MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734643 ER
Mr. J. B. Castellano
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
Lincoln Juarez Bridge, Bldg #2
P.O. Box 3130
Laredo, Texas 78044-3130
RE: Request for Internal Advice on the Country of Origin
Marking Requirements for Telephone Message Books
Spiral-Bound in Mexico; 19 U.S.C. 1304; 19 CFR 10.22.
Dear Mr. Castellano:
This is in response to your request for internal advice
dated April 21, 1992, regarding the marking requirements for
telephone message books assembled in Mexico which are entitled to
a partial duty exemption under HTSUS subheading 9802.00.80.
FACTS:
The individual pages, front and back covers of each message
book will be American products printed in the U.S. Additionally,
these pages and covers will be punched with "spiral holes" in the
U.S. The books will be bound in Mexico by inserting a wire
spiral through the holes and fastening it at the ends so as to
hold the pages and the front and back covers in place. The
message books will then be placed in cardboard containers and
shipped back to the U.S. No information was submitted as to the
country of origin of the wire spiral.
You assert that the importer does not intend to claim a
partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.80 of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTSUS"). For
purposes of this ruling, we will assume that the telephone books
are properly eligible for such treatment.
ISSUE:
Must telephone message books which are entitled to a
partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.80 HTSUS, but not
actually entered as such, be marked in accordance with section
10.22, Customs Regulation (19 CFR 10.22) to satisfy the country
of origin marking requirements?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C.
1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign
origin imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous
place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the
article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to
indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name
of the country of origin of the article.
Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134), implements the
country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19
U.S.C. 1304. Section 10.22, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 10.22),
states that assembled articles entitled to the duty exemption
under subheading 9802.00.80 HTSUS, are considered products of the
country of assembly for the purposes of country of origin
marking.
19 CFR 10.22 provides a standard for country of origin
determinations that applies only to assembled articles that are
"entitled" to the partial duty exemption under subheading
9802.00.80 HTSUS. The provision does not state that the
assembled article must be entered under HTSUS subheading
9802.00.80 to apply. In addressing this issue, Customs, in HQ
733661 (August 30, 1990), stated:
A fundamental rule of statutory construction is that if
the language of a statute is clear and unambiguous, it
must be held to mean what it plainly expresses.
Sutherland Stat Cons sec. 406 (4th Ed). The term
"entitled" is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary
(2nd college Edition), means "having a right to." In
this case, it is asserted that the imported assembled
articles have a right to or are eligible for a partial
duty exemption under HTSUS subheading 9802.00.80. If,
in fact, the imported assembled articles do have such a
right or eligibility, the articles are within the ambit
of 19 CFR 10.22 and should be marked accordingly.
If an imported assembled article is made entirely of
American-made materials, the U.S. origin of the material may be
disclosed by using a legend such as "Assembled in from
material of U.S. origin," or a similar phrase. See HQ 744661
supra. In HQ 731507 (October 17, 1990), the marking "Assembled
in from U.S. and Japanese materials" was an appropriate
marking under 19 CFR 10.22 for products entitled to the partial
duty exemption under HTSUS subheading 9802.00.80 and made out of
both U.S. and Japanese components. In the instant case, it is
unclear if all of the components of the message books are of U.S
origin or whether one (the spiral) or some may be of Mexican or
other foreign origin. Depending on the origin of the components,
one of the two types of marking legends, described above, is
appropriate. Alternatively, the marking "Assembled in Mexico",
without more, may be used.
HOLDING:
Imported telephone message books which are entitled to or
eligible for the partial duty exemption under HTSUS subheading
9802.00.80, must be marked in accordance with the provisions set
forth in 19 CFR 10.22, regardless of whether or not the goods are
actually entered under subheading 9802.00.80 HTSUS.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director