CLA-2 CO:R:C:F: 088792 LPF
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
One World Trade Center
Suite 534
Long Beach, CA 90831-0700
RE: Decision on Application for Further Review of Protest No.
2704-90-005010, filed December 10, 1990, concerning
classification of hand-painted, decorative fan
Dear Sir:
This is a decision on a protest filed December 10, 1990
against your decision in the classification of the merchandise in
entry number xxxxxxxxxxx made July 20, 1990 and liquidated
November 2, 1990.
FACTS:
The protestant entered the item under subheading
4601.91.2000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA), the provision for plaiting materials, bound
together in parallel strands or woven...of vegetable
materials...of bamboo, rattan, willow or wood, at the general
column one rate of duty of 6.6 percent ad valorem.
You classified the item under 6304.92.0000, HTSUSA,
providing for other furnishing articles, not knitted or
crocheted, of cotton at the general column one rate of duty of
7.2 percent ad valorem. Protestant claims the merchandise should
be classified under subheading 4602.10.4000, HTSUSA, providing
for basketwork, wickerwork and other articles made directly to
shape from plaiting materials...of bamboo vegetable materials, or
alternatively under subheading 6307.90.9590, (now 6307.90.9490)
HTSUSA, providing for other made up textile articles at the
general column one rates of duty of 6.6 and 7 percent ad valorem,
respectively.
-2-
The decorative, non-folding fan, style # A4342, measures
approximately 27 inches in width and 15 inches in height. The
fan is constructed of a bamboo frame with a 70 percent cotton and
30 percent polyester textile material insert depicting a
decorative Japanese garden scene, which has been painted thereon.
The fan also incorporates a bamboo loop at the top. The bamboo
component of each fan has a C & F value of $1.00 and an
approximate weight of 25 grams, while the textile component has a
C & F value of $0.45 cents and an approximate weight of 5 grams.
The item is imported from China.
ISSUE:
Whether the decorative fan is classifiable as a painting
under heading 9701, HTSUSA; an other (bamboo) article made
directly to shape from plaiting materials under heading 4602,
HTSUSA; an other furnishing article (of cotton) under heading
6304, HTSUSA; or an other made up (textile) article under heading
6307, HTSUSA.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) taken in their
appropriate order provide a framework for classification of
merchandise under the HTSUSA. The majority of imported goods are
classified by application of GRI 1, that is, 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's may
then be applied. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the
official interpretation of the tariff at the international level,
facilitate classification under the HTSUSA by offering guidance
in understanding the scope of the headings and GRI's.
Heading 9701, HTSUSA, pertains, in part, to "paintings,
drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand, other than
drawings of heading 4906 and other than hand-painted or hand-
decorated manufactured articles;...." The Explanatory Note to
heading, 9701, HTSUSA, confirms that hand-decorated manufactured
articles are not included in this heading.
-3-
Although the decorative fan incorporates a hand-painted
design, this does not guarantee its classification as a painting.
The price breakdown shows that the fans are very inexpensive.
They are manufactured and imported in the thousands.
Headquarter's Ruling (HRL) 087170, which cited Sanji Kobata et
al. v. United States, 66 Cust. Ct. 341, C.D. 4213 (1971),
stressed the high value and worth and the uniqueness and rarity
of items classifiable as paintings. It follows, then, that the
decorative fan is a craft article produced in a manner similar to
a manufactured article and is not a painting under heading 9701,
HTSUSA. Therefore, we must classify the article elsewhere.
The decorative fan is constructed of a bamboo frame, base
and connecting pieces and includes a textile material insert
composed of seventy percent cotton and thirty percent polyester.
Thus, on first glance, the decorative fan could be classified in
various headings. Since the HTSUSA provides for the bamboo and
textile in separate headings, classification is determined by
applying GRI 3(a) which explains, in pertinent part, that when
goods are, prima facie, classifiable in two or more headings, the
articles are to be classified in the heading which provides the
most specific description of the good in question. However, all
headings are regarded as equally specific, when each refers
to only part of the goods.
Each of the possible headings refers to only part of the
subject merchandise. Since the headings are, thus, regarded as
equally specific, we do not classify the article by GRI 3(a) but
rather by GRI 3(b). GRI 3(b) provides that articles made up of
different components, that is, composite goods, shall be
classified as if they consisted of the component which gives them
their essential character. "Essential character" has been
construed to mean: the attribute which strongly marks or serves
to distinguish what an article is. Explanatory Note VIII to GRI
3(b) explains that bulk, quantity, weight, value or the role of a
constituent material in relation to the use of the article are
indicia of essential character.
The textile insert imparts the essential character of the
article based on the role of the hand-painted scene and the
textile insert in relation to the article as a whole. The
article, which is used only for decoration, derives its aesthetic
character primarily from the textile component. The bamboo, on
the other hand, serves merely as a frame to display and enhance
the textile insert and scene. For these reasons the item is not
classifiable under a heading in Chapters 44 or 46, HTSUSA, which
provides for bamboo articles. Rather, we must turn our focus to
the headings providing for textile articles.
-4-
Heading 6304, HTSUSA, provides for other textile furnishing
articles. The Explanatory Notes to heading 6304 provide, in
pertinent part, that the heading covers furnishing articles of
textile materials, for use in the home, public buildings,
theatres, etc. Contrary to the position espoused by the
protestant, although wall hangings and textile furnishings for
ceremonies are included in the heading, this does not indicate
that a wall hanging which furnishes the home, but is not used for
a ceremony, is excluded from the heading.
Having determined that heading 6304 provides for the goods,
the article should not be classified in the "basket" provision,
heading 6307, which provides for other made up textile articles.
The Explanatory Notes to heading 6307, explain that the heading
covers made up articles of any textile material which are not
included more specifically in other headings. As between the two
headings, the former more specifically provides for the article
than the latter. Hand fans, but not fans used only for
decoration, could be included in 6307. Focusing to the
appropriate subheading for the decorative fan, we find it
classifiable in subheading 6304.92.0000, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The decorative fan is properly classified in subheading
6304.92.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for, "[o]ther furnishing
articles, excluding those of heading 9404 (con.): Other: Not
knitted or crocheted, of cotton." The general column one rate of
duty is 7.2 percent ad valorem.
The protest should be denied in full. A copy of this
decision with the Form 19 should be sent to the protestant.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division