L84397, dated May 2, 2005; NY L82383, dated February 16, 2005.
As a result, we find that the subject Door Bells are classified under subheading 8306.10.00, as “bells, gongs, and the like.” As such, the applicable duty rate is 5.8% ad valorem.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the Door Bells are classified in heading 8306, HTSUS, specifically under subheading 8306.10.00, HTSUS, which provides for: “bells, gongs, and the like.” As such, the applicable duty rate is 5.8% ad valorem.
You are instructed to DENY the protest.
In accordance with Sections IV and VI of the CBP Protest/Petition Processing Handbook (HB 3500-08A, December 2007, pp. 24 and 26), you are to mail this decision, together with the CBP Form 19, to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing the decision.
Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office International Trade, 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 and Trade Facilitation Division