CLA-2-48:OT:RR:NC:2:234
Mr. Terrence O’Neill
Maersk Customs Services Inc.
680 Knox Street, Suite 200
Torrance, CA 90502
RE: The tariff classification of a “Favor Set” from various countries
Dear Mr. O’Neill:
In your letter dated October 2, 2009 you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client Amscan, Inc.
The ruling was requested on Item No. 390702, “Favor Set”. Two samples were submitted for our examination which will be returned to you as requested. The “Favor Set” is a seasonal party favor which contains a notepad, sticker sheet and pencil. The items are wrapped in a clear cellophane wrapper and decorated in a seasonal snowman pattern. The soft cover notepad opens upward, contains nineteen blank pages and measures approximately 2 inches (w) x 4 inches (h). The design printed notepad is illustrated on the front cover with a snowman and the words “HAPPY HOLIDAYS”. The sticker sheet contains twelve self adhesive, die-cut, lithographically printed snowman pictured stickers on a release paper. There is one unsharpened wooden pencil with an eraser included for use.
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) states that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" means goods that: (a) consist of at least two 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.
The items do not constitute a set for tariff purposes since the components are not put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity. Consequently, each article in the package must be classified under its own appropriate tariff heading.
The applicable subheading for the notepad will be 4820.10.2060, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Registers, account books, notebooks, order books, receipt books, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles, exercise books, blotting pads, binders (looseleaf or other), folders, file covers, manifold business forms,
interleaved carbon sets and other articles of stationery, of paper or paperboard; albums for samples or for collections and book covers (including cover boards and book jackets) of paper or paperboard: Other. The rate of duty will be Free.
The applicable subheading for the sticker sheet will be 4911.91.2040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Other printed matter, including printed pictures and photographs: Other: Pictures, designs and photographs: Printed not over 20 years at the time of importation: Other: Lithographs on paper or paperboard: Not over 0.51 mm in thickness: Other. The rate of duty will be Free.
The applicable subheading for the pencil will be 9609.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a rigid sheath. The rate of duty will be 14 cents per gross plus 4.3 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/.
The pencils may be subject to antidumping 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 may write to them at the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Antidumping Compliance, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20230. 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” on the lower right hand side under “Investigations"), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov.
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 Wilson at (646) 733-3037.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division