CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H235455 EGJ
Ms. Denise Young-Sang
Office Depot
6600 North Military Trail
Mail Code: N516E
Boca Raton, FL 33496
RE: Revocation of NY N073247: Classification of an Expanding File Organizer
Dear Ms. Young-Sang:
This is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) N073247, dated September 10, 2009, issued to you concerning the tariff classification of an expanding file organizer under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). In that ruling, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) classified the subject article in heading 4819, HTSUS, which provides for box files and similar articles of paperboard. We have reviewed NY N073247 and find it to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY N073247.
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 N073247 was published on September 4, 2013, in Volume 47, Number 37, of the Customs Bulletin. One comment was received in opposition to this notice; it is addressed in this decision.
FACTS:
In NY N073247, CBP identified the subject merchandise as the “19 Pocket Expanding File Organizer,” which has a design-printed and surface-colored exterior constructed of a rigid, paperboard. The container is designed with a fold-over lid that has a metal carry handle and twist lock. The box top unlocks and opens up to display nineteen permanently mounted, accordion style pocket files with an expanding side gusset. The inner pockets have indented thumb tabs and are constructed of a thin cardboard material. The rectangular expanding file organizer measures approximately 15” (w) x 4 ½” (d) x 10” (h). The 19 pocket expanding file organizer is designed for use in the home or office.
ISSUE:
Is the file organizer classified under heading 4819, HTSUS, as a box file or similar article of paperboard, or under heading 4202, HTSUS, as a container similar to briefcases and attaché cases?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in their appropriate order.
The relevant HTSUS provisions are:
4202 Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers; traveling bags, insulated food or beverage 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 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:
Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases, briefcases, school satchels and similar containers:
4202.19.00 Other ..
* * *
4819 Cartons, boxes, cases, bags and other packing containers, of paper, paperboard, cellulose wadding or webs of cellulose fibers; box files, letter trays and similar articles, of paper or paperboard of a kind used in offices, shops or the like:
4819.60.00 Box files, letter trays, storage boxes and similar articles, of a kind used in offices,
shops or the like …
* * *
Note 2(h) to Chapter 48 states that:
2. This chapter does not cover:
(h) Articles of heading 4202 (for example, travel goods) …
* * *
According to GRI 1, we must first examine section notes, chapter notes and the text of the headings. Note 2(h) to Chapter 48 states that articles of heading 4202, HTSUS, are excluded from classification in Chapter 48. Thus, if the file organizer is classifiable under heading 4202, HTSUS, it cannot be classified in heading 4819, HTSUS.
Heading 4202, HTSUS, sets forth two lists of containers which are classifiable under that heading. The lists are separated by a semicolon, and each list includes the phrase “and similar containers.” Heading 4202, HTSUS, does not specifically name file organizers. Therefore, we must look to the meaning of the phrase “and similar containers.”
The term “container” is not defined in the HTSUS. In Webster’s New World Dictionary of American English, 300 (3d. College Ed. 1988), a container is “a thing that contains or can contain something.” To contain means “to hold; 1. to have in it; hold, enclose, or include.” Id. In Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 249 (10th ed. 2001), to contain means “to hold together, hold in, contain; 1. to keep within limits.” The file organizer holds or encloses documents and files. As such, the file organizer is a type of container.
In addition to being a container, the file organizer must be “similar” to the other containers listed in heading 4202, HTSUS. The term “and similar containers” requires that we apply the rule of ejusdem generis to determine the scope of heading 4202, HTSUS. Under the rule of ejusdem generis, where an enumeration of specific things is followed by a general word or phrase, the general word or phrase is held to refer to things of the same kind as those specified. With respect to classification analysis, ejusdem generis requires that the imported merchandise possess the essential characteristics or purposes that unite the articles enumerated eo nomine in order to be classified under the general terms. See Sports Graphics, Inc. v. United States, 24 F.3d 1390, 1392 (Fed. Cir. 1994).
In Totes, Inc. v. United States, (Totes I) 18 C.I.T. 919, 924 (1994), the Court of International Trade (CIT) held that the essential characteristics which unite the containers of heading 4202, HTSUS, are that the containers “organize, store, protect and carry various items.” Id. aff’d by Totes, Inc. v. United States, (Totes II) 69 F.3d 495 (Fed. Cir. 1995). We also note that the courts have applied these four unifying characteristics to containers listed both before and after the semicolon. See, e.g. Avenues in Leather, Inc. v. United States, 11 F.Supp. 2d 719, 723 – 724 (Ct. Int’l Trade 1998) (applied the four characteristics to a leather folio case classified before the semicolon in subheading 4202.11.00, HTSUS); Totes II, 69 F.3d at 500 (applied the four characteristics to a trunk organizer classified after the semicolon in subheading 4202.92.90, HTSUS).
In Firstrax v. United States (Firstrax), 45 Cust. B. & Dec. 46 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2011), the CIT elaborated upon the meaning of the terms “organize” and “store”. The CIT stated that “[i]n the context of heading 4202, organization implies multiple items placed together in a single container.” Id. at 68. The CIT stated that “to ‘store’ is to keep or set aside for future use.” Id. at 69 citing Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, p.2252 (1981). The courts have not yet addressed definitions of “protect” or “carry.” In Webster’s New World Dictionary, 215 (3d. College Ed. 1988), “carry” is defined as “to hold or support while moving.” The same dictionary defines “protect” as “to shield from injury, danger or loss.” Id. at 1081.
We must apply the principle of ejusdem generis to determine if the file organizer has the same essential characteristics as the named containers of heading 4202, HTSUS. Namely, we must determine if the primary purpose of the file organizer is to organize, store, protect and carry. The file organizer has nineteen pocket files, which enable it to organize documents under nineteen different categories. As such, the file organizer is designed for organization. Next, the file organizer has a fold over lid and twist lock. As such, the documents inside of it can be set aside and out of sight for future use. Therefore, the file organizer is designed for storage.
The file organizer is comprised of paperboard. As such, it would not provide the best protection against rain or other inclement weather. However, the file organizer would protect documents from every day wear and tear. As such, the file organizer has a limited protective quality. Finally, the file organizer has a metal carry handle. This enables the file organizer to carry documents from one location to another. As such, the file organizer does organize, store, protect and carry filed documents.
As the file organizer shares the same essential characteristics as the named containers of heading 4202, HTSUS, we find that the file organizer is classified under heading 4202, HTSUS. Note 2(h) to Chapter 48 states that articles of heading 4202, HTSUS, are excluded from classification in Chapter 48. As such, the file organizer cannot be classified under heading 4819, HTSUS. CBP has classified similar document carrying cases under heading 4202, HTSUS. See, e.g. HQ 968068, dated July 25, 2006, NY N007787, dated April 3, 2007, and NY N042888, dated November 21, 2008.
The comment consists of two major arguments. First, the comment states that CBP has erroneously applied the legal test that the file organizer need only organize, store, protect or carry its contents in order to be classified under heading 4202, HTSUS. Citing to Firstrax, 45 Cust. B. & Dec. 46, the comment states that the file organizer must organize, store, protect and carry its contents in order to be classified under heading 4202, HTSUS (emphasis added). This argument is misplaced as the file organizer satisfies all four essential characteristics.
Next, the comment argues that the file organizer does not belong in subheading 4202.19.00, HTUS, which provides, in pertinent part, for “Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases, briefcases, school satchels and similar containers.” The comment states that the file organizer cannot be classified in this subheading because it does not share the four essential characteristics in the same manner as the named examples in the subheading (emphasis added). For example, the file organizer does not protect its contents to the extent that a trunk protects its contents. In another example, while the file organizer has a handle, it is not designed to carry its contents the same distance that a briefcase is designed to carry its contents.
As the test enunciated by the CIT does not include a “manner of use” requirement, we cannot apply such a test to the instant merchandise. However, we do find that the instant file organizer does meet all four of the unifying characteristics set forth by the CIT. As such, the file organizer is properly classified as a container of heading 4202, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1 (Note 2(h) to Chapter 48), the file organizer is classified in heading 4202, HTSUS. It is specifically classified under subheading 4202.19.00, HTSUS, which provides, in pertinent part, for “Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases, briefcases ….: Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases …: Other …” The 2013 column one, general rate of duty is twenty percent 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.usits.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N073247, dated September 10, 2009, is hereby revoked.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division