CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H229978 EGJ
Erikka Bergsten
Oas Holdings Inc. DBA Source One Enterprises
314 West Superior St., #502
Duluth, MN 55802
Re: Revocation of NY N209619; Tariff Classification of the GripPit™ Handle Insert for the Block® Archery Target
Dear Ms. Bergsten:
This is in response to your request dated May 3, 2012, asking for reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter (NY) N209619, dated April 11, 2012. In NY N209619, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified the handle insert, also identified as the “Block® handle,” for a portable archery target (the handle insert) under subheading 3926.90.25 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as handles of plastics which are not provided for elsewhere. Upon further review, we find NY N209619 to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY N209619.
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, a notice of proposed action was published on May 20, 2015, in the Customs Bulletin, Vol. 49, No. 20. No comments were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The Block® brand of archery targets consists of different styles of layered polyethylene foam targets. All of the Block® archery targets are portable. The GripPit™ handle insert is embedded into the top of the Block® Black and the Block® Black Crossbow styles of targets. These styles of targets have four sides which can stop field tip, broadhead and expandable arrows. These two styles of targets are pictured below:
The GripPit™ handle insert consists of two pieces of plastic which are custom designed to fit together. During the manufacturing process, the two pieces are attached together and are permanently embedded into the target. The embedded GripPit™ handle insert enables the consumer to lift, carry and transport the target. The two pieces of the handle insert are pictured below:
The Block® Black and the Block® Black Crossbow styles of targets are large and bulky, measuring in size from 16”x12”x16” to 22”x16”x22”. In spite of their cumbersome shape and size, they are marketed as being lightweight and portable. It is the GripPit™ handle insert that enables the consumer to easily move this target from the home, to the backyard, and to the archery range. A picture of consumers holding the bulky targets is provided below:
ISSUE:
Is the GripPit™ handle insert classified as an article of plastics in heading 3926, HTUS, or as a part of sports equipment in heading 9506, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs may then be applied.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are the following:
3926 Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914:
3926.90 Other:
3926.90.25 Handles and knobs, not elsewhere specified or included, of plastics
* * *
9506 Articles and equipment for general physical exercise, gymnastics, athletics, other sports (including table-tennis) or outdoor games, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; swimming pools and wading pools; parts and accessories thereof:
Other:
9506.99 Other:
9506.99.05 Archery articles and equipment and parts and accessories thereof
* * *
Note 2(y) to Chapter 39 states that:
2. This chapter does not cover:
(t) Articles of chapter 95 (for example, toys, games, sports equipment)
* * *
Note 3 to Chapter 95 states that:
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 …
* * *
The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
EN 95.06(B)(11) states, in pertinent part, that:
This heading covers:
(B) Requisites for other sports and outdoor games … e.g.:
(11) Archery equipment, such as bows, arrows and targets.
* * *
In NY N209619, we classified the handle insert under subheading 3926.90.25, HTSUS, as a handle of plastics which is not elsewhere specified or included. However, Note 2(y) to Chapter 39 states that articles of Chapter 95 are excluded from classification in that chapter. As such, if the handle inserts are classifiable in heading 9506, HTSUS, they cannot be classified in Chapter 39.
Heading 9506 provides for articles and equipment for sports, as well as parts and accessories thereof. It is undisputed that archery is a sport, and that archery targets constitute equipment for that sport. EN 95.06(B)(11) states that archery equipment, such as bows, arrows and targets are classifiable in that heading. To be classifiable under heading 9506, HTSUS, we must determine whether the handle insert is a part or an accessory to the archery target.
The courts have construed the nature of “parts” under the HTSUS and two distinct though not inconsistent tests have resulted. See Bauerhin Techs. Ltd. P’ship. v. United States (“Bauerhin”), 110 F. 3d 774 (Fed. Cir. 1997). The first, articulated in United States v. Willoughby Camera Stores, Inc. (“Willoughby”), 21 C.C.P.A. 322, 324 (1933), requires a determination of whether the imported item is an “integral, constituent, or component part, without which the article to which it is to be joined, could not function as such article.” Bauerhin, 110 F.3d at 778 (quoting Willoughby, 21 C.C.P.A. 322 at 324). The second, set forth in United States v. Pompeo, 43 C.C.P.A. 9, 14 (1955), states that an “imported item dedicated solely for use with another article is a ‘part’ of that article within the meaning of the HTSUS.” Id. At 779 (citing Pompeo, 43 C.C.P.A. 9 at 13.) Under either line of cases, an imported item is not a part if it is “a separate and distinct commercial entity.” Id.
As stated above, the Willoughby test for parts of an article is whether the article could still function as such article without the part. 21 C.C.P.A. at 324. The handle insert is used with the Block® Black and the Block® Black Crossbow styles of targets. These targets are marketed as lightweight and portable targets, in spite of their bulky shape and size. We find that the Block® Black and the Block® Black Crossbow could not function as portable targets without the GripPit™ handle insert. As such, the GripPit™ handle insert satisfies the Willoughby test for parts. Id.
Next, the Pompeo test for parts states that the part must be dedicated solely for use with the article at importation. 43 C.C.P.A. at 14. The handle insert is custom designed to be permanently embedded into the Block® archery targets during the manufacturing process. The handle insert has no other use. As such, the GripPit™ handle insert is dedicated solely for use with an archery target at importation, and it satisfies the Pompeo test for parts. Id.
Note 3 to Chapter 95 states that, subject to the exclusions of Note 1, parts and accessories of goods of Chapter 95 must be classified with those goods if they are solely or principally used with them. The handle inserts are parts of the Block® archery targets, and they are solely used with the Block® archery targets. The handle inserts are not subject to any of the exclusions listed in Note 1 to Chapter 95. As such, the handle inserts are properly classified as parts of sports equipment under heading 9506, HTSUS. Note 2(y) to Chapter 39 excludes the handle inserts from classification in heading 3926, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1 (Note 3 to Chapter 95) and GRI 6, the GripPit™ Block Archery Target handle insert is classified under subheading 9506.99.05, HTSUS, which provides for “Articles and equipment for general physical exercise, gymnastics, athletics, other sports (including table-tennis) or outdoor games, not specified or included elsewhere in this chapter; swimming pools and wading pools; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other: Archery articles and equipment and parts and accessories thereof.” The 2015 column one, general rate of duty is free.
Duty rates are provided for your 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.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N209619, dated April 11, 2012, is hereby revoked.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division