CLA-2-85:CTF:TCM H078900 TNA
Mark Methenitis
The Vernon Law Group, PLLC
1201 Elm Street, Suite 4242
Dallas, TX 75270
RE: Revocation of NY N048031; Classification of a glass jar from China
Dear Mr. Methenitis:
This letter is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N048031, issued to you on January 23, 2009, concerning the tariff classification of a glass bottle from China. In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified the merchandise under subheading 7010.90.50, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), as bottles of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods. We have reviewed NY N048031 and found it to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY N048031.
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, notice proposing to revoke NY N048031 was published on March 31, 2010, in Volume 44, Number 14, of the Customs Bulletin. CBP received no comments in response to this notice.
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue is Item Number DB080607001, a small, round, clear glass jar with a short neck and a rubber stopper. It measures approximately three inches in height and has a volume of four ounces. The jar is imported empty, and then filled with scented oil for sale to consumers. It is also sold with reeds to diffuse the oil and its scent throughout a room. As such, it is known as a “reed diffuser bottle.”
ISSUE:
Whether a glass jar used as a reed diffuser bottle should be classified under heading 7010, HTSUS, as a bottle of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods, or under heading 7013, as glassware of the kind used for table, kitchen, toilet, office, indoor decoration or similar purposes?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (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 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
7010 Carboys, bottles, flasks, jars, pots, vials, ampoules and other containers, of glass, of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods; preserving jars of glass; stoppers, lids and other closures, of glass
7010.90 Other
7010.90.50 Other containers (with or without their closures)
* * * * * * * * * * *
7013 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
7013.99 Other
Other
7013.99.50 Valued over $0.30 but not over $3 each
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 7010, HTSUS, states, in pertinent part:
This heading covers all glass containers of the kinds commonly used commercially for the conveyance or packing of liquids or of solid products (powders, granules, etc.). They include :
(A) Carboys, demijohns, bottles (including syphon vases), phials and similar containers, of all shapes and sizes, used as containers for chemical products (acids, etc.), beverages, oils, meat extracts, perfumery preparations, pharmaceutical products, inks, glues, etc.
These articles, formerly produced by blowing, are now almost invariably manufactured by machines which automatically feed molten glass into moulds where the finished articles are formed by the action of compressed air. They are usually made of ordinary glass (colourless or coloured) although some bottles (e.g., for perfumes) may be made of lead crystal, and certain large carboys are made of fused quartz or other fused silica.
The above-mentioned containers are generally designed for some type of closure; these may take the form of ordinary stoppers (of cork, glass, etc.), glass balls, metal caps, screw caps (of metal or plastics), or special devices (e.g., for beer bottles, bottles for aerated waters, soda water syphons, etc.).
These containers remain in this heading even if they are ground, cut, sand-blasted, etched or engraved, or decorated (this applies, in particular, to certain perfume or liqueur bottles), banded, wickered or otherwise trimmed with various materials (wicker, straw, raffia, metal, etc.); they may also have tumbler-caps fitted to the neck. They may be fitted with drop measuring devices or may be graduated, provided that they are not of a kind used as laboratory glassware.
The EN to heading 7013, HTSUS, states, in pertinent part:
This heading covers the following types of articles, most of which are obtained by pressing or blowing in moulds :
(1) Table or kitchen glassware, e.g. drinking glasses, goblets, tankards, decanters, infants’ feeding bottles, pitchers, jugs, plates, salad bowls, sugar-bowls, sauce-boats, fruit-stands, cake-stands, hors-d’oeuvres dishes, bowls, basins, egg-cups, butter dishes, oil or vinegar cruets, dishes (for serving, cooking, etc.), stew-pans, casseroles, trays, salt cellars, sugar sifters, knife-rests, mixers, table hand bells, coffee-pots and coffee-filters, sweetmeat boxes, graduated kitchenware, plate warmers, table mats, certain parts of domestic churns, cups for coffee-mills, cheese dishes, lemon squeezers, ice-buckets.
(2) Toilet articles, such as soap-dishes, sponge-baskets, liquid soap distributors, hooks and rails (for towels, etc.), powder bowls, perfume bottles, parts of toilet sprays (other than heads) and tooth-brush holders.
(3) Office glassware, such as paperweights, inkstands and inkwells, book ends, containers for pins, pen-trays and ashtrays.
(4) Glassware for indoor decoration and other glassware (including that for churches and the like), such as vases, ornamental fruit bowls, statuettes, fancy articles (animals, flowers, foliage, fruit, etc.), table-centres (other than those of heading 70.09), aquaria, incense burners, etc., and souvenirs bearing views.
NY N048031 classified the subject merchandise under heading 7010, HTSUS, as jars that are used for conveyance or packing. The classification was based on the importer’s assertion that the bottles would not be reused once the reeds and scented oil with which they were sold were finished.
Bottles, flasks, jars, pots, vials and other containers of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods of heading 7010, HTSUS, are jars that are designed to remain closed as they transport liquids or solids from one location to another. Glassware of the kind used for table, kitchen, toilet, office, indoor decoration or similar purposes of heading 7013, HTSUS, are designed to be displayed in the home or office as they hold material inside of them. They may remain open as they display their contents and are meant to lend decoration to the items they display.
The subject merchandise is filled with scented oil and reeds and, although they can be closed, they generally remain open to allow the scent to permeate the area. In addition, the bottles are generally placed in an open setting, rather than being hidden, to add decoration to their surroundings. Furthermore, counsel admits that its reed diffuser bottles are used in the same manner as larger, fancier reed diffuser bottles- i.e., as reed diffuser bottles.
Moreover, with the exception of the subject merchandise’s small size, there is essentially no difference between it and the larger reed diffuser bottles that CBP routinely classifies in heading 7013, HTSUS. See, e.g., HQ 960162; HQ 956470; HQ 961353; HQ 961409, among others, for a detailed explanation on the characteristics that differentiate bottles of heading 7010, HTSUS, and bottles of heading 7013, HTSUS. Given the similarities between the small bottles classified in NY N04031 and the larger bottles of the rulings noted above, the subject reed diffuser bottles should also be classified under heading 7013, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, small glass reed diffuser bottles are provided for in heading 7013, HTSUS. Specifically, they are classified under subheading 7013.99.50, as 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: Valued over $0.30 but not over $3 each. As such, the rate of duty is 30% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the internet at www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N048031, dated January 23, 2009, is REVOKED.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division