CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:N4:234
R.A. Huff
Customer Service
ETNA Products Co., Inc.
99 Madison Avenue, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10016
RE: The tariff classification of a pet chair from China.
Dear R.A. Huff:
In your letter dated March 4, 2016, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Illustrative literature was provided. No material breakdown was provided by weight, cost or other identifying features. Nevertheless, based on the illustrative literature with photo an essential character analysis will be undertaken.
Item number 4696 is the “Wood Adirondack Pet Chair – with soft cushion.” The item measures 217/8 inches wide by 141/8 inches deep by 13 inches high. The merchandise concerned is marketed with the following features: (1) Styled after everyone’s favorite chair – now your furry friend can enjoy the same seating as the rest of the family, (2) Your four-legged friend will love curling up on the back deck or porch right alongside the family and (3) Perfect for outdoors and indoors.
Before proceeding to an essential character analysis, we must first address whether or not the furniture provision of Chapter 94 with its headings of 9401 through 9403 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) includes articles of furniture manufactured specifically and sized appropriately for pets and animals. We have consistently held that “furniture” is for human use only, rather than for use by pets or animals, and that furniture for use by humans in part consists of tables, chairs, bedsteads, desks and cabinets. Consequently, the merchandise concerned is not classifiable within the furniture provisions of Chapter 94 with its headings of 9401 through 9403, HTSUS; using the same position that furniture is for human use only, nor do we find that the merchandise concerned is classifiable within the furniture provisions of heading 4420, HTSUS. See Headquarter rulings HQ 086503 dated March 29, 1990 and HQ 089558 dated July 2, 1991.
When interpreting and implementing the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The merchandise concerned is composed of different components (i.e. wood and cushion of undisclosed materials) and is considered a composite good. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), 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.
It is our opinion that the essential character for the “Wood Adirondack Pet Chair – with soft cushion” is imparted by the wooden chair, in that the wood dominates by bulk and weight over the cushion, and moreover, provides not only the structure and frame on which the cushion is placed, but rather defines the nature and appearance of the miniature look-alike Adirondack Chair. As such, the merchandise concerned is classified in heading 4421, HTSUS, the heading for “Other articles of wood.”
The applicable subheading for item number 4696, the “Wood Adirondack Pet Chair – with soft cushion,” will be 4421.90.9780, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other articles of wood: Other: Other: Other: Other. The rate of duty will be 3.3% 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 World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
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 [email protected].
Sincerely,
Deborah C. Marinucci
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division