CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Geri Davidson
Import Department
The Container Store
500 Freeport Parkway
Coppell, TX 75019-3863
RE: The tariff classification of a closet organizer from China.
Dear Ms. Davidson:
In your letter dated June 29, 2018, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Description and sample were provided. Additional product information was obtained through the website of containerstore.com.
SKU # 1071573 is described on the company website as the Container Store® “3-Compartment Natural Canvas Hanging Sweater Organizer.” The merchandise concerned is made from outer materials of 70% polyester and 30% cotton (poly-cotton canvas), has a reinforced top panel and shelves sandwiched between cardboard, and attaches to a closet rod by means of two metal hooks. The merchandise concerned holds up to twelve sweaters and can also accommodate other articles of clothing, as well as provide storage capacity for handbags and accessories. This item is depicted on the company website and in sample as having three compartments, shelves, in which to organize sweaters.
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. See also New York ruling N293709 dated February 23, 2018.
Accordingly, the “3-Compartment Natural Canvas Hanging Sweater Organizer” 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 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 “3-Compartment Natural Canvas Hanging Sweater Organizer,” we find that the poly-cotton canvas imparts the essential character to the good, in that all but the metal hooks 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 SKU # 1071573, the Container Store® “3-Compartment Natural Canvas Hanging Sweater Organizer” will be 9403.89.6015, 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 household.” 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 the 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