CLA-2-61:OT:RR:NC:3:353
6104.63.2011: 6704.11.0000; 6704.19.0000
Ms. Cherry Lin
Tom’s Toy International (HK) Ltd.
Room 604-6, Concordia Plaza
1 Science Museum Road
TST East, Kowloon, Hong Kong
RE: The tariff classification of Santa Claus Costumes from China.
Dear Ms. Lin:
In your letter received by this office on April 4, 2008, you requested a classification ruling. As requested, the samples will be returned to you.
You have submitted two samples. Item # CL182 is a child’s unisex Santa Claus costume constructed of knit 65% acrylic and 35% polyester faux fur fabric. The well-made costume consists of a lined top/jacket and lined pants. The top has a well-made collar, a well-made neckline, reinforced seams, a back opening with a button closure and well-made edges. The pants have a well-made waist with an adjustable drawstring, reinforced seams and finished ankles. The top may be worn as a jacket over other clothing or as a shirt over undergarments. We believe it will be principally used as a shirt worn over an undershirt and a pillow or some other type of stuffing to achieve the Santa Claus image. The costume also includes a same fabric Santa Claus hat, cellular plastic belt and boot covers.
Item # CL181 is an adult unisex Santa Claus costume constructed of knit 74% acrylic and 26% polyester faux fur fabric. The well-made costume consists of a top/jacket and pants. The top has a well-made collar, a well-made neckline, reinforced seams, a full frontal opening with a zipper closure and well-made edges. The pants have a well-made waist, reinforced seams and finished ankles. The top may be worn as a jacket over other clothing or as a shirt over undergarments. We believe it will be principally used as a shirt worn over an undershirt and a pillow or some other type of stuffing to achieve the Santa Claus image. The costume also includes a same fabric Santa Claus hat and cellular plastic belt, boot covers, eyeglasses without lenses, man-made fabric wig and man-made fabric beard.
The Santa Clause suits consist of two or more garments. Note 14 of Section XI, of the HTSUS, requires that textile garments of different headings be separately classified, thus preventing classification of costumes consisting of two or more garments as sets. If a set cannot exist by application of Note 14, the articles that may be packaged with the garments must also be classified separately.
The applicable subheading for Item # CL182 children’s top will be 6106.20.2030, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for woman’s or girls’ blouses and shirts, knitted or crocheted: of man-made fibers: other, girl’s: other. The duty rate will be 32 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for Item # CL182 children’s pants will be 6104.63.2028, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for women’s or girls’ suits, ensembles, suit-type jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts. Divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts: trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts: of synthetic fibers: other: other, trousers and breeches: girls’: other: other. The duty rate will be 28.2 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for belt, both costumes, glasses, adult costume and boot covers, both costumes will be 9505.90.6000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical jokes articles: parts and accessories thereof: other: other. The duty rate will be Free.
The applicable subheading for Item #CL181 adult top will be 6106.20.2010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for woman’s or girls’ blouses and shirts, knitted or crocheted: of man-made fibers: other, woman’s. The duty rate will be 32 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for Item # CL181 adult pants will be 6104.63.2011, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for women’s or girls’ suits, ensembles, suit-type jackets, blazers, dresses, skirts. Divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts: trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts: of synthetic fibers: other: other, trousers and breeches:women’s: other. The duty rate will be 28.2 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for Item # CL181adult costume wig will be 6704.11.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for wigs, false beards, eyebrows and eyelashes, switches and the like, of human or animal hair or of other textile materials, articles of human hair not elsewhere specified or included: of synthetic textile materials: complete wigs. The duty rate will be Free.
The applicable subheading for Item # CL181 adult costume beard will be 6704.19.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for wigs, false beards, eyebrows and eyelashes, switches and the like, of human or animal hair or of other textile materials, articles of human hair not elsewhere specified or included: of synthetic textile materials: other. The duty rate will be Free.
The classification of the Santa Hats involves a consideration of whether the merchandise may be classifiable in Chapter 95 as “festive.”
Section 177.7 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. §177.7) provides that rulings will not be issued in certain circumstances. Specifically, § 177.7(b) reads, in pertinent part:
No ruling letter will be issued with respect to any issue which is pending before the United States Court of International Trade, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit or any court of appeal therefrom.
As such, CBP will not issue a classification ruling with regard to the Santa hats at this time. The classification determination may be impacted by court cases currently pending in the Court of International Trade. See Michael Simons Designs, Inc. v. United States, Ct. No. 04-00537; Berwick Industries, Inc. v. United States, Ct. Nos. 98-12-03189, 96-01-00263, 99-01-000436, 99-03-00121, 99-03-00158, 99-06-00356, 98-09-02897, 97-05-00789, 97-06-00983, 97-08-01400, 96-12-0738, 96-05-01359, and 96-04-01197; Waterford Wedgwood USA, Inc. v. United States, Ct. Nos. 00-05-00215, 99-03-00133 and 99-11-00721; Cuthbertson Imports Inc. v. United States, Ct. No. 03-00846; and Wilton Industries, Inc. v. United States, Ct. Nos. 00-11-00528, 00-01-00218, 00-03-00014, 00-03-00015, 00-04-00193, 00-04-00194 and 00-04-00250.
If you wish, you may resubmit your request for a prospective ruling after the appropriate court cases have been resolved. The above referenced file is hereby administratively closed.
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 World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Items # CL182 and CL81 tops fall within textile category designation 639. Items # CL182 and CL 181 pants fall within textile category designation 648. With the exception of certain products of China, quota/visa requirements are no longer applicable for merchandise which is the product of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries. Quota and visa requirements are the result of international agreements that are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes. To obtain the most current information on quota and visa requirements applicable to this merchandise, we suggest you check, close to the time of shipment, the “Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas” which is available on our web site at www.cbp.gov. For current information regarding possible textile safeguard actions on goods from China and related issues, we refer you to the web site of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce at otexa.ita.doc.gov.
Please note that separate Federal Trade Commission marking requirements exist regarding country of origin, fiber content, and other information that must appear on many textile items. You should contact the Federal Trade Commission, Division of Enforcement, 6th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., 20580, for information on the applicability of these requirements to this item.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Kenneth Reidlinger at 646-733-3053.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division