CLA-2-84:OT:RR:E:NC:1:104

Mr. Jose L. Chamorro
Target Customs Brokers Inc.
7000 Target Parkway North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55445

RE: The tariff classification of a 38 piece household tool set from China

Dear Mr. Chamorro:

In your letter dated February 1, 2008 on behalf of Target Stores, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The 38 piece Black & Decker Household Tool Set, Item No. 085-05-0142/Vendor Style No. 51-904 consists of the following articles: 1 - 12 oz. Fiberglass Hammer 1 - 10' Tape Measure 1 - 6" Magnetic Torpedo Level 1 - Utility Knife 12 - Hex Key Set 1 - 6" Slip Joint Pliers 1 - Alkaline Powered Screwdriver (4 AA batteries included) 19 - 1" Screwdriving Bit Tips (10 bit tips on one bit bar; 9 bit tips on another bit bar together with a magnetic bit tip holder) 1 - Nylon Carrying Bag bearing the Black & Decker logo The above articles are shipped and sold as a set. The retail packaging is a cardboard sleeve picturing and describing the contents with a cutout on the top for the handles of the tool bag so that the package can be easily lifted. General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 1, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), states in part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. Goods that are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, are classifiable in accordance with GRI 3, HTSUS. GRI 3(a) states in part that when two or more headings each refer to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific, even if one heading gives a more precise description of the goods.

The instant tool kit consists of at least two different articles that are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings. It consists of articles put up together to carry out a specific activity (i.e., home repair and decorating). Finally, the articles are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Therefore, the kit in question is within the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale." GRI 3(b) states in part that goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), are to be classified as if they consisted of the component which gives them their essential character. In its imported condition, the kit is a set whose essential character is imparted by the powered screwdriver.

The applicable subheading for the 38 piece Black & Decker Household Tool Set, Item No. 085-05-0142/Vendor Style No. 51-904 will be 8467.29.0040, HTSUS, which provides for Tools for working in the hand, pneumatic, hydraulic or with self-contained electric or nonelectric motor, and parts thereof: With self-contained electric motor: Other…Screwdrivers, nut-runners and impact wrenches. 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 fiberglass hammer may be subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties. 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://www.cbp.gov (click on “Import” and “AD/CVD”).

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 Patricia O’Donnell at 646-733-3011.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division