CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 960587 HMC

Ms. Melinda Siegel
Pacific Rim
Import Corporation
5930 4th Avenue South
Seatle, Washington 98108-3254

RE: 6-Piece Garden Tool Basket; Subheading 4602.10.12; Other Baskets and Bags of Willow; Hand Tools; Explanatory Notes (VIII) and (X) to GRI 3(b); Explanatory Note 82.01.

Dear Ms. Siegel:

This is in response to your letter to the Customs National Commodity Specialist Division, New York, dated May 21, 1997, regarding the tariff classification of a 6-piece garden tool basket, item no. 80905, (gardening set) under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Your letter was forwarded to this office for a reply. We regret the delay.

FACTS:

The merchandise consists of a basket made of peeled willow and 6 gardening tools made of metal and painted wooden handles. The back of the basket is a long wall that has an elastic strip woven to the back of the basket. The strip holds the tools in place. The tools include a clawdigger, a rake, a trowel, a spade, a hoe and a weeder. You state that the 6-piece garden tool basket will be sold as a set.

The provisions under consideration are as follows:

4602 Basketwork, wickerwork and other articles, made directly to shape from plaiting materials or made up from articles of heading 4601; articles of loofah: 4602.10 Of vegetable materials: Other baskets and bags, whether or not lined: 4602.10.12 Of willow...5.8%

* * * * * *

8201 Hand Tools of the following kinds and base metal parts thereof: spades, shovels, mattocks, picks, hoes, forks and rakes; axes, bill hooks and similar hewing tools; secateurs and pruners of any kind; scythes, sickles, hay knives, hedge shears, timber wedges and other tools of a kind used in agriculture, horticulture or forestry: 8201.10.00 Spades and shovels, and parts thereof....0.6% 8201.30.00 Mattocks, picks, hoes and rakes, and parts thereof...0.6% 8201.90 Other handtools of a kind used in agriculture, horticulture or forestry,, and parts thereof: 8201.90.60 Other...Free

ISSUE:

Whether the 6-piece garden tool basket is classifiable as hand tools under subheading 8201.90.60, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the HTSUS in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 states in part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6. GRI 6 states that the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. For the purposes of this rule, the relative section, chapter and subchapter notes also apply, unless the context otherwise requires.

We note that the willow basket is described by heading 4602. We also note that the tools are described by heading 8201. Since the 6-piece garden tool basket is imported as a set and described in part by two or more headings of the HTSUS, we must apply GRI 3(b).

GRI 3(b) states that mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable. Since we have various items sold together, we must first determine if we have a set put up for retail sale.

The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System Explanatory Notes (EN's) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized system. While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and therefore not dispositive, the EN's provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the Harmonized System and are thus useful in ascertaining the classification of merchandise under the System. Customs believes the EN's should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).

Explanatory Note (X) to GRI 3(b), at page 5, states that the term "goods put up in sets for retail sale" shall be taken to mean goods which:

(a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings.

(b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and

(c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases or on boards). In this instance, we believe that the gardening set meets the EN's definition of "goods put up in sets for retail sale." First, the gardening set consists of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in two different headings. Secondly, the items are put up together to carry out the specific activity of gardening. The tools and the willow basket will be used together or in conjunction with one another, the basket being specifically designed to accommodate the tools within the elastic strip and not used as a general purpose container or packing material. Lastly, the articles are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. We thus believe that the gardening set qualifies as a set of GRI 3(b); and, we must then determine which item imparts the essential character to the set. Explanatory Note (VIII) to GRI 3(b), at page 4, states that the factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.

We believe that, in this instance, the tools impart the essential character to the gardening tool basket set. They are the most significant components of the set which will be used to perform the gardening activity. The basket simply assists in this function, as a storage compartment specifically designed to hold the tools and keep them readily accessible to the user. Based on GRI 3(b), we find that the 6-piece garden tool basket set is classifiable as if consisting only of the hand tools. Since the tools are provided for in heading 8201 (See EN 82.01), we turn to their classification at the subheading level.

The set includes six hand tools for working in the garden. They include a clawdigger, a rake, a trowel, a spade, a hoe and a weeder. They are all made of metal and have painted wooden handles. We find that the tools are equally important within the set and that there is no single significant feature that distinguishes one from the other. Thus, we cannot ascertain which of the hand tools in this set imparts the essential character. Accordingly, GRI 3(c) states that when goods cannot be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration. The gardening tools are classifiable under subheadings 8201.10.00, 8201.30.00 and 8201.90.60, HTSUS. The 6-piece garden tool basket set is therefore classifiable, based on the trowel, under subheading 8201.90.60, HTSUS, as other handtools of a kind used in agriculture, horticulture or forestry, and parts thereof.

HOLDING:

The 6-piece garden tool basket set is classifiable under subheading 8201.90.60, HTSUS, as "Other handtools of a kind used in agriculture, horticulture or forestry, and parts thereof: Other." The rate of duty is free.

Sincerely,


John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division