CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 960819 PH

Mr. William Velasquez
Import/Export Coordinator
Endar Corporation
43195 Business Park Drive
Temecula, California 92590-3697

RE: Bell-shaped glassware with metal stand; candle holder; glassware for table, kitchen, toilet, office, indoor decoration; principal use; essential character; composite good; GRI 3(b); U.S. Additional Note 1(a); EN Rule 3(b)(IX); Better Home Plastics Corp. v. United States, 916 F. Supp. 1265 (CIT 1996), affirmed 119 F.3d 969 (Fed. Cir. 1997); HQs 956810; 957794; 960499; 960503; NY 888716

Dear Mr. Velasquez:

This is in reference to your request to the Area Director, New York, New York, dated July 17, 1997, for a ruling as to the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of bell-shaped glassware with a brass stand. A sample was provided. Your letter was referred to this office for reply. We regret the delay in responding to your request.

FACTS:

The merchandise under consideration consists of a bell-shaped (rounded bottom, cylinder shaped body, with a graduated lip) article of glass with a metal stand. The glass has a "crackled" appearance (i.e., it appears to have numerous small cracks. The top diameter of the glassware is 4" and the inside diameter of the body (not including the rim) is approximately 2 1/2". The height or depth of the glassware is approximately 4". The stand, appearing and stated to be of brass, has four tines attached to a ring so that the glassware may fit into the ends of the tines. The ring portion of the stand is approximately 1 3/4" in diameter and the stand is approximately 5" in height. You describe the article as a "potpourri holder".

The subheadings under consideration are as follows:

7013.99.50 Glassware of a kind used for table, kitchen, toilet, office, indoor decoration or similar purposes (other than that of heading 7010 or 7018): ... Other glassware: ... Other: ... Other: ... Other: ... Valued over $0.30 but not over $3 each.

The 1998 general column one rate of duty for goods classifiable under this provision is 30% ad valorem.

7418.19.20 Table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof, of copper; ...: Table, kitchen or other household articles and parts thereof; ...: ... Other: ... Other: Of copper-zinc base alloys (brass).

The 1995 general column one rate of duty for goods classifiable under this provision is 3.1% ad valorem.

9405.50.40 Lamps and lighting fittings including searchlights and spotlights and parts thereof, not elsewhere specified or included; ...: ... Non-electrical lamps and lighting fittings: ... Other: ... Other.

The 1998 general column one rate of duty for goods classifiable under this provision is 6.3% ad valorem.

ISSUE:

Whether the bell-shaped glassware with metal stand is classifiable as glassware of a kind used for indoor decoration or similar purposes in subheading 7013.99.50, HTSUS, other table, kitchen or other household articles of copper in subheading 7418.90.20, HTSUS, or other non-electrical lamps and lighting fittings in subheading 9405.50.40, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (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. Pursuant to GRI 3(b), when goods are prima facie classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:

(b) 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) [by reference to the heading which provides the most specific description], shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.

The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally binding on the contracting parties, and therefore not dispositive, the ENs 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 ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, published in the Federal Register August 23, 1989 (54 FR 35127, 35128).

The article under consideration, consisting of glassware with a metal stand, with the glassware shaped so that it cannot stand on its own (without being supported by the stand), is a composite good (see, EN Rule 3(b)(IX), see also, e.g., Headquarters Ruling Letters (HQs) 956810 dated November 28, 1994, and 957794 dated October 2, 1995). If GRI 3(b) is applicable (see above), classification of a composite good is determined on the basis of the component which gives the good its the essential character.

In HQs 960499 dated July 8, 1998, and 960503 dated July 9, 1998, we considered the essential character of articles similar to those under consideration. We concluded, on the basis of cited Court decisions (Better Home Plastics Corp. v. United States, 916 F. Supp. 1265 (CIT 1996), affirmed 119 F.3d 969 (Fed. Cir. 1997); Mita Copystar America, Inc. v. United States, 966 F. Supp. 1245 (CIT 1997), motion for rehearing and reconsideration denied, 994 F. Supp. 393 (CIT 1998); and Vista International Packaging Co., v. United States, 19 CIT 868, 890 F. Supp. 1095 (1995)), that the "indispensable function" of the articles was holding or containing whatever was put in them, whether candles, flowers, potpourri, or anything else, and that the component which performed that function was clearly the glass component. The same is true of the articles under consideration. For the same reasons as in HQs 960499 and 960503, the LAW AND ANALYSIS portion of which is incorporated by reference into this ruling, we conclude that the essential character of these articles is given by the glass component.

Subheadings 7013.99.50, 7418.90.20, and 9405.50.40, HTSUS, as applicable to the merchandise under consideration, are controlled by use (other than actual use) (see Group Italglass U.S.A., Inc. v. United States, 17 CIT 1177, 839 F. Supp. 866 (1993); E.M. Chemicals v. United States, 923 F. Supp. 202 (CIT 1996); Stewart-Warner Corp. v. United States, 3 Fed. Cir. (T) 20, 25, 748 F.2d 663 (1984)). In such provisions, articles are classifiable according to the use of the class or kind of goods to which the articles belong. If an article is classifiable according to the use of the class or kind of goods to which it belongs, Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(a), HTSUS, provides that:

In the absence of special language or context which otherwise requires-- (a) a tariff classification controlled by use (other than actual use) is to be determined in accordance with the use in the United States at, or immediately prior to, the date of importation, of goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong, and the controlling use is the principal use.

In other words, the article's principal use in the United States at the time of importation determines whether it is classifiable within a particular class or kind (principal use is distinguished from actual use; a tariff classification controlled by the latter is satisfied only if such use is intended at the time of importation, the goods are so used and proof thereof is furnished within 3 years after the date the goods are entered (U.S. Additional Note 1(b); 19 CFR 10.131 - 10.139)).

The Courts have provided factors, which are indicative but not conclusive, to apply when determining whether merchandise falls within a particular class or kind. They include: general physical characteristics, expectation of the ultimate purchaser, channels of trade, environment of sale (accompanying accessories, manner of advertisement and display), use in the same manner as merchandise which defines the class, economic practicality of so using the import, and recognition in the trade of this use. See Lenox Collections v. United States, 19 CIT 345, 347 (1995); Kraft, Inc, v. United States, 16 CIT 483 (1992), G. Heileman Brewing Co. v. United States, 14 CIT 614 (1990); and United States v. Carborundum Company, 63 CCPA 98, C.A.D. 1172, 536 F.2d 373 (1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 979 (1976).

This office recently has exhaustively reviewed the principal use of articles such as those under consideration (glassware in various forms contended to be principally used as candle holders). In the March 25, 1998, edition of the CUSTOMS BULLETIN, Volume 32, Number 12, page 32, Customs issued a notice under 19 U.S.C. 1625 proposing to modify or revoke two Headquarters and five New York ruling letters (including the ruling you cite, New York Ruling Letter (NY) 888716 dated August 20, 1993), to classify the articles described therein as other glassware of a kind used for indoor decoration or similar purposes in subheading 7013.99, HTSUS, instead of as candle holders in subheading 9405.50.40, HTSUS. The comments submitted in response to this notice provided considerable information regarding the "pertinent factors" (see above) related to the principal use of the class or kind of goods to which the goods considered in the proposed rulings belong. Based on this information, Customs has concluded that the class or kind for goods such as those under consideration is defined by the form or shape of the article (e.g., bell-shape, similar to bell-shape, flower pot shape, tulip or flower petal shape, cube or rectangle shape, disk shape, bowl shape, and other shapes) and its size. We have found there to be a clear distinction between glassware used as candle holders and that used for general indoor decoration based on the size of the articles, in the absence of other pertinent evidence or information. Glassware with an opening of 4 inches or less in diameter and a height or depth of 5 inches or less is used substantially more frequently as a candle holder than for any other purpose, according to the information we have obtained, and larger glassware is used substantially more frequently for general indoor decoration.

The glass component of the article under consideration is bell-shaped and made of relatively thin glass with a "crackle" effect. It has a top diameter of 4", an inside diameter of approximately 2 1/2", and a height or depth of approximately 4". This article is of a form and size, based on the above-described information, which indicates its inclusion in the class or kind of goods principally used as candle holders. This is consistent with the pertinent factors listed by the Courts for determining principal use (see above). That is, in regard to physical characteristics, the small size of the openings prevents easy access and the "crackle" effect of the glass and the shiny brass framework provide, in the words of advertising literature for similar articles, "[a] dramatic display for candles". In regard to the other pertinent factors (expectation of ultimate purchasers; channels of trade; environment of sale; and usage, economic practicality of such usage, and recognition of the trade of such usage), the evidence obtained from the public in response to the March 25, 1998, Customs Bulletin notice supports principal use of the articles as candle holders. These articles are classified as non-electrical lamps and lighting fittings in subheading 9405.50.40, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

The bell-shaped glassware with metal stand is classifiable as other non-electrical lamps and lighting fittings in subheading 9405.50.40, HTSUS.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division