CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Ruby Chan
Customs Compliance Analyst
Williams – Sonoma Inc.
151 Union Street
San Francisco, CA 94111
RE: The tariff classification of a floor standing, shelving unit from China.
Dear Ms. Chan:
In your letter dated May 21, 2012, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The Benchwright Ladder (sku# 8633315) is a floor standing, all wood shelving unit used for storage. The shelving unit is floor standing and resembles a stepladder with four shelves of different sizes. Each shelf is a “step” with the smallest “step” at the top and the largest at the bottom. Each shelf is a flat piece of wood with no lip or raised outer edge. On each of the four shelves there is a storage basket made of mild steel with a cotton/polyester liner. The size of each basket matches the size of each shelf, and is not permanently affixed to the wood. The shelving unit measures 17.75 inches long by 18 inches wide by 58 inches high. It is stated that the Benchwright Ladder is designed to be used for storage only, and not as a functional ladder.
The subject shelving unit is composed of different components (wood shelving unit and wire baskets with textile liners) and is considered a composite good. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), at General Rules of Interpretation {GRI} 3 (b) (VIII), state that the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good. In this case, the wood imparts the essential character to the good, in that the bulk, weight and cost of the shelving unit, is attributed to the wooden ladder with its wooden shelves.
With the shelving unit classified only in one heading, 9403, the issue becomes the proper ten-digit subheading for the item. Accordingly, GRI 6 is implicated. GRI 6 provides that the classification of goods at the subheading level shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules [GRIs 1 - 5], on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. The shelving unit is prima facie classifiable in subheadings 9403.50 (Wooden furniture of a kind used in the bedroom) and 9403.60 (Other wood furniture). It is our opinion, using GRI 6 in conjunction with GRI 3 (a) that the shelving unit is more specifically provided for in the subheading for wooden bedroom furniture, than the less descriptive subheading of other wooden furniture. See Len-Ron Manufacturing Co. v. United States, No. 02-1495, United States Court of Appeals, dated July 3, 2003. As such, the shelving unit is classified in subheading 9403.50, HTSUS.
The applicable subheading for the Benchwright ladder, shelving unit, will be 9403.50.9080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Wooden furniture of a kind used in the bedroom: Other: Other; Other.” The rate of duty will be 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 World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
The merchandise in question may be subject to Antidumping Duties (AD) or Countervailing Duties (CVD). Specifically, the storage ladder may be subject to AD for wooden bedroom furniture from China under the Department of Commerce case number A-570-890. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce, and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection. You can contact them at http://www.trade.gov/ia/ (click on “Contact Us”). For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on “Antidumping and countervailing duty investigations”), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov/.
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 Neil H. Levy at (646) 733-3036.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division