CLA-2-70:OT:RR:NC:N1:126
Doris M Chancy
234 E. Carson BL, Suite 7
Carson, CA 90745
RE: The tariff classification of a glass beverage dispenser from China
Dear Ms. Chancy:
In your letter dated September 12, 2018, on behalf of your client, Tabletops Unlimited, Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling regarding a glass beverage dispenser with stainless steel spigot.
A sample of the article was submitted with your ruling request. This sample was sent to our Customs and Border Protection Laboratory for analysis. Our laboratory has now completed its analysis.
The merchandise consists of a clear soda-lime glass mason jar beverage dispenser with a stainless steel spigot located approximately 1 inch from the bottom of the dispenser. It features a screw on stainless steel lid with a silicone seal. The logo and words, “Mason” Craft & More, is molded into the front of the glass. It measures approximately 12 ¾ inches high and 9 inches in diameter at its widest point. From the information you provided, you stated that the glass is used to dispense beverages. The value of the glass beverage dispenser with a stainless steel spigot is over five dollars.
The Lab analysis confirmed the glass is not pressed and toughened (specially tempered), and it has a linear coefficient of expansion which exceeds 5 x 10-6 per Kelvin within a temperature range of 0°C to 300°C.
In your letter you proposed that the glass beverage dispenser with a stainless steel spigot would be classifiable under subheading 8210.00.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Hand-operated mechanical appliances, weighing 10 kg or less, used in the preparation, conditioning or serving of food or drink, and base metal parts thereof.” We disagree as neither the glass container nor stainless steel spigot, whether separate or together, would be classifiable under heading 8210. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While not legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. Within the ENs for heading 8210 is a list of exemplars, this product is unlike any of those items. Therefore, subheading 8210.00.0000, HTSUS, does not apply.
The glass beverage dispenser with a stainless steel spigot is a composite good comprised of different materials that are classifiable in different headings. Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS, is in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) taken in order. GRI 3(b) of the HTSUS provides, in relevant part, that composite goods which cannot be classified by reference to GRI 3(a) shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character. The glass component provides the essential character of the glass beverage dispenser with a stainless steel spigot.
The applicable subheading for the glass beverage dispenser with a stainless steel spigot will be 7013.49.6000, HTSUS, which provides for “Glassware of a kind used for table…or kitchen purposes…other: other: valued over three dollars each: other: valued over five dollars each”. The rate of duty will be 7.2 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 the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
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 Elena Pietron at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division