CLA-2-59:OT:RR:NC:TA:350
Clair Morhardt
Customer Service
UPS Supply Chain Solutions
150-20 132nd Avenue
Jamaica, NY 11434
RE: The tariff classification of Painting Fun Kit, item KID 12652, from China
Dear Ms. Morhardt:
In your letter dated March 5, 2008, on behalf of Sbar’s Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling.
A representative sample of the Painting Fun Kit was submitted. The Kit consists of an artist’s canvas, 5 acrylic paint tubes, 2 artist’s brushes, 1 plastic paint mixing palette with four mixing wells, and an instruction guide. There is no fiber content provided for the woven canvas. This letter will provide classification for the Kit when the canvas is composed of man-made fibers and when it is composed of other than man-made fibers (i.e. cotton). The prepared (primed) canvas is stretched over a wooden frame and held in place with staples. The canvas measures approximately 12” x 9”. The canvas has a pre-printed design of a castle, clouds, hearts, and the word “princess”. There are no numbers on the pre-printed canvas or the acrylic paints as in a traditional paint-by-numbers kit. The sample has been retained by this office.
The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System provide guidance in the interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System at the international level. Explanatory Note X to GRI 3(b) provides that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" means goods that: (a) consist of at least two 2 different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Goods classifiable under GRI 3(b) are classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, which may be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the article. This office considers the Painting Fun Kit, item KID 12652, to be a set for tariff classification purposes, with the essential character imparted by the artist’s canvas.
The applicable subheading for the Painting Fun Kit, item KID 12652, if the prepared artist’s canvas is made of man-made fibers, will be 5901.90.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for …prepared painting canvases, of man-made fibers. The rate of duty will be 7 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the Painting Fun Kit, item KID 12652, if the prepared artist’s canvas is made of other than man-made fibers, will be 5901.90.4000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for …prepared painting canvases , of other than man-made fibers. The rate of duty will be 4.1 percent 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 http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Even though the prepared artist’s canvas is included as a constituent part of the set for classification purposes, it still falls within textile category 229. With the exception of certain products of China, quota/visa requirements are no longer applicable for merchandise which is the product of World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries. Quota and visa requirements are the result of international agreements that are subject to frequent renegotiations and changes. To obtain the most current information on quota and visa requirements applicable to this merchandise, we suggest you check, close to the time of shipment, the “Textile Status Report for Absolute Quotas” which is available on our web site at www.cbp.gov. For current information regarding possible textile safeguard actions on goods from China and related issues, we refer you to the web site of the Office of Textiles and Apparel of the Department of Commerce at otexa.ita.doc.gov.
The prepared artist’s canvas and the paint brushes contained in this kit 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”).
The acrylic paints in this Paint Kit may be subject to the laws and regulations of the Consumer Product Safety Act. Import compliance information may be obtained by contacting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) at 4330 East West Highway, Bethesda, MD 20814, telephone (301) 504-7912.
The submitted sample is not marked with its country of origin. Section 134.11 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 134.11) provides in part:
Unless excepted by law...every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article, at the time of importation into the Customs territory of the U.S.
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 Deborah Walsh at (646) 733-3044.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division