CLA-2 RR:TC:TE 959328 GGD
6307.90.9989
Ms. Carol Hagyard
A.N. Deringer, Inc.
1010 Niagara Street
Buffalo, New York 14213
RE: Classification of Notepad Holders; Planners; Organizers;
Diaries; Paper Inserts
Dear Ms. Hagyard:
This letter is in response to your inquiry of April 11, 1996, on behalf of your client, Portables Plus, Ltd., concerning the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), of two styles of planners or notepad holders produced in China, both with and without paper inserts. Samples were submitted with your inquiry.
FACTS:
Each of the two styles is composed externally of polyester fabric which is coated on the interior, nonvisible side with polyvinyl chloride (PVC). The inquirer notes that interior tags which incorrectly represent each sample to be of “100% NYLON,” will correctly reflect the composition of articles actually imported, and that only the linings are composed of nylon fabric. Thin plastic boards are permanently inserted between the two textile layers to provide stiffness,.
The sample identified as style 101 and “Day Porter Jr.” measures approximately 8-3/4 inches in height by 5-3/4 inches in width by 1-1/2 inches in depth (in the closed position). The
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item has a zipper closure on three sides and a six ring binder is permanently affixed at the spine. The inserts held in place by
the binder consist of a 3 year calendar, a daily planner, an address book, a plastic ruler, a plastic holder for cards or photographs, and individual sections of pages for “projects,” “finances,” and “notes.” The interior left side of the item has a flap for loose sheets, two slots for cards, and a pen holder. The interior right side has a mesh, zippered pocket.
The sample identified as style 104 and “Notepad Holder” differs from style 101 in that it is a bifold pad holder with a hook and loop fabric tab closure. It measures approximately 13 inches in height by 9-1/2 inches in width by 1 inch in depth in the closed position with a pad. The pad, which measures approximately 8-1/2 inches in width by 11-1/2 inches in height by 1/2 inch in thickness, contains no print other than lines and is inserted in a large slot on the item’s interior right side. The interior left side has a flap for loose sheets and two open slots for cards or other flat items.
ISSUES:
1) Whether the articles, if imported containing their respective inserts, are classified in subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA, as bound diaries and address books; in subheading 4820.10.2020, HTSUSA, as memorandum or letter pads and similar articles; or in subheading 4820.10.4000, HTSUSA, as articles similar to diaries.
2) If imported without inserts, in what provision are the planners/folders classified?
3) If imported separately, in what provision are the inserts classified?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the
terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative 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 may then be applied. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the
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official interpretation of the tariff at the international level, facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and GRI.
Chapter 48, HTSUS, covers paper and paperboard; articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard. Among other merchandise, heading 4820, HTSUS, covers notebooks, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles, binders (looseleaf or other), folders, etc. The EN to heading 4820 indicate that “[t]he goods of this heading may be bound with materials other than paper (e.g., leather, plastics or textile material) and have reinforcements or fittings of metal, plastics, etc.” If imported with their respective paper inserts, each of the three styles of binders/folders is covered by heading 4820, HTSUS.
With respect to style 101 (“Day Porter Jr.”), we note that the binder’s inserts include, among other items, a calendar and a daily planner. Customs has consistently cited to lexicographic sources in determining what constitutes a diary, as opposed to an article that is similar to a diary. The term “diary” is defined in the Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary, 1987, as:
2. A book prepared for keeping a daily record, or having spaces with printed dates for daily memoranda and jottings; also applied to calendars containing daily memoranda on matters of importance to people generally or to members of a particular profession, occupation, or pursuit.
With its daily planner and calendar, the “Day Porter Jr.” provides a means to record and store daily notations and to organize a schedule. Guided by judicial precedent and the EN referenced above, Customs has also consistently held that inserts which are secured by ring binders are “bound” for classification purposes. Style 101, with inserts, is therefore classified as a bound diary in subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA.
Style 104 does not function as an item for the recording of either daily notations or addresses. The folder has no ring binder and contains only a lined pad of paper. Style 104, with its pad, is classified in subheading 4820.10.2020, HTSUSA, the provision for memorandum pads, letter pads and similar articles.
With respect to the classification of the binder and the folder imported separately from their individual inserts, we look to heading 6307, HTSUS, which covers other made up textile
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articles. The EN to heading 6307 indicate that the heading covers made up articles of any textile material which are not included more specifically in other headings of Section XI or
elsewhere in the Nomenclature. Since without their inserts, the primarily textile articles are not included more specifically in other headings of Section XI nor elsewhere in the Nomenclature, style numbers 101 and 104 are covered by heading 6307 and classified in subheading 6307.90.9989, HTSUSA.
Concerning the classification of the inserts imported separately from the ring binder (style 101), we are directed to note 9 to chapter 48, HTSUS, which states that “[h]eading 4820 does not cover loose sheets or cards, cut to size, whether or not printed, embossed or perforated.” Since the inserts without the ring binder are essentially loose sheets, they are excluded from heading 4820, HTSUS. Among other goods, heading 4823 applies to “Other paper...cut to size or shape....” Subheading 4823.51.0044, HTSUSA, provides for “Other paper...of a kind used for writing, printing or other graphic purposes: Printed, embossed or perforated, Hole-punched looseleaf paper.” The inserts imported separately from the ring binder for which they are designed are classified in this provision.
The classification of the separately imported pad insert remains the same as when it is imported with the pad holder (style 104). The paper pad is classified in subheading 4820.10.2020, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The article identified as style 101 (“Day Porter Jr.”), when imported with inserts, is classified in subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA, which provides for “Registers... diaries and similar articles: Diaries, notebooks and address books, bound..., Diaries and address books.” The applicable duty rate is 2.8 percent ad valorem.
The article identified as style 104 (“Notepad Holder”), when imported with its paper pad insert, is classified in subheading 4820.10.2020, HTSUSA, the provision for “Registers... diaries and similar articles: Diaries... and similar articles, Memorandum pads, letter pads and similar articles.” The applicable duty rate is 2.8 percent ad valorem.
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Styles 101 and 104, when imported without inserts, are classified in subheading 6307.90.9989, HTSUSA, the provision for "Other made up articles, including dress patterns: Other: Other: Other, Other: Other." The applicable duty rate is 7 percent ad valorem.
The inserts designed for style 101, when imported separately from the binder, is classified in subheading 4823.51.0044, HTSUSA, which provides for “Other paper... cut to size or shape...: Other paper and paperboard, of a kind used for writing, printing or other graphic purposes: Printed, embossed or perforated, Hole-punched looseleaf paper.” The applicable duty rate is 2.1 percent ad valorem.
The paper pad insert, when imported separately from style 104, is classified in subheading 4820.10.2020, HTSUSA, the provision for “Registers... diaries and similar articles: Diaries... and similar articles, Memorandum pads, letter pads and similar articles.” The applicable duty rate is 2.8 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Tariff Classification
Appeals Division