CLA-2-64:RR:NC:TP:347 D83576
Mr. Michael Cheika
Collette Dinnigan
Rm.2, Level 3, 19a Boundary St.
Rushcutters Bay, NSW 2011 Australia
RE: The tariff classification and marking of footwear from
Australia.
Dear Mr. Cheika:
In your letter dated September 16, 1998, you requested a
tariff classification ruling.
You state that you plan to import ladies footwear to the
United States. The footwear will consist of a leather sole and a
fabric upper. You state that the fabric upper is imported from
China but all other components are from Australia, and the shoe
will be manufactured wholly in Australia. You also ask about
what the needed documentation requirements and labeling
requirements would be. A footwear sample was not provided with
your request.
You ask whether it would be necessary for you to file form
5523 (invoice details of footwear). This form is no longer a
valid customs form, however, the information provided in the form
may be required for classification purposes by the Customs office
handling the importation. While the form is no longer required,
it remains a handy means of providing this information to the
Customs Service. A detailed description of the imported footwear
on the invoice will suffice in lieu of this form as per 19 C.F.R.
141.86.
Footwear must be marked with the country of origin as per 19
C.F.R. 134.11 which states, "every article of foreign origin (or
its container) imported into the United States shall be marked in
a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the
nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such manner
as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the
English name of the country of origin of the article, at the time
of importation into the Customs territory of the United States."
You state the shoes are produced in Australia from fabric
imported from China. Since the shoes undergo a substantial
transformation in Australia to produce the finished product, the
country of origin of the footwear will be Australia. Therefore,
"Made in Australia" would be an acceptable country of origin for
the shoes.
The applicable subheading for the shoes will be 6404.20.20,
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which
provides for footwear in which the upper's external surface is
predominately textile materials, in which the outer sole's
external surface is predominately leather or composition leather,
and which is, by weight, less than 10% rubber/plastic, or less
than 50% textile materials/rubber/plastic, not over $2.50 per
pair. The rate of duty will be 15% ad valorem. The applicable
subheading for the shoes will be 6404.20.40, HTS, which provides
for footwear in which the upper's external surface is
predominately textile materials, in which the outer sole's
external surface is predominately leather or composition leather,
and which is, by weight, less than 10% rubber/plastic, or less
than 50% textile materials/rubber/plastics, which is over $2.50
per pair. The applicable subheading for the shoe will be
6404.20.60, HTS, which provides for footwear in which the upper's
external surface is predominately textile materials, in which the
outer sole's external surface is predominately leather or
composition leather, and which is, by weight, over 50% as a total
of textile materials, rubber and/or plastics, and over 10% of
rubber and/or plastics. The rate of duty will be 37.5% ad
valorem.
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 Richard
Foley at 212-466-5890.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division