CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H257908 GA
Lisa Morales
Trade Product Compliance Specialist
Pier 1 Imports, Inc.
100 Pier 1 Place, Level 11
Fort Worth, Texas 76102
RE: Request for binding tariff classification ruling for glass mosaic wall décor
Dear Ms. Morales:
This is in reply to your letters of February 21, 2014 and June 20, 2014, to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) National Commodity Specialist Division (NCSD) in New York, on behalf of Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (“Pier 1”), seeking a prospective binding tariff classification ruling under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), concerning glass mosaic wall décor imported from Indonesia. The NCSD has forwarded your request to this office for a response. In reaching this decision, we have considered the descriptions and samples of the glass mosaic wall décor that you provided along with your correspondence.
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue consist of four items of glass mosaic wall décor described as follows:
Item #1 WAL-DEC-08-13006 aka “Swirl Wall Mosaic Panel.” It is a wall panel consisting of a medium density fibreboard (MDF) base structure with a drawing motif on the panel. The MDF is cut for the backing construction and all parts are assembled to the size and shape of the panel. The design is printed for placement of the mosaic glass to avoid any shape discrepancy. The mosaic glass is attached to the MDF panel based on the motif with color paint in the background as needed. The item weighs 24kgs and its dimensions are 47.25” W x 1.25” D x 31.50” H.
Item #2 DRAG-13-035 aka “A9 Mosaic Seasonal Tree Panel.” This wall panel consists of an MDF base structure frame with a drawing motif on the panel. The glass is cut and colored and arranged to be a mosaic pictorial image of a tree. The mosaic glass is attached to the entire surface of the panel based on the motif. Filler is added between the mosaic glass pieces. The backing is then colored for the final product. The item weighs 9kgs and its dimensions are 48” W x 1 ½” D x 27 ½” H.
Item #3 DRA13-05 aka “Green Leaves Mosaic Panel.” It is a wall panel consisting of an MDF base structure frame with a drawing motif on the panel. The design is printed for placement of the mosaic glass to avoid any shape discrepancy. The glass is cut and colored and arranged to form a mosaic design of leaves. The mosaic glass is attached to the panel based on the motif design. Paint and filler is added between the mosaic glass pieces and part of the surface area. The backing is then colored and the final product is complete. The item weighs 8kgs and its dimensions are 31 ½” W x 1 ½” D x 39 3/8” H.
Item #4 DRA13-036 aka “Gingko Leaves Art.” It is a wall panel consisting of wood structure frame made of albasia wood. The albasia wood is cut, dried, and shaped to be a frame panel. The drawing motif is made on the canvass and the glass is cut and colored and arranged to form the mosaic flowers. The mosaic glass is attached to the canvass base and then the coloring, filler, and textured painting is added to the background with some leaves. Coloring and filler is added between the mosaic glass pieces and the surface is painted to complete the final product. The item weighs 4kgs and its dimensions are 31 ½” W x 1 ½” D x 39 3/8” H.
ISSUE:
Whether the glass mosaic wall décor items are classifiable in heading 9701, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. The General Rules of interpretation (GRI’s) set forth the legal framework in which merchandise is to be classified under the HTSUS. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRI’s taken in their appropriate order.
Heading 9701, HTSUS, provides for: “Paintings, drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand, other than drawings of heading 4906 and other than hand-painted or hand-decorated manufactured articles; collages and similar decorative plaques; all the foregoing framed or not framed.”
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While not legally binding, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HS and are thus useful in ascertaining the proper classification of merchandise. It is CBP’s practice to follow, whenever possible, the terms of the ENs when interpreting the HTSUS. See T.D. 89-90, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). Explanatory Note 97.01 (B) provides the following:
This group covers collages and similar decorative plaques, consisting of bits and pieces of various animal, vegetable or other materials, assembled so as to form a picture or decorative design or motif and glued or otherwise mounted on a backing, e.g., of wood, paper or textile material. The backing may be plain or it may be hand painted or imprinted with decorative or pictorial elements which form part of the overall design. Collages range in quality from articles cheaply produced in quantity for sale as souvenirs up to products which require a high degree of craftsmanship and which may be genuine works of art.
In your ruling request, you assert that the merchandise is classified in heading 9701, HTSUS, because it is a collage. A collage is not defined in the Section Notes, the Chapter Notes or the ENs to heading 9701, HTSUS. Where a tariff term is not defined by the HTSUS or the legislative history, the courts have instructed that a term’s correct meaning is its common, or commercial, meaning. Rocknel Fastener, Inc. v. United States, 267 F.3d 1354, 1356 (Fed. Cir. 2001) (“To ascertain the common meaning of a term, a court may consult ‘dictionaries, scientific authorities, and other reliable information sources’ and ‘lexicographic and other materials.” (quoting C.J. Tower & Sons of Buffalo, Inc. v. United States, 673 F.2d 1268, 1271 (Fed. Cir. 1982).
In this case, a good indication of the common meaning of the term “collage” can be obtained from dictionary definitions. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term “collage,” in relevant part, as: “an abstract form of art in which photographs, pieces of paper, newspaper, cuttings, string, etc. are placed in a juxtaposition and glued to the pictorial surface; such a work of art.” Oxford English Dictionary Online, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/36204?redirectedFrom=collage#eid.
Similarly, the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a “collage,” in relevant part, as: “a work of art that is made by attaching pieces of different materials (such as paper, cloth, or wood) to a flat surface. Merriam-Webster Dictionary Online, http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collage.
Based on the above definitions, the merchandise is a collage because it is a decorative article consisting of bits and pieces of glass assembled to form a decorative design or motif and attached to a backing of wood, paper or textile material. This finding is consistent with prior CBP rulings. In HQ 087958, dated January 11, 1991, pictures which consisted of dried, pressed, natural plants and vegetable materials mounted on a backing were classified as collages. It was determined that the decorative pictures were designed to be hung on the wall as decorative articles. The pictures were classified under heading, 9701, HTSUS. Similarly, the instant merchandise consists of bits and pieces of mirror glass and multicolor glass mosaic tiles and albasia wood to form decorative design panels of a swirl wall mosaic, a seasonal tree, a green leaves mosaic, and a gingko leaves art. Additionally, the instant merchandise appears to be mass produced by craftsmen for sale, designed to be hung on the wall as decorative articles, and relatively inexpensive, all of which fall within the definition of “collage” as described in the above Explanatory Notes. See also HQ 958360, dated October 13, 1995; HQ 952578, dated April 8, 1994; HQ 088107, dated February 1, 1991.
Consequently, insomuch as the instant merchandise is described by the text of heading 9701, HTSUS, we find that the glass mosaic wall décor items are properly classified in heading 9701, HTSUS, by application of GRI 1.
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, the glass mosaic wall décor items are classified in heading 9701, HTSUS, specifically, in subheading 9701.90.00, HTSUS, which provides for, “Paintings, drawings and pastels, executed entirely by hand, other than drawings of heading 4906 and other than hand-painted or hand-decorated manufactured articles; collages and similar decorative plaques; all the foregoing framed or not framed: Paintings, drawings and pastels: Other.” The rate of duty is “Free.”
Duty rates are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov.
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Ieva K. O’Rourke, Chief
Tariff Classification and Marking Branch