OT:RR:CTF:CPM H248338 RGR
Ms. Sarah Albertini-Bond
Dollar Tree Stores
500 Volvo Parkway
Chesapeake, Virginia 23462
RE: Modification of NY N096966; Tariff classification of metal hair snap clips from China
Dear Ms. Albertini-Bond:
This is to inform you that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) has reconsidered New York (“NY”) Ruling Letter N096966, dated April 9, 2010, regarding the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) of metal hair snap clips (“snap clips”) from China. The snap clips, identified in NY N096966 as metal hair clips, were classified under subheading 9615.90.30, HTSUS, as “[c]ombs, hair-slides and the like; hairpins, curling pins, curling grips, hair-curlers and the like, other than those of heading 8516, and parts thereof: Other: Hair pins.” After reviewing this ruling in its entirety, we believe that it is partially in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby modify NY N096966 with respect to the classification of snap clips. The remaining analysis of NY N096966 remains unchanged.
Pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1625(c)(1), a notice was published in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 51, No. 48 on November 29, 2017, proposing to modify NY N096966, and any treatment accorded to substantially similar transactions. No comments were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
In NY N096966, we described the products as follows:
Style SKU 16916A consists of four head wraps and hair clips on a card. One head wrap is 1” wide and made of knit polyester fabric. The other three thin head wraps are made of cordage. Also included on the card are two sets of metal hair clips.
(Emphasis added). We further note that your ruling request, dated March 4, 2010, regarding the metal hair clips, describes them as “4 snap clips.”
Upon examination of a sample snap clip, we note that it has two prongs, and is shaped like a triangle. The prongs “snap” open and closed when pressure is applied to the middle of the snap clip. When the snap clip is closed, it is used to hold or fasten hair in place for the purpose of securing hair into different hairstyles.
ISSUE:
Whether snap clips are classified under subheading 9615.19.60, HTSUS, as “[c]ombs, hair-slides and the like; hairpins, curling pins, curling grips, hair-curlers and the like, other than those of heading 8516, and parts thereof: Combs, hair-slides and the like: Other: Other” or under subheading 9615.90.30, HTSUS, as “[c]ombs, hair-slides and the like; hairpins, curling pins, curling grips, hair-curlers and the like, other than those of heading 8516, and parts thereof: Other: Hair pins.”
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRIs”). GRI 1 provides, in part, that “for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to terms of the headings 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 may then be applied in order.
The HTSUS subheadings under consideration are as follows:
9615: Combs, hair-slides and the like; hairpins, curling pins, curling grips, hair-curlers and the like, other than those of heading 8516, and parts thereof:
Combs, hair-slides and the like:
9615.19 Other:
9615.19.60 Other. . .
* * *
9615.90: Other:
9615.90.30 Hairpins. . .
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
Neither the HTSUS nor the ENs provides a definition for “combs” or “hair-slides.” In the absence of a definition of a term in the HTSUS or ENs, the term’s correct meaning is its common and commercial meaning. Nippon Kogasku (USA), Inc. v. United States, 69 CCPA 89, 673 F.2d 380 (1982). Common and commercial meaning may be determined by consulting dictionaries, lexicons, scientific authorities and other reliable sources. C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 CCPA 128, 673, F.2d 1268 (1982).
In regards to defining “hair-slides” based on their common or commercial meaning, we turn to the Online Oxford English Dictionary (“OED”) for guidance. The OED uses the definition for “hair” as compounded for the meaning of “hair-slide” and cross referenced to the OED definition of “slide,” at n.6: “a clasp for fastening in the hair.” The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a “hair slide” as “a clip or bar for holding hair in place.” Moreover, in NY N273821, dated April 11, 2016, we noted that there are “no restrictions in the meaning of hair-slide for the types of ornamentation that can be used in the creating or producing of the hair clasp. The only restrictions in heading 9615, HTSUS, is that the hair-slides be of rigid and semi-rigid construction, and not merely of textile fabric. . .”
Turning to the merchandise at issue, the snap clips are similar to hair-slides because they both hold hair in place by means of claps or prongs that open and close. The snap clips are in an “open” position when no pressure is applied and a “closed” position when pressure is applied to the middle of the clip to secure hair in place. As metal snap clips are similar to hair slides, they are described by the terms in subheading 9615.19, HTSUS, and cannot be described as something “other” than similar to hair slides in subheading 9615.90, HTSUS.
Moreover, the Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged (1973) defines “hair pin” as “1. A slender U-shaped piece of wire, shell, etc., used by women to fasten up the hair or hold a headdress.” In past rulings, we have found that hairpins include merchandise such as bobby pins, which only have one position as part of their mechanism for holding hair in place. See, e.g., Headquarters (“HQ”) Ruling Letter 964802, dated April 5, 2001 (holding that bobby pins are a type of hairpin and are classified in subheading 9615.90.30, HTSUS); NY N016359, dated September 5, 2007 (classifying bobby pins as hairpins in subheading 9615.90.30, HTSUS). The instant merchandise is unlike a hairpin or bobby pin in that it is always in the “closed” position, in which there is constant pressure by one prong against the other. As noted above, the snap clips can be in either an “open” position or a “closed” position.
HOLDING:
Pursuant to GRIs 1 and 6, the snap clips described as “metal hair clips” in NY N096966 are classified in heading 9615, HTSUS, and specifically provided for under subheading 9615.19.6000, HTSUSA (Annotated), as “[c]ombs, hair-slides and the like; hairpins, curling pins, curling grips, hair-curlers and the like, other than those of heading 8516, and parts thereof: Combs, hair-slides and the like: Other: Other.” The 2017 column one general rate of duty is 11% ad valorem.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompany duty rate are provided on the World Wide Web, at http://www.usitc.gov/tata.hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
New York Ruling Letter N096966, dated April 9, 2010, is hereby MODIFIED as set forth above with respect to classification of the metal hair clips described therein, but the classification of the knit polyester head wrap, the cordage head wraps and the ponytail holders remains in effect.
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