CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 959178 SK
Laura L. Hager
Hellmann Transport Services, Inc.
2551 Santa Fe Avenue
Redondo Beach, CA 90278
RE: Country of origin determination; Section 102.21, Customs
Regulations; classification of finished and unfinished, partially
assembled golf bag; HRL 958915 (2/27/96); HRL 957006 (6/27/95).
Dear Ms. Hager:
This is in response to your letter of April 25, 1996, on
behalf of Belding Sports of Oxnard, California, in which you
request a country of origin determination for both a finished and
unfinished, partially assembled golf bag body. No sample was
submitted to this office for examination.
FACTS:
Two manufacturing scenarios were presented to this office
for consideration. In Scenario 1, polypropylene fabric will be
manufactured in the United States. The fabric is shipped to
China where it is cut, sewn and assembled to form a golf bag
body. The China assembly operations include attaching all the
hardware and zippers, except for the bottom, top cuff and
internal tube support. The unfinished, partially assembled golf
bag body is then exported to the United States where it is
assembled to completion by means of sewing the moulded plastic
bottom into place, inserting and sewing into place the
cylindrical plastic internal tube support and sewing on the top
four inches of the golf bag (the "cuff").
Scenario 2 is identical to Scenario 1 except that the golf
bag body is assembled to completion in China before export to the
United States.
ISSUES:
What is the proper classification for the subject
merchandise under the two manufacturing scenarios presented to
this office?
What is the country of origin for the subject merchandise?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
In order to determine the country of origin for this
merchandise, it is necessary to ascertain the proper
classification of the golf bag body, both in its finished, fully
assembled condition and in its unfinished, partially assembled
condition.
CLASSIFICATION
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is governed
by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides
that classification shall be determined according to the terms of
the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, taken in
order. Merchandise that cannot be classified in accordance with
GRI 1 is to be classified in accordance with subsequent GRI's,
taken in order.
Heading 4202, HTSUSA, provides, in part, for travel, sports
and similar bags.
The Explanatory Note to heading 4202, HTSUSA, at page 613,
indicates that golf bags are regarded as sports bags for purposes
of classification within this heading.
GRI 2(a) states:
"Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to
include a
reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided
that, as
entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the
essential
character of the complete or finished article. It shall
also include a
reference to that article complete or finished (or failing
to be classified
as complete or finished by virtue of this rule), entered
unassembled or disassembled."
Customs' initial determination, therefore, is whether a
partially assembled golf bag, in its condition as imported, is
classifiable as a complete or finished golf bag. We will address
each scenario, described supra, separately.
In Scenario 1, the golf bag body is imported in an
unfinished, partially assembled state. The golf bag body does
not have a bottom, top cuff or internal support tube. This
office has previously held that golf bag bodies, imported without
their remaining components, do not possess the essential
character of the finished article. See Headquarters Ruling
Letters (HRL's) 085391, dated December 20, 1989, 957006, dated
June 27, 1995, and 958915, dated February 27, 1996. The golf bag
body in Scenario 1, imported into the United States without a
bottom, top cuff and internal tube support, will therefore be
classifiable according to its constituent materials. As the
instant golf body bag is described in a manner substantially
similar to those classified in the above-cited rulings, we
conclude it is classifiable under subheading 6307.90.9989,
HTSUSA, which is the residual provision for articles of textiles.
We further note that the remaining articles do not, by
themselves, possess the essential character of a finished golf
bag. Accordingly, the bottom component, top cuff and internal
tube support are classifiable according to their constituent
materials in the appropriate headings.
In your letter to this office you do not indicate whether
the various unassembled golf bag body components will arrive in
the United States in separate shipments, or whether the articles
are merely packaged or boxed separately. If the former
importation scenario applies, the golf bag body and top cuff will
be classifiable separately in subheading 6307.90.9989, HTSUSA,
and the plastic bottom and plastic internal tube support will be
classifiable under subheading 3926.90.9890, HTSUSA, for the
reasons set forth supra. If, however, these articles arrive in
the United States in the same shipment, but are merely packaged
separately, and these components comprise the finished golf bag
in its entirety, the unassembled components will be collectively
classified as a complete or finished sports bag, of man-made
fibers, under subheading 4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, as per GRI 2(a).
In Scenario 2 the golf bag body is imported into the United
States in a fully assembled condition and is classifiable under
subheading 4202.92.3030, HTSUSA.
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
Pursuant to the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, new rules of
origin will be effective for textile or apparel products entered,
or withdrawn from warehouse for
consumption, on or after July 1, 1996. These rules were
published in the Federal
Register, 60 Fed. Reg. 46188 (September 5, 1995). Section
102.21, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR Section 102.21), sets forth the general rules
which determine country of origin. The country of origin of a
textile or apparel product will be determined by a hierarchy of
rules set forth in paragraphs (c)(1) through (c)(5) of Section
102.21.
Section 102.21(c)(1) sets forth the general rule for
determining the country of origin of a textile or apparel product
in which the good is wholly obtained or produced in a single
country, territory, or insular possession.
Section 102.21(c)(2) provides for instances where the
country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be
determined under Section 102.21(c)(1). Section 102.21 (c)(2)
provides:
"[W]here the country of origin of a textile or apparel
product
cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1) of this
section,
the country of origin of the good is the single
country, territory,
or insular possession in which each foreign material
incorporated
in that good underwent an applicable change in tariff
classification,
and/or met any other requirement, specified for the
good in
paragraph (e) of this section."
As set forth supra, in Scenario 1 the unfinished, partially
assembled golf bag body, if imported in a separate shipment from
its remaining unassembled components (i.e., the bag bottom, top
cuff and internal tube support), is classifiable under subheading
6307.90, HTSUSA. If the golf bag body arrives in the United
States in the same shipment as the remainder of its unassembled
components, but is merely packaged separately, this office deems
the golf bag body an unassembled golf bag and, pursuant to GRI
2(a), classifiable under subheading 4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, as a
complete or finished sports bag of man-made fibers.
In Scenario 2 the golf bag is imported into the United
States in a fully assembled condition and is classifiable under
subheading 4202.92.3030, HTSUSA.
Section 102.21(c)(1) does not provide the relevant analysis
in either scenario because the subject merchandise is not wholly
obtained or produced in a single country, territory, or insular
possession. Accordingly, we turn to Section 102.21(c)(2) which
directs us to paragraph (e) of this section. The two pertinent
parts of paragraph (e) state that origin is conferred in the
following situations:
4202.92.15 - 4202.92.30 A change to subheading 4202.92.15
through 4202.92.30 from any other
heading, provided
that the change is the result of the good
being
wholly assembled in a single country,
territory
or insular possession.
6307.90 The country of origin of a good
classifiable under
subheading 6307.90 is the country,
territory or
insular possession in which the fabric
comprising
the good was formed by a fabric-making
process.
In Scenario 1, if the golf bag body is classifiable under
subheading 6307.90, HTSUSA, the country of origin is the United
States pursuant to Section 102.21(c)(2) as this is where the
fabric is woven. Be advised, however, that there is an exception
for products from the United States that are sent abroad for
processing. Section 12.130(c), Customs Regulations, provides
that any product of the United States which is returned after
having been advanced in value or improved in condition abroad, or
assembled abroad, shall be a foreign article. Section 12.130,
which remains in effect, was originally intended to be used to
determine the country of origin of textiles and textile products
for quota/visa requirements. In Treasury Decision ("T.D.") 90-17, issued February 23, 1990, Customs announced a change in
practice and position. This change resulted in Customs using
Section 12.130 for quota, duty and marking purposes when making
country of origin determinations for textile goods. Therefore,
in this particular manufacturing and importing scenario, in
accordance with T.D. 90-17 and Section 12.130(c), the country of
origin of the unfinished, partially assembled golf bag body is
China for quota, duty and marking purposes, as it is in China
that the U.S.-origin fabric is advanced in value by means of
cutting, sewing and partial assembly.
In Scenario 2, the golf bag is classifiable in subheading
4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, and it is wholly assembled in China.
Therefore, pursuant to Section 102.21(c)(2), China is the country
of origin of the golf bag in this instance.
We distinguish Scenario 2 from Scenario 1, however, where
the golf bag body may also be classifiable under subheading
4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, if it arrives in the United States in the
same shipment as the remainder of its unassembled components,
but is merely packaged separately, and this office deems the golf
bag body and its
remaining components an unassembled golf bag. In this situation,
although the golf bag body is classifiable under subheading
4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, Section 102.21(c)(2) does not provide the
appropriate analysis because assembly takes place in more than a
single country (i.e., in China and the United States).
Accordingly, we continue in our hierarchical application of
Section 102.21(c).
Section 102.21(c)(3) governs instances where country of
origin of a textile or
apparel product cannot be determined pursuant to paragraphs
(c)(1) or (c)(2) and provides:
(i) "[I]f the good was knit to shape, the country of origin
of the good is
the single country, territory, or insular possession in
which the good
was knit; or
(ii) Except for goods of heading 5609, 5807, 5811, 6213,
6214, 6301
through 6306, and 6308, and subheadings 6209.20.5040,
6307.10,
6307.90, and 9404.90, if the good was not knit to shape
and the
good was wholly assembled in a single country,
territory, or insular
possession, the country of origin of the good is the
country, territory,
or insular possession in which the good was wholly
assembled."
Section 102.21(c)(3) is inapplicable because the subject
merchandise is neither knit to shape nor wholly assembled in a
single country.
Section 102.21(c)(4) provides:
"[W]here the country of origin of a textile or apparel
product
cannot be determined under paragraph (c)(1), (2) or (3)
of
this section, the country of origin of the good is the
single
country, territory, or insular possession in which the
most
important assembly or manufacturing process occurred."
In Scenario 1, if the golf bag body is classifiable under
subheading 4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, the relevant analysis is
provided by Section 102.21(c)(4). The determinative issue is
where the most important assembly operation transpires.
In Scenario 1, the most important assembly operation transpires
in China as it is in this country that the majority of the golf
bag body is assembled to completion.
HOLDING:
If the golf bag body and its unassembled components are
imported in separate shipments, the golf bag body and top cuff
will be classifiable separately in subheading 6307.90.9989,
HTSUSA, and the plastic bottom and plastic internal tube support
will be classifiable under subheading 3926.90.9890, HTSUSA.
Subheading 6307.90.9989, HTSUSA, provides for other made up
articles, including dress patterns: other: other: other... other:
other... . The applicable rate of duty is 7 percent ad valorem.
Subheading 3926.90.9890, HTSUSA, provides for other articles of
plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to
3914: other: other... other... . The applicable rate of duty is
5.3 percent ad valorem.
If the golf bag body and its remaining unassembled
components are imported together in the same shipment, or if the
golf bag is imported in its wholly assembled condition, the
merchandise is classifiable under subheading 4202.92.3030,
HTSUSA, which provides for, in pertinent part, other sports bag,
of man-made fibers, dutiable at a rate of 19.5 percent ad
valorem. The attendant textile quota category is 670.
In Scenario 1, if the golf bag body is classifiable under
subheading 4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, the country of origin is China
pursuant to Section 102.21(c)(4).
In Scenario 1, if the golf bag body is classifiable under
subheading 6307.90, HTSUSA, the country of origin is the United
States pursuant to Section 102.21(c)(2), however, in accordance
with T.D. 90-17 and Section 12.130(c), the country of origin of
the unfinished, partially assembled golf bag body is China for
quota, duty and marking purposes.
In Scenario 2, the golf bag is classifiable under subheading
4202.92.3030, HTSUSA, and the country of origin is China pursuant
to Section 102.21(c)(2).
The holding set forth above applies only to the specific
factual situation and merchandise identified in the ruling
request. This position is clearly set forth in section 19 CFR
177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued
on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the
ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication,
is accurate and complete in every material respect.
Should it be subsequently determined that the information
furnished is not complete and does not comply with 19 CFR
177.9(b)(1), the ruling will be subject to
modification or revocation. In the event there is a change in
the facts previously furnished, this may affect the determination
of country of origin. Accordingly, if there is any change in the
facts submitted to Customs, it is recommended that a new ruling
request be submitted in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification Appeals
Division