CLA-2-48:OT:RR:NC:2:234
Ms. Carla Graca
All-Ways Forwarding Int’l Inc.
701 Newark Ave
Elizabeth, NJ 07208
RE: The tariff classification and country of origin of “Gift Boxes”, Style# V27978 from China.
Dear Ms. Graca:
In your letter dated April 11, 2013, you requested a tariff classification and country of origin ruling, on behalf of your client Flexo Craft Prints, Inc. The sample will be retained in our office.
The ruling was requested on a three pack folded gift box set, Style# V27978. Each box consists of a two-piece collapsible, non-corrugated, rectangular shaped paperboard gift box measuring approximately 14.75" (W) x 9.37" (D) x 1.93" (H). The hinges are glued to the lid and container. The gift box lid is printed with metallic gold and white Christmas tree, swirl or snowflake designs. The intended use of the gift box is to hold shirts, blouses, sweaters and other gift items. The gift boxes are packaged together in shrink wrap for retail sale.
The applicable subheading for the gift box assortment, Style# V27978 will be 4819.20.0040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Cartons, boxes, cases, bags and other packing containers, of paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding or webs of cellulose fibers; box files, letter trays and similar articles, of paper or paperboard of a kind used in offices, shops or the like: Folding cartons, boxes and cases, of non-corrugated paper or paperboard: Other. The duty rate 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/.
In your request for a binding ruling, you indicated that a white paperboard material from Indonesia would be purchased and imported into the country of China for further processing, such as printing, cutting, gluing and creating shrink-wrapped packages. Your question is whether the country of origin for the finished new product (gift box) would be Indonesia or China.
The country of origin for marking purposes is defined at 134.1(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.1(b), to mean the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the country of origin within the meaning of part 134. A substantial transformation occurs when an article loses its identity and becomes a new article having a new name, character or use.
In this case, the white paperboard from Indonesia was substantially transformed as a result of the processing in China to create a new article, the paperboard gift box. China is considered to be the country of origin of the imported gift box assortment.
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://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 Albert Gamble at (646) 733-3037.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division