OT:RR:CTF:CPMM H299163 APP
Raymond J. Irizarry, GMBA
Supervisory Import Specialist
Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
6601 NW 25th Street
Miami, FL 33122
RE: Request for Internal Advice; Tariff classification of a table napkin dispenser
Dear Mr. Irizarry:
This is in reference to your request for internal advice, initiated by counsel for V.S. Industry (Zhuhai) Co. Ltd. (“requestor”), pertaining to the tariff classification, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), of a table napkin dispenser. Our decision follows.
FACTS:
The instant item is a Georgia Pacific EasyNap tabletop napkin dispenser, which is predominantly made of plastic and is mainly used in restaurants and offices. The product dispenses fold-style paper napkins, one at a time, and has a 300-napkin capacity. It consists of a base and metal springs, and has a top-loading design. The metal springs support the base on which the napkins rest. The base is raised by the springs each time a napkin is removed until the dispenser is empty. A side window shows when the dispenser needs to be refilled.
ISSUES:
Whether the napkin dispenser is classifiable in heading 3924, HTSUS, as “tableware …
other household articles … of plastics” or in heading 3926, HTSUS, as “other articles of plastics”?
What is the proper tariff subheading?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRIs”). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined first 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 2 through 6 may be applied in order. Pursuant to
GRI 6, classification at the subheading level uses the same rules, mutatis mutandis, as classification at the heading level.
The 2017 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
3924 Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and hygienic or toilet articles, of plastics:
3924.10 Tableware and kitchenware:
3924.10.40 Other
3924.90 Other:
3924.90.10 Curtains and drapes, including panels and valances; napkins, table covers, mats, scarves, runners, doilies, centerpieces, antimacassars and furniture slipcovers; and like furnishings
. . .
3926 Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914:
3926.90 Other:
3926.90.99 Other
In interpreting the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) may be utilized. The ENs, though not dispositive or legally binding, provide commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed.
Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
As a preliminary matter, the subject tabletop napkin dispenser can only be classified in heading 3926, HTSUS, if it is not more specifically classifiable in heading 3924, HTSUS. See EN 39.26 (stating that this heading “covers articles, not elsewhere specified or included, of plastics.”). Classification in a basket provision, such as heading 3926, HTSUS, is appropriate if there is no tariff provision that covers the merchandise more specifically. See EM Indus., Inc. v. United States, 22 CIT 156, 165, 999 F. Supp. 1473, 1480 (1998). Accordingly, we will first consider heading 3924, HTSUS.
Heading 3924, HTSUS, which is an eo nomine provision, provides, inter alia, for tableware and other household articles of plastics. EN 39.24 states, in pertinent part, as follows:
This heading covers the following articles of plastics: …
(A) Tableware such as tea or coffee services, plates, soup tureens, salad bowls, dishes and trays of all kinds, coffee pots, teapots, sugar bowls, beer mugs, cups, sauce boats, fruit bowls, cruets, salt cellars, mustard pots, egg cups, teapot stands, table mats, knife rests, serviette rings, knives, forks and spoons.
. . .
(C) Other household articles such as ash trays, hot water bottles, matchbox holders, dustbins, buckets, watering cans, food storage containers, curtains, drapes, table covers and fitted furniture dust covers (slipovers).
The term “tableware” is not defined in the nomenclature or the ENs. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has defined this term in prior rulings by consulting dictionaries and other lexicographic sources. In Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) H005207, dated June 20, 2008, CBP defined “tableware” as “those items traditionally used in serving food or associated with table settings.” See id., citing Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 1195, 10th ed. (2001) (defining tableware as: “utensils {as of china, glass or silver} for table use). HQ H005207 concluded that tableware includes articles immediately associated with food preparation, food storage and food consumption, and that unlike household articles, tableware could be used in a variety of table and kitchen related functions.
Among the above-named exemplars in EN 39.24 of “tableware” are serviette rings as well as salt cellars, teapots, soup tureens, salad bowls, fruit bowls, and other items that are used for food preparation and beverage items, or act as table settings; for storing or displaying foods; or for serving food and beverages. Thus, EN 39.24 makes clear that heading 3924 applies to cutlery, glassware, serving dishes, and other related items that are used for setting a table, serving food and beverages, and dining. Consistent with this, CBP has previously treated serviette ring holders, which similarly to the napkin dispensers hold napkins, as tableware of heading 3924. Since the napkin table dispenser is covered by heading 3924, HTSUS, it does not fall by default into the basket provision, heading 3926, HTSUS.
We next turn to the subheading level. CBP has previously classified tableware and kitchenware under subheading 3924.10, HTSUS. For instance, in New York Ruling Letters (“NY”) G86063, January 31, 2001; NY N018950, dated November 9, 2007; and NY L80108, dated October 22, 2004, CBP classified plastic napkin ring holders as tableware in
subheading 3924.10, HTSUS. In addition, in NY N137300, dated January 7, 2011, CBP classified a lidded plastic container with a fitted plastic insert with slots designed to hold paper napkins, plastic forks, plastic spoons, plastic knives, a salt shaker, a pepper shaker, a plastic ketchup squeeze dispenser, a plastic mayo squeeze dispenser, and a plastic mustard squeeze dispenser as “other plastic tableware” in subheading 3924.10.40, HTSUS. Similarly, in
HQ H005207, supra, CBP classified toothpick holders of porcelain and ceramic as tableware and kitchenware because toothpicks are primarily used in connection with the consumption of foods, with the serving of hors d’oeurves, mixed drinks, and for removing food particles from between the teeth.
Here, like the plastic serviette ring holders, the condiment holder, and toothpick holders at issue in the above-listed CBP rulings, the subject napkin table dispenser is mainly used upon a table for the service of food to hold and dispense napkins used to wipe food and drink from the mouth and to protect clothing while eating. As a result, the table napkin dispenser made of plastics meets the definition of tableware and comports with the exemplars in EN 39.24, and is classified as tableware of heading 3924, HTSUS, specifically under subheading 3924.10.40, HTSUS, which covers plastic tableware other than salt, pepper, mustard and ketchup dispensers; plates, cups, saucers, soup bowls, cereal bowls, sugar bowls, creamers, gravy boats, serving dishes and platters; and trays. Since the plastic napkin table dispenser falls within the definition of “tableware,” it is not described as other than tableware in subheading 3924.90, HTSUS.
Accordingly, the instant napkin table dispenser is classifiable as tableware in heading 3924, HTSUS, under subheading 3924.10.40, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the subject table napkin dispenser is classified under subheading 3924.10.40, HTSUS, which provides for “Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and hygienic or toilet articles, of plastics: Tableware and kitchenware: Other.” The column one, general rate of duty at the time of entry was 3.4% ad valorem.
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 at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to CBP personnel and to the public on the Customs Rulings Online Search System (“CROSS”), at https://rulings.cbp.gov/, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division