OT:RR:CTF:FTM H324909 TJS
Lesa Hubbard
JC Penney Purchasing LLC
2401 S. Stemmons Freeway, Ste. 4000
Lewisville, TX 75067
RE: Tariff classification of women’s woven peplum tops with detachable pockets
Dear Ms. Hubbard,
This is in response to your request, filed on behalf of JC Penney Purchasing LLC, dated April 12, 2022, for a binding ruling regarding the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) of a women’s woven top with either a sewn-in or detachable inner pocket. The National Commodity Specialist Division forwarded your request to our office.
FACTS:
The garment at issue, Item 325796, is a woman’s woven peplum top. According to your ruling request, the garment is made of 62% cotton and 38% rayon woven fabric. It has a v-neckline, short sleeves, and hemmed bottom. The garment also features a ruffle on both sides of the chest starting on the front side at the peplum and ending on the backside at the peplum. The garment has a small pouch, which you refer to as a coin pocket, located on the inside seam of the peplum. The pouch has an overlap opening. You provided a sample of the garment that has the pouch sewn into the side seam, but you note that the designer may choose to make the pouch detachable with a button or by Velcro. You also provided three different pocket sizes for our review and response:
Pocket #1 measures 1.5” x 1.5”
Pocket #2 measures 2” x 1.75”
Pocket #3 measures 3” x 2.25”
ISSUE:
What is the tariff classification of the women’s woven peplum top with a detachable pocket/pouch?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification decisions under the HTSUS are made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRIs”). 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 based on GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
GRI 3 states that, when by application of GRI 2(b) goods are prima facie classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:
The heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more general description. However, when two or more headings each refer to part only of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods.
Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.
* * *
The 2022 HTSUS headings under consideration are as follows:
6206: Women’s or girls’ blouses, shirts and shirt-blouses:
6211: Track suits, ski-suits and swimwear; other garments:
* * *
Note 4 to Chapter 62, HTSUS, provides:
4. Headings 6205 and 6206 do not cover garments with pockets below the waist, with a ribbed waistband or other means of tightening at the bottom of the garment. Heading 6205 does not cover sleeveless garments.
“Shirts” and “shirt-blouses” are garments designed to cover the upper part of the body, having long or short sleeves and a full or partial opening starting at the neckline. “Blouses” are loose-fitting garments also designed to cover the upper part of the body but may be sleeveless and with or without an opening at the neckline. “Shirts”, “shirt-blouses” and “blouses” may also have a collar.
* * *
In interpreting the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs 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. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The EN to GRI 3(b) states, in pertinent part:
(VI) This second method relates only to:
(i) Mixtures.
(ii) Composite goods consisting of different materials.
(iii) Composite goods consisting of different components.
(iv) Goods put up in sets for retail sales.
It applies only if Rule 3 (a) fails.
(VII) In all these cases the goods are to be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.
(VIII) The factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.
(IX) For the purposes of this Rule, composite goods made up of different components shall be taken to mean not only those in which the components are attached to each other to form a practically inseparable whole but also those with separable components, provided these components are adapted one to the other and are mutually complementary and that together they form a whole which would not normally be offered for sale in separate parts.
* * *
The ENs to heading 6206, HTSUS, provide in pertinent part:
This heading covers the group of women’s or girls’ clothing, not knitted or crocheted, which comprises blouses, shirts and shirt-blouses (see Note 4 to this Chapter).
This heading does not cover garments with pockets below the waist or with a ribbed waistband or other means of tightening at the bottom of the garment.
* * *
The issue before us is whether the detachable pouch is a “pocket” contemplated by Note 4 to Chapter 62, HTSUS. Note 4 excludes garments with pockets below the waist from heading 6206, HTSUS. You believe that “no matter the size of the inside coin pocket or the fact it may be detachable,” Item 325796 is classified in subheading 6211.42.1054, HTSUSA (“Annotated”), which provides for “Track suits, ski-suits and swimwear; other garments: Other garments, women’s or girls’: Of cotton: Other: Blouses, shirts and shirt-blouses, sleeveless tank styles and similar upper body garments, excluded from heading 6206: With two or more colors in the warp and/or filling.”
Item 325796 is comprised of two components: the top and the pouch. According to EN IX for GRI 3(b), a “composite good” is a good that is “made up of different components,” which may be “separable components, provided these components are adapted one to the other and are mutually complementary and that together they form a whole which would not normally be offered for sale in separate parts.” Here, the top and pouch meet the description of a composite good under the EN. The top and pouch are separable components that are adapted to each other and are mutually complementary based on the means of attachment. Additionally, they would not normally be offered for sale in separate parts. Although the top by itself may appear saleable, the interior would be adapted with buttons or Velcro for attachment to the pouch. Moreover, the detached pouch, also with fasteners, would not normally be sold without the top. Therefore, the top and detachable pouch are a composite good classifiable under GRI 3. Under GRI 3(b), composite goods must be classified based on the component that provides the article with its essential character. In this case, the shirt provides the essential character since it comprises the garment.
This is consistent with previous rulings wherein U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified a garment with a detachable pocket as a composite good to which the garment imparted the essential character. For example, New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N253483, dated June 6, 2014, concerned the classification of a pair of men’s cargo pants with removable hanging apron pockets that attached to the front of the waistband by four buttons. CBP determined that the pants and removable pockets constituted a composite good and that the pants imparted the essential character per GRI 3(b). Similarly, in NY N028717, dated May 29, 2008, CBP considered a blouse with a small removable self-fabric pouch to be a composite good with the essential character imparted by the blouse. In NY F83785, dated April 4, 2000, CBP classified a pair of women’s pants that featured a zip-on pocket as a composite good and determined that the pants provided the essential character. Furthermore, in NY E88183, dated November 19, 1999, CBP classified a women’s shirt with a detachable self-fabric pocket that buttoned to the right panel of the shirt. Under GRI 3(b), CBP determined that the shirt provided the essential character to the composite good.
Accordingly, the woven cotton peplum top and detachable pouch, regardless of size, will be classified together in heading 6206, HTSUS, and specifically under subheading 6206.30.30, HTSUS, which provides for “Women’s or girls’ blouses, shirts and shirt-blouses: Of cotton: Other: Other.”
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 3, the women’s woven peplum top with detachable pouch, Item 325796, is classified in heading 6206, HTSUS, and specifically in subheading 6206.30.30, HTSUS, which provides for “Women’s or girls’ blouses, shirts and shirt-blouses: Of cotton: Other: Other.” The 2022 general, column one, general rate of duty is 15.4% 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 on the internet at www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Yuliya A. Gulis, Chief Food, Textiles and Marking Branch