OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H331822 RRB
Ms. Joann Mosqueda
JA-RU, Inc.
12901 Flagler Center Boulevard
Jacksonville, FL 32258
RE: Revocation of NY N319955 and HQ 088829; Modification of NY N319421 and NY L88167; Tariff classification of various playing cards
Dear Ms. Mosqueda:
This is to inform you that U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") has reconsidered New York Ruling Letter ("NY") N319955, dated June 22, 2021, regarding the classification of various playing cards consisting of four cards games, Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Hearts. In NY N319955, CBP classified various playing cards in subheading 9504.90.9080, HTSUSA ("Annotated"), as "Video game consoles and machines, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, billiards, special tables for casino games and automatic bowling equipment, amusement machines operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any other means of payment: Other: Other: Other." We have reviewed NY N319955 and have determined that the classification of various playing cards in subheading 9504.90.9080, HTSUSA, was incorrect.
We have also reviewed Headquarters Ruling Letter ("HQ") 088829, dated May 20, 1991; NY N319421, dated May 26, 2021; and NY L88167, dated October 25, 2005, concerning the tariff classification of similar playing cards in subheading 9504.90.9080, HTSUSA, and have determined that the aforementioned rulings were incorrect. For the reasons set forth below, we revoke two ruling letters and modify two ruling letters.
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 (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), notice of the proposed action was published on September 13, 2023, in Vol. 57, No. 33 of the Customs Bulletin. No comments were received in response to this notice.
FACTS:
In NY N319955, we described the merchandise as follows:
The "Kids Cards", cards games, item number 3602, consists of four games, Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Hearts. These are classic card games designed for children. Each of these games is a contest between two or more players involving skill or chance.
In HQ 088829, we described the merchandise as follows:
The samples submitted to Headquarters consist of three packages of plastic coated paper cards. Each package contains two sets of 53 cards plus one instruction card. The cards contain photographs on one side and trivia type questions on the other side: a brief statement of information concerning the picture also appears on the question side. The instruction cards state that these cards are to be used to play a trivia type game with the objective being to collect points by either correctly answering any one of the questions found on the back of each card or identifying the photograph on the front. The samples submitted were "Baseball Wit", "Yellowstone Teton Wit", and "Northwest National Park and Forest Wit" game cards.
In NY N319421, we described the merchandise as follows:
The second product under consideration, item number 482511, is a miniature Uno game, whereby players using colored cards that have various assigned points, compete to be the first to total 500 points. The game contains a standard set of 108 Uno playing cards, measuring approximately 2 inches by 1 inch. The miniature Uno game is principally designed for the amusement of children 6 years of age and older.
In NY L88167, we described the merchandise as follows:
Uno is a card game whereby players using colored cards that have various assigned points compete to be the first to total 500 points.
ISSUE:
Whether various playing cards are classified in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, as "Video game consoles and machines, table or parlor games...: Playing cards," or in subheading 9504.90.90, HTSUS, "Video game consoles and machines, table or parlor games...: Other: Other: Other."
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 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The 2023 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
9504 Video game consoles and machines, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, billiards, special tables for casino games and automatic bowling equipment, amusement machines operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any other means of payment:
9504.40.00 Playing Cards
9504.90 Other:
Other:
9504.90.90 Other
* * * *
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes ("EN") 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 the headings. It is CBP's practice to consult, whenever possible, the terms of the ENs when interpreting the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
EN 95.04 states, in pertinent part, as follows:
This heading includes :
...
(11) Card games of all kinds (bridge, tarot, "lexicon", etc.).
* * * *
The merchandise at issue in NY N319955, HQ 088829, NY N319421, and NY L88167 each consists of a type of game played with cards that was classified in subheading 9504.90.90, HTSUS. For example, the products at issue in NY L88167 and NY N319421 are regular and miniature Uno card games, whereby players using colored cards with various assigned points compete to be the first to total 500 points. The merchandise described in HQ 088829 includes three packages of plastic-coated paper cards, with each package containing two sets of 53 cards plus one instruction card, and with photographs on one side and trivia questions on the other. These cards are used to play a trivia type game with the objective being to collect points by correctly answering questions on the back of the card or identifying the photos on the front. Similarly, the merchandise in NY N319955 consists of four card games designed for children-Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Hearts-each of which is a contest between two or more players involving skill or chance.
Heading 9504 provides for, among other things, table or parlor games; other games operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, token or by any other means of payment; playing cards; video game consoles and machines; and other games. There is no dispute at the heading level that the subject merchandise is classified in heading 9504, HTSUS. Because the instant classification analysis 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.
Here, the dispute arises at the six-digit level, whereby the various subheadings of heading 9504, HTSUS, differentiate between different types of games, including playing cards (subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS) and other games not described in any of the preceding six-digit headings (subheading 9504.90.90, HTSUS).
The term "playing cards" is not defined in the tariff schedule. Although the ENs 95.04, HTSUS, do not mention the term "playing cards," the ENs state that the heading includes "[c]ard games of all kinds (bridge, tarot, 'lexicon', etc.)." In HQ 953626, dated September 9, 1993, CBP examined the requestor's assertion that the reference to "card games" in the ENs is a reference to "playing cards" of subheading 9504.40.40, HTSUS. There, CBP concluded that in light of the Harmonized System Committee's (HSC) stated intent behind the subheading provision for "playing cards" to cover card games of all kinds-not just those played with a standard deck of four suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades) of 13 cards each (two through ten, jack queen, king, and ace)-the Tarot, Snap, Old Maid and the French Auto Race card games at issue in that rulings were properly classified in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, as playing cards. Accordingly, beyond classification of standard deck playing cards in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS[1], it has been CBP's practice to classify all types of playing cards in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS. See, e.g., NY N326534, dated June 14, 2022 (classifying a card game called "Tapeworm," consisting of 84 cards printed with images of four different cartoon worms and action icons which dictate the game play, and with various actions and scenarios for boosting a player's chances or sabotaging an opponent's hand, in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, as "playing cards"); NY N221070, dated June 22, 2012 (classifying a "Blurble Card Game," consisting of 300 pictured paper cards, where the object of the game is to say a word with the same letter as the depicted image on the card before one's opponent, in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, as "playing cards"); NY N305974, dated September 24, 2019 (classifying two sports trivia card games testing the user's sports knowledge of a particular city's team, in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, as "playing cards"); NY N008041, dated March 23, 2007 (classifying a collectable card strategy game called "Magic: The Gathering," consisting of a 60 trading card theme deck, in subheading 95004.40.00, HTSUS, as "playing cards"); NY N304635, dated June 27, 2019 (classifying a card game set to play a game called "Argute," consisting of 73 poker-sized playing cards for play between 2 and 7 people, in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, as "playing cards"); and NY N322120, dated October 25, 2021 (a country of origin ruling confirming classification of "Magic: The Gathering," a collectable card strategy game involving two or more players, in subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, as "playing cards").
Like the card games described above, which were classified as "playing cards" of subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, the card games at issue in NY N319955, HQ 088829, NY N319421, and NY L88167 are also played with card decks different from the standard card deck containing four suits (hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades) of 13 cards each (two through ten, jack, queen, king, and ace). Thus, we conclude that the playing cards in NY N319955, HQ 088829, NY N319421, and NY L88167 were wrongly classified in subheading 9504.90.90, HTSUS. Because the regular Uno card game, miniature Uno card game, trivia card games, and card decks for playing Old Maid, Go Fish, Crazy Eights and Hearts in NY L88167, NY N319421, HQ 088829, and NY N319955, respectively, are "playing cards," the merchandise in those rulings are properly classified in subheading 9504.40.40, HTSUS, as "Video game consoles and machines, table or parlor games...: Playing cards."
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the subject playing cards are classified in heading 9504, HTSUS, specifically under subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, which provides for: "Video game consoles and machines, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, billiards, special tables for casino games and automatic bowling equipment, amusement machines operated by coins, banknotes, bank cards, tokens or by any other means of payment.: Playing Cards." The 2023 column one general rate of duty for subheading 9504.40.00, HTSUS, is free.
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 https://hts.usitc.gov/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N319955, dated June 22, 2021, and HQ 088829, dated May 20, 1991, are hereby REVOKED.
NY N319421, dated May 26, 2021, and NY L88167, dated October 25, 2005, are hereby MODIFIED with respect to the classification of the miniature and regular Uno playing cards discussed in those rulings.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Yuliya A. Gulis, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division
Cc: Mr. William Gibson, Jr.
Interpretive Marketing Products
P.O. Box 21697
Billings, Montana 59104
Mr. Joseph J. Kenny
Geodis USA Inc.
One CVS Dr.
Woonsocket, RI 02895
Ms. Lorianne Aldinger
Rite Aid Corporation
P.O. Box 3165
Harrisburg, PA 17105
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[1] See, e.g., NY L86880, dated September 1, 2005; NY L82706, dated March 2, 2005; NY N319956, dated June 22, 2021; and NY N277251, dated July 28, 2016.