CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 086310 RFC
Ms. Elizabeth Brault
Fingerhut Corporation
4400 Baker Road
Minnetonka, MN 55343
RE: Pocket-size organizer
Dear Ms. Brault:
This ruling letter is in response to your letter dated
December 13, 1989, on behalf of Craftmaster Leatherware Corp.,
concerning the classification of a pocket-size organizer under
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA). The organizer was manufactured in Taiwan and a sample
was submitted for examination.
FACTS:
The submitted sample is a set consisting of a plastic,
portfolio-type holder which contains a notepad, ballpoint pen,
calendar, identification card, and telephone and address book.
The sample is identified as a "pocket organizer" and is
approximately 3" X 4" in size.
ISSUE:
Whether the plastic, portfolio-type holder imparts the
essential character to the set.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is governed
by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). 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 GRI's, taken in numerical order.
GRI 3 provides for goods which may be classifiable under two
or more headings. GRI 3(b) states, in part, that "...goods put
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up in sets for retail sale...shall be classified as if they
consisted of the...component which gives them their essential
character...."
Explanatory Note X to GRI 3(b) states, in part, that "the
term 'goods put up in sets for retail sale' shall be taken to
mean goods which...(a) consist of at least two different
articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different
headings...(b) consist of products or articles put up together to
meet a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and (c)
are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users
without repacking...."
The above-described organizers are "goods put up in sets for
retail sale," as discussed above, because (1) at least two
different articles are classifiable in different headings (e.g.,
the ballpoint pen in subheading 9608.10.0000, HTSUSA, and the
notepad in subheading 4820.10.20, HTSUSA); (2) the various
components of the goods are put up together to meet the
particular need or to carry out the specific activity
of organizing one's activities; and (3) the goods are put up in a
manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking.
As to the essential character of the set, Explanatory Note
VIII to GRI 3(b) states, in part, that "[essential
character]...may be determined by the nature of the material or
component...or by the role of a constituent material in relation
to the use of the goods." In the instant case, the component
which gives the above-described goods their essential character
is the plastic holder because of the indispensable and central
role of the holder in relation to the overall use of the goods.
The holder is much more than a simple "container," as, for
example, a camera case is to a camera. See GRI 5. Rather, the
holder functions to bring together all the component goods in a
single set so that the component goods interrelate to allow one
to organize, in a coordinated and comprehensive fashion, one's
activities. The feature of allowing one to organize, in a
coordinated and comprehensive fashion, one's activities provides
the commercial appeal of the goods and is the source of the
common or apt name of the goods: to wit, "organizers."
The above-discussed role of the plastic holder in relation
to the overall use of the set shows that the holder is
indispensable and central to the function and intended purpose
of the goods. Therefore, the holder, as a component of the set,
gives the set its essential character, and the set must, as a
result, be classified under the subheading for that component.
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HOLDING:
The above-described organizer is classified under subheading
4202.32.2000, HTSUSA, which provides for trunks, suitcases,
vinyl cases, articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket
or in the handbag, with outer surface of plastic sheeting,
other, and dutiable at the rate of 20 percent ad valorem.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Co