CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Elvira Eslava-Benson
Customs and Compliance Manager
Keeco LLC
30736 Wiegman Rd.
Hayward, CA 94544
RE: The tariff classification of a mattress pad from China.
Dear Ms. Eslava-Benson:
In your letter dated May 16, 2016, you requested a tariff classification ruling. As requested, the sample submitted of the queen size mattress pad will be returned to you.
The merchandise concerned is the “Better Homes and Gardens® Year-Round Flip Smarttm Mattress Pad,” distributed by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The mattress pad has a reversible design, in that it has a spring and summer season on one side featuring a lightweight, 300 thread count made of cotton and on the other side it has a fall and winter season featuring a warm and cozy Sherpa fleece. The mattress pad consists of a Top Section: “Top Fabric” 300TC, 100% cotton, ¾-inch damask strip-white; “Back Fabric” 210GSM, 100% polyester, Sherpa fleece; and “Filling” 6D Garnetted Polyfill with Microban®, 16oz/sq.yd. The mattress pad consists of a Bottom Section: “Platform” 40 GSM Needlepunch non-woven with 25 GSM Soft TPU Laminate; and “Skirt” 100% polyester knit, 70 GSM, 0.5 inch HD elastic on bottom, 18 inch cut, and 21 inch fit. In its “construction” there is an 8 inch wave pattern on the cotton side running through to the fleece side.
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is 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 on the basis of 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.
Because the good is reversible, we find no weight should be given to the designation of the “Top Fabric” of cotton and the “Back Fabric” of polyester. The two fabrics are [interchangeable] depending on season, but moreover, the two fabrics are interchangeable depending on personal choice and one’s level of comfort. As such, due to the fact that the “Better Homes and Gardens® Year-Round Flip Smarttm Mattress Pad” is constructed of a 100% cotton and 100% polyester, we find that “Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation 1 (d)” is implicated, which reads: the principles of Section XI regarding mixtures of two or more textile materials shall apply to the classification of goods in any provision in which a textile material is named. Section XI, Note 2 (A) states: “Goods classifiable in Chapters 50 to 55 or in heading 5809 or 5902 and of a mixture of two or more textile materials are to be classified as if consisting wholly of that one textile material which predominates by weight over each other single textile material. When no one textile material predominates by weight, the goods are to be classified as if consisting wholly of that one textile material which is covered by the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration.”
It is our opinion using GRI 6 at the subheading level in conjunction with Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation 1 (d) and Section XI, Note 2 (A), that the “Better Homes and Gardens® Year-Round Flip Smarttm Mattress Pad” is classifiable in [sub]heading 9404.90.9522. Our holding is based on the language of Section XI, Note 2 (A), in which neither the cotton nor the polyester predominates by weight, resulting in the [sub]heading occurring last numerically in the heading of 9404, HTSUS.
The applicable subheading for the “Better Homes and Gardens® Year-Round Flip Smarttm Mattress Pad” will be 9404.90.9522, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Mattress supports; articles of bedding and similar furnishing (for example, mattresses, quilts, eiderdowns, cushions, pouffes and pillows) fitted with springs or stuffed or internally fitted with any material or of cellular rubber or plastics, whether or not covered: Other: Other: Other: With outer shell of man-made fibers.” The duty rate will be 7.3% 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,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division