CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Joseph Kenny
Geodis USA Inc.
One CVS Drive
Woonsocket, RI 02895
RE: The tariff classification of a hanging shelf from China.
Dear Mr. Kenny:
In your letter dated January 24, 2018, on behalf of CVS Pharmacy Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling. Description and a photograph were provided.
CVS item number 311568 is identified as the “Locker Luxe Hanging Shelf.” The item has a U-shaped form, and consists of two sides made of 100% polyester woven material, two cardboard inserts encased in the same material as the two sides, and two iron or steel brackets. The two textile covered inserts act as shelving for the placement and retrieval of books, notebooks, school supplies, equipment, and various other personal objects and sundries. The two iron and steel brackets allow for the item to be hung from the top shelf of a metal school locker. You indicate that this item hangs 24 inches from the top to the bottom, and by weight the item is composed of 75% polyester, 20% iron or steel, 5% paper.
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.
A reading of the Legal Note 2, and 2 (a) and 2 (b) to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS, provides: at 2, that the articles (other than parts) referred to in the headings of 9401 to 9403 are to be classified in those headings only if they are designed for placing on the floor or ground; at 2 (a) and 2 (b), the following are, however, to be classified in the above headings even if they are designed to be hung, to be fixed to the wall or to stand one on the other --- 2 (a) Cupboards, bookcases, other shelved furniture (including single shelves presented with supports for fixing them to the wall) and unit furniture, and 2 (b) Seats and beds.
We recognize from Headquarters ruling [HQ 088961] dated June 13, 1991 till the 2012 Basic Edition of the HTSUS, that former Customs (CBP) did not consider single shelving designed to be mounted to walls or placed on other furniture to be articles of furniture classifiable in heading 9403, HTSUS. See also Headquarters rulings [HQ 088958] dated June 18, 1991 and [HQ 964503] dated August 14, 2001. It was rationalized in the three HQ rulings cited above that “only articles which are “furniture” similar to cupboards and bookcases in that they are substantial articles having the essential characteristic that they are used to equip a home, office, etc., and incorporate shelves in their construction, whether or not they are designed to be hung or fixed to the wall, are classifiable as “furniture” under heading 9403, HTSUSA.” This steadfast position of 20+ years was unsettled by means of the 2012 Basic Edition of the HTSUS, which included single shelves presented with supports for fixing them to the wall to be classified as “articles of furniture” within Chapter 94, HTSUS.
Consequently, New York Rulings: N068155 dated July 17, 2009 (hanging closet organizer); N098666 dated April 1, 2010 (hanging sweater organizer; and N180936 dated September 13, 2011 (shelf organizer); all dated prior to the addition and modification to Legal Note 2 (a) of the 2012 Basic Edition of the HTSUS, do not support our current position that single or multiple shelves presented with supports for mounting to walls or to be hung are articles of furniture of Chapter 94, HTSUS.
Accordingly, the “Locker Luxe Hanging Shelf” is classified in heading 9403, HTSUS, the heading for (“Other Furniture and parts thereof”). At the subheading level the merchandise concerned is composed of different components (textile, paper and metal), and is considered a composite good for tariff purposes. GRI 6 in conjunction with GRI 3 (b) is implicated. 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.
In regards to the “Locker Luxe Hanging Shelf,” we find that the 100% polyester woven material imparts the essential character to the good, in that all but the metal brackets are covered by the textile material and that the textile material by volume of coverage is what attracts the purchase of such a good.
The applicable subheading for the “Locker Luxe Hanging Shelf” will be 9403.89.6020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of other materials, including cane, osier, bamboo or similar materials: 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 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