CLA-2 RR:CR:TE 960762 GGD
Mr. David Penrod
International Logistics
Kmart Corporation
3100 West Big Beaver Road
Troy, Michigan 48084-3163
RE: Revocation of Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 088791;
Heading 4820; Diaries; Agendas; Address Books; Inserted
Bound Components; HQ 953413 (March 29, 1993)
Dear Mr. Penrod:
In HQ 088791, issued March 19, 1992, this office classified
an article described as a vinyl pocket agenda, identified by
style number 5522, in subheading 4820.10.4000, Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides
for "Registers...diaries and similar articles: Other [than
bound]." We have reviewed that ruling and have found it to be in
error. Therefore, this ruling revokes HQ 088791.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C.
1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs
Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement
Implementation Act, Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186 (1993),
notice of the proposed revocation of HQ 088791, was published on
August 27, 1997, in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 31, Number 35.
FACTS:
At the time HQ 088791 was issued, the sample was referred to
as an "agenda/address book" composed of paperboard covered with
plastic sheeting and assembled in a tri-fold design. Inside the
cover, a telephone/address indexer and a note pad were secured by
the insertion of their cardboard backings into a slit in the -2-
interior plastic surface. Information submitted at the time of
the ruling indicated that an "ID & YEAR CALENDAR CARD" was also
included as a component. Each component could be removed and
replaced when its usefulness had been exhausted.
ISSUE:
Whether the fact that bound components - intended to store
addresses and facilitate daily record keeping - are inserted into
the interior slots or pockets of a binder, precludes
classification of the entire article as a bound address book or
bound diary in subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA.
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
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." The pocket
agenda/address book is covered by heading 4820, HTSUS.
The agenda/address book includes a calendar. 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; -3-
also applied to calendars containing daily memoranda on
matters of importance to people generally or to members of a
particular profession, occupation, or pursuit.
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.
In HQ 953413, issued March 29, 1993, this office confronted
the issue of whether certain agendas, diaries, and address books
- in which bound components are slipped into interior slots or
pockets - are properly classified as bound diaries and address
books. HQ 953413 modified HQ 951736, issued September 17, 1992,
which had incorrectly held that "since the subject planner/
calendars and address books slip into pockets within the covers,
Customs does not consider the articles bound." With respect to
that erroneous holding, we stated in HQ 953413, that:
Upon review, we find that to be an inaccurate statement.
An article that is otherwise bound does not become "unbound"
merely by virtue of being inserted into a slot of a folder.
HQ 951736 was thereby modified and the merchandise was held to be
properly classified in subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA. From
early 1993 to the present, Customs has consistently held that
similar goods with inserted bound components are classified in
the provision for bound diaries and address books. In light of
the foregoing, we find that the pocket agenda identified by style
no. 5522 is properly classified as a bound diary in subheading
4820.10.2010, HTSUSA.
There are a small number of aberrant rulings in addition to
HQ 088791, in which comparable goods having inserted components
have been erroneously classified in subheading 4820.10.4000,
HTSUSA. See HQ 089960, issued February 10, 1992, HQ 951076,
issued March 18, 1992, and HQ 950984, issued January 27, 1992.
Action is being taken to modify or revoke those rulings as well.
HOLDING:
The pocket agenda/address book identified by style number
5522 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 general column one duty rate is 2.8 percent ad
valorem. -4-
HQ 088791, issued March 19, 1992, is hereby revoked.
In accordance with section 625, this ruling will become
effective 60 days from its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Publication of rulings or decisions pursuant to section 625 does
not constitute a change of practice or position in accordance
with section 177.10(c)(1), Customs Regulations (19 CFR
177.10(c)(1)).
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division