CLA-2-48:OT:RR:NC:2:234
Ms. Yun Zheng
CellMark, Inc.
200 Tamal Plaza, Suite 200
Corte Madera, CA 94925
RE: The tariff classification of poster board sheets with a paper stencil from China
Dear Ms. Zheng:
In your letter dated March 16, 2011, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
In your original letter received in this office on January 4, 2011 you requested a tariff classification ruling for a composition notebook and poster board samples. At that time you received ruling N140787 dated February 2, 2011 which only addressed the composition notebook and additional information was requested on the poster board samples. This information was received in this office on March 21, 2011. This office is now issuing you a classification ruling on the poster board in question.
The submitted samples were several sheets of loose poster board, a shrink wrapped package containing five assorted sheets of poster board with a die-cut, paper stencil included and six photos of the poster board packaging for our examination. You state that the classification request is only for the shrink wrapped sample which will be addressed in this letter.
The shrink wrapped package of poster board includes three white sheets, one neon pink sheet, one neon green sheet and one die-cut, paper stencil that feature letters, numbers, and symbols. The poster board sheets measure approximately 22 inches x 28 inches (55.8 cm x 71.1 cm). The die-cut, paper stencil sheet measures approximately 13 inches x 19 inches. The six photos show the poster board packaging in various quantities and colors available to the consumer.
In response to an inquiry from our office, you state in your letter that the poster board sheets consist of 100% virgin pulp obtained by a chemi-mechanical processing, weigh 230 grams per square meters, have a thickness of 315 microns, are coated with China clay (gesso), have an ash content of 16 m2, a brightness of 87 percent, and bleached uniformly throughout the mass. The five sheets of poster board and the die-cut paper stencil are “packaged together for retail sale” in clear shrink wrapped plastic. The poster board imparts the essential character of the item which will be used for writing and drawing.
The applicable subheading for the packaged poster board and paper stencil sheet will be 4810.92.1200, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Paper and paperboard, coated on one or both sides with kaolin (China clay) or other inorganic substances with or without a binder, and with no other coating, whether or not surface-colored, surface-decorated or printed, in rolls or rectangular (including square) sheets, of any size: Other paper or paperboard: Multiply: Weighing more than 150 g/m2. 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 merchandise in question 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 Albert Gamble at (646) 733-3037.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division