CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 088322 KWM
Mr. Jeffrey H. Pfeffer
Fritz Companies, Inc.
40 Exchange Place, 12th Floor
New York, New York 10005
RE: Folding paperboard carton stock; polyethylene coated
paperboard; aluminum foil lined paperboard; juice
cartons; paperboard carton stock in rolls; printed carton
stock; printed matter; coated paperboard; materials used
for articles; incomplete or unassembled.
Dear Mr. Pfeffer:
We have received your letter dated November 7, 1990, on
behalf of your client Tetra Pak, Inc., in which you request a
binding tariff classification ruling for folding carton stock
made from printed paperboard. Your correspondence and
representative samples of the merchandise were forwarded to
this office for a reply.
FACTS:
The merchandise referred to as folding carton stock
consists of paperboard which has been printed with a design
selected by the importer's customer. The outside of the
paperboard is coated with polyethylene and the inner surface
lined with aluminum foil. The merchandise is cut into rolls
of approximately 17,500 individual packages for importation.
The cartons are used as containers for liquids such a fruit
juice. The rolls are loaded into a machine which forms the
paperboard into a long tube. The tube is filled with the
drink product and sealing jaws cut and seal the package below
the level of the product, forming a square carton.
ISSUE:
Is the folding carton stock classified as coated
paperboard or as folding containers for beverages?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Your letter suggests that heading 4811, Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is the proper
classification for this merchandise. We do not agree.
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is made in accordance with
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). The systematic
detail of the harmonized system is such that virtually all
goods are classified by application of GRI 1, that is,
according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule
and any relevant Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that
the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1,
and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require,
the remaining GRI's may be applied, taken in order.
Here, we have considered two headings of the nomenclature
for classification:
4811 Paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding and webs
of cellulose fibers, coated, impregnated,
covered, surface colored, surface-decorated or
printed, in rolls or sheets, other than goods
of heading 4803, 4809, 4810 or 4818:
4819 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:
These two provisions describe, respectively, materials and
articles, the difference being the degree of finishing,
processing and/or dedication to use exhibited by the item.
The cartons at issue here are composed of materials described
in heading 4811, HTSUSA, and will eventually become containers
described in heading 4819, HTSUSA. The issue then is to
determine whether the rolls of carton stock are sufficiently
advanced to be considered articles (albeit incomplete or
unfinished) or whether they are materials. We believe that
they are articles of heading 4819, HTSUSA.
Under the Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS),
the predecessor to the HTSUSA, containers such as these were
classified as "boxes." However, the TSUS did not have a
materials provision comparable to heading 4811 of the HTSUSA
(coated paperboard in rolls). Therefore, the "boxes"
provision included numerous articles in various stages of
completion. Under the HTSUSA, we believe that heading 4819,
HTSUSA, will be more narrow than its TSUS predecessor. Simple
coated paperboard material becomes classifiable as an carton
of heading 4819, HTSUSA, when its character or identity as an
article becomes evident, an it has been finished or processed
to the point at which it has become irrevocably committed to
use as that article. The Explanatory Notes, which are the
official interpretation of the nomenclature at the
international level, recognize that articles of heading 4819,
HTSUSA, are of this type:
The heading includes folding cartons boxes and
cases. These are:
- cartons, boxes and cases in the flat in one piece,
for assembly by folding and slotting (e.g., cake
boxes);
and
- containers assembled or intended to be assembled by
means of glue, staples, etc., on one side only, the
construction of the container itself providing the
means of forming the other sides . . .
* * *
The articles of this group may be printed, e.g., with the
name of the merchant, directions for use, illustrations
. . .
For example, the instant carton stock has been cut into rolls,
creased, marked and punched in such a manner that the
character of a drink container has become evident. In
addition, it has been printed, lined, and coated which, in
addition to the creasing, commit it to use as a drink
container. It has been processed beyond the degree of goods
found in the materials heading, 4811, HTSUSA, which serves to
classify unprinted, blank or bleached carton stock and parts
of cartons which, by themselves, do not yet carry the
character of a container.
Your letter assertions that the proper classification of
the cartons is as a material in heading 4811, HTSUSA. Your
assertion is based on the language of the heading which
provides for coated paperboard in "rolls or sheets", and your
understanding that the Explanatory Notes limit heading 4819,
HTSUSA, to singular cartons ("in one piece" as opposed to "in
rolls or sheets"). First, we do not read the Explanatory
Notes to segregate merchandise imported in single units versus
roll or bulk form between heading 4819 and 4811, HTSUSA,
respectively. The terms "in one piece" provide for cartons
boxes, etc., which are complete in and of themselves, as
opposed to boxes which have two or more components such as a
bottom and top/lid. There is no restriction that would serve
to exclude boxes or cartons in one piece from being imported
in bulk or roll form. Secondly, your letter raises the issue
of specificity. Assuming that we considered this merchandise
to be described equally by both heading 4811 and 4819, HTSUSA,
we would still classify the cartons in heading 4819, HTSUSA,
because it provides more specifically for the goods. The
provision clearly identifies a product (cartons, boxes) and
describes the use to which those items are put.
Our New York office has raised a question regarding
marking found on one of the samples as it pertains to country
of origin. In light of recent judicial action, we suggest
that you review the regulations concerning the marking of
imported goods and consider requesting a binding ruling as to
the correct marking of these products. Your request may be
addressed directly to this office.
HOLDING:
The merchandise at issue, folding paperboard carton
stock, printed and coated with polyethylene, has acquired the
character of a container. It is classified in subheading
4819.20.0020, HTSUSA, as folding cartons of paper, comprising
sanitary beverage containers. The applicable rate of duty is
2.8 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John A. Durant
Director
Commercial Rulings Division