CLA-2-32:OT:RR:NC:2:236
Ms. Sara Hinst
Costco Wholesale
999 Lake Drive
Issaquah, WA 98027
RE: The tariff classification of an art set (Item # 594587) from Vietnam
Dear Ms. Hinst:
In your ruling request received July 1, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling on an art set (Item # 594587).
In your submission, you identify and describe the product at issue as a 158 piece art set (Item # 594587), consisting of 30 acrylic paint tubes, 15 oil paint tubes, 15 watercolor paint tubes, 24 colored pencils, 24 watercolor cakes, 4 paint brushes, 2 learning guides, 3 palettes, 10 dry medium papers, 2 sketch pencils, 2 erasers, 1 pencil sharpener, 1 pre-printed canvas panel, and 34 fine oil pastels, all packaged for retail sale in a portable wooden storage case with accordion trays.
The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System, although not legally binding, 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 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 re-packing. 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. GRI 3 (c) provides that when goods cannot be classified by reference to GRI 3 (a) or 3 (b), they are to be classified in the heading that occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration.
We have determined that your suggested classification of 9609.90.8000 is incorrect.
The 158 piece art set will be classified as a set for tariff classification purposes in accordance with GRI 3(b), with the essential character imparted by the paints.
The applicable subheading for the158 piece art set will be 3213.10.0000, (HTSUS), which provides for Artists’, students’ or signboard painters’ colors, modifying tints, amusement colors and the like, in tablets, tubes, jars, bottles, pans or in similar forms or packings: Colors in sets. The general rate of duty will be 6.5 percent ad valorem on the entire set.
This merchandise may be subject to the requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which are administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Information on the TSCA can be obtained by contacting the EPA at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Mail Code 70480, Washington, D.C., by telephone at (202) 554-1404, or by visiting their website at www.epa.gov.
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/.
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 Nuccio Fera at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division