CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H129655 GC
Ms. Diane Hudyka
Harper Robinson & Company
Post Office Box 81380
Cleveland, Ohio 44181
RE: Modification of HQ 953610; Tariff classification of jewelry presentation box covered plastic-coated paper
Dear Ms. Hudyka:
On April 30, 1993, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (then the U.S. Customs Service) issued Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 953610 to your client, Boxit Corporation. HQ 953610 pertains to the tariff classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of four styles of hinged jewelry presentation boxes. We have since reviewed HQ 953610 and find it to be in error with respect to the fourth style of presentation box, which is described in detail herein.
Notice of the proposed action was published in the Customs Bulletin, Vol. 45, No. 45, on November 2, 2011. One comment was received in response to the notice.
FACTS:
According to HQ 953610, the sample jewelry box was covered by “a leatherette plastic coated paper with a caliper of approximately .006 inches wrapped over a plastic box” and contained a textile covered insert fitted to hold various items of jewelry. We have since learned that the instant jewelry box was coated with Skivertex®.
In HQ 953610, the subject merchandise is classified in subheading 4202.99.10 (HTSUS) (1993), which provides for, in pertinent part: “…jewelry boxes… of leather, of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber, or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper: Other: Other: Other: Of material other than leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanized fiber or paperboard wholly or mainly covered with paper: Of plastics…”
ISSUE:
Is the subject jewelry box covered in Skivertex® classified under subheading 4202.92, HTSUS, as having an outer surface of sheeting of plastic, or under subheading 4202.99, HTSUS, as having an outer surface of other materials?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). 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 GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. The HTSUS provisions under consideration in this case are as follows:
4202 Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, camera cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers; traveling bags, toiletry bags, knapsacks and backpacks, handbags, shopping bags, wallets, purses, map cases, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder cases, cutlery cases and similar containers, of leather, of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber, or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper:
Other:
* * *
4202.92 With outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textile materials:
Other:
4202.92.90 Other…
* * *
4202.99 Other:
Of material other than leather, composition leather, sheeting of plastics, textile materials, vulcanized fiber or paperboard wholly or mainly covered with paper:
4202.99.10 Of plastics…
Because the instant classification dispute occurs beyond the four-digit heading level, GRI 6 is implicated. GRI 6 states:
For legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheading 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.
At the six-digit level, the majority of goods under heading 4202, HTSUS, are classified by the material that comprises the “outer surface” of the good. In this instance, the material that comprises the outer layer is a composite material, i.e., the outer layer is composed of a base material of paper that is coated with plastic. CBP addressed this issue in Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) 963618, dated August 2, 2002 (citing HQ 087760, dated October 31, 1991), wherein CBP explained:
At the four-digit level, heading 4202, HTSUSA, requires that a good be “of or “wholly or mainly covered with” a specified material. However, at the six-digit level, the nomenclature classifies goods by the material which comprises the “outer surface.” In classifying goods such as these, we must distinguish between the requirements of the four and six-digit headings, since they dictate different criteria for classifying goods. This distinction was also discussed in (HQ) 954021[dated November 1, 1993], wherein Customs, noting HQ 087760 [dated October 31, 1991], stated: “Evident in the above are two important distinctions: (1) a covering vs. an outer surface, and (2) classification at the four-digit (or heading) level vs. classification at the six-digit (or subheading) level.”
The “outer surface” is that which is both visible and tactile. See HQ 086775, dated July 9, 1990; see also HQ 954021, dated November 1, 1993. In a number of rulings, CBP has addressed the issue of whether jewelry box frames, which were made of plastic or metal and were covered with paper backings to which textile materials had been applied, had an outer surface of textiles or paper. Additional U.S. Note 2 to Chapter 42, HTSUS, is instructive in this regard, providing that:
For the purposes of classifying articles under subheadings 4202.12, 4202.22, 4202.32, and 4202.92, articles of textile fabric impregnated, coated, covered or laminated with plastics (whether compact or cellular) shall be regarded as having an outer surface of the textile material or of plastic sheeting, depending upon whether and the extent to which the textile constituent or the plastic constituent makes up the exterior surface of the article.
Additional U.S. Note 2 to Chapter 42, HTSUS, and its expression of the concept of “outer surface” by use of the term “exterior surface,” serves as guidance when classifying other articles in heading 4202, HTSUS, that are composed of composite materials. As indicated in HQ 953610, the subject jewelry box is coated entirely with the Skivertex® material, the outer surface of which consists of a thin layer of plastics material.
The issue of whether the boxes are covered with “sheeting of plastics” is addressed in Sarne Handbags Corp. v. United States, 100 F.Supp. 2d 1126; 2000 CIT 51 (2000), wherein the court, applying Additional U.S. Note 2 to Chapter 42, HTSUS, found that a handbag made of plastic coated textile was classified as having an outer surface of sheeting of plastic. In Sarne, the Court of International Trade articulated the definition of “sheeting” as “material in the form of or suitable for forming into a broad surface of something that is unusually thin, or is a material in the form of a continuous thin covering or coating.” Id. at 1134. The commenter questions the applicability of the Sarne decision with respect to the instant matter in light of the fact that Sarne specifically addresses Additional U.S. Note 2 to Chapter 42, HTSUS, which pertains to textile and plastic combinations and not plastic combined with other materials, such as paper or even leather. Furthermore, the commenter notes that the plastic sheeting in Skivertex® is very thin, at less than 0.015 mm, which the commenter asserts is the de minimis standard for items featuring a “sheeting of plastics” as described in subheading 4202.92, HTSUS.
Notwithstanding the nature of the Skivertex® composite paper-plastic material, the plastic component is both visible and tactile, thus making the jewelry boxes it covers quite distinguishable from boxes covered in plain paper or paper that has been painted. Thus, we have found that Sarne’s discussion of the term “sheeting of plastics” to be particularly instructive with respect to materials such as Skivertex®, and such an approach is indeed entirely consistent with CBP’s classification in subheading 4202.92, HTSUS, of jewelry boxes covered in plastic-coated paper, including those covered by Skivertex®. See HQ 966090, dated December 22, 2003; see also HQ 965563, dated September 24, 2002 and HQ 963618, dated August 2, 2002.
Thus, applying the principals set forth in Additional U.S. Note 2 of Chapter 42, HTSUS, Sarne, and the rulings following Sarne, we conclude that that the outer surface of the subject jewelry box is “plastic sheeting” as contemplated in subheading 4202.92, HTSUS, which provides for other articles “with outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textile materials.”
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1 the “final sample” identified in HQ 953610 is properly classified as a jewelry box under heading 4202, HTSUS. By application of GRI 1 and GRI 6, the subject merchandise is specifically provided for in subheading 4202.92.90, HTSUS, which provides for, in pertinent part: “[t]runks, suitcases…and similar articles; traveling bags…jewelry boxes…and similar containers, of leather or of composition leather, of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber, or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper: Other: With outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textile materials: Other: Other, Other.” The general column one rate of duty, for merchandise classified in this subheading is 17.6 percent ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at www.usitc.gov.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
HQ 953610, dated April 30, 1993, is hereby MODIFIED.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division