CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:CPMM H295152 MAB
Port Director
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Port of Atlanta
157 Tradeport Drive
Atlanta, GA 30354
Attn: Kristen Tessenear, Supervisory Import Specialist
CEE- Apparel, Footwear & Textiles
Re: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 1704-14-100313; Cross Body Tote Bag (Style #1970)
Dear Port Director:
The following is our decision regarding the Application for Further Review (AFR) of Protest 1704-14-100313, dated June 17, 2014, filed by Ms. Kristyn Duchenes of Target Customs Brokers, Inc., on behalf of Target General Merchandising. The AFR concerns U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) classification of a Cross Body Tote Bag (Style #1970) under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). CBP physically examined a sample of the subject bag in addition to reviewing high quality photographs subsequently provided by protestant.
FACTS:
The subject bag is described on the commercial invoice as a handbag (style #1970). It is constructed with an outer surface of 100% plastic sheeting and a nylon inner lining. The bag measures 12.0” H x 13.0” W x 3.0” D and does not have a reinforced bottom or corners. Its closure at the top is a single magnetic snap in the center. Its handle type is described as a single adjustable shoulder strap and can be adjusted so it is quite long so that an individual could wear it in a “cross body” manner with the shoulder strap placed on top of one shoulder and the bag resting upon the opposite hip. The instant bag includes a variety of compartments consisting of three (3) exterior zip pockets, one (1) interior zip pocket, and one (1) interior accessory pocket. The bag comes in two (2) colors, brown or bone.
This Protest and AFR were timely filed on June 17, 2014, and cover two (2) entries of the subject merchandise made on February 20, 2013, and March 11, 2013, under subheading 4202.22.1500, HTSUSA (Annotated), which provides for handbags with an outer surface sheeting of plastic. The entries were liquidated on January 3, 2014, and January 24, 2014, respectively, under subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA, which provides for plastic travel, sports and similar bags.
ISSUE:
Is the Cross Body Tote Bag classified in subheading 4202.22.1500, HTSUSA, as a handbag, or in subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA, as a travel, sports or similar bag?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Initially, we note that the matter is protestable under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(2) as a decision on classification and the rate and amount of duties chargeable. The protest was timely filed on June 17, 2014, within 180 days of liquidation, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3). Further Review of Protest 1704-14-100313 was properly accorded to protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(b) because the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to involve questions of law or fact which have not been ruled upon by the Commissioner of Customs or his designee or by the Customs Courts.
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides that the classification shall be determined 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 GRIs may then be applied.
The 2014 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
4202 Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases, briefcases,
school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera
cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and
similar containers; traveling bags, insulated food or
beverage bags, toiletry bags, knapsacks and backpacks,
handbags, shopping bags, wallets, purses, map cases,
cigarette cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports bags,
bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder cases, cutlery cases
and similar containers, of leather or of composition leather,
of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized
fiber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with
such materials or with paper:
Handbags, whether or not with shoulder strap, including those without handle:
4202.22 With outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textilematerials:
4202.22.15 With outer surface of sheeting of plastic …
* * *
Other:
4202.92 With outer surface of sheeting of plastics or of textile materials:
Travel, sports and similar bags:
4202.92.45 Other
* * *
Additional U.S. Note (AUSN) 1 to chapter 42 states:
For the purposes of heading 4202, the expression "travel, sports and similar bags" means goods, other than those falling in subheadings 4202.11 through 4202.39, of a kind designed for carrying clothing and other personal effects during travel, including backpacks and shopping bags of this heading, but does not include binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, bottle cases and similar containers.
* * *
Subheading 4202.22, HTSUS, provides for “handbags” – a term which is not defined in the HTSUS. A tariff term that is not defined in the HTSUS is construed in accordance with its common and commercial meaning. Nippon Kogaku (USA) Inc. v. United States, 69 CCPA 89, 673 F.2d 380 (1982). Common and commercial meaning may be determined by consulting dictionaries, lexicons, scientific authorities and other reliable sources. C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 C.C.P.A. 128, 134, 673 F.2d 1268, 1271 (1982). In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) H004184, dated July 2, 2007, CBP set forth several dictionary definitions of handbags, such as “[an] [a]ccessory carried primarily by women and girls to hold such items as money, credit cards, and cosmetics” and “a woman’s bag held in the hand or hung from a shoulder strap and used for carrying small personal articles and money.” Thus the common meaning of a handbag is a bag carried by women to hold small personal items such as money, credit cards, and cosmetics.
CBP has established several factors to distinguish handbags of subheading 4202.22, HTSUS, from tote bags of subheading 4202.92, HTSUS. With regard to handbags, CBP has stated that typically, they are smaller than tote bags, are designed to carry small personal items, include an inner lining, are reinforced along the bottom and corners, incorporate a substantial closure such as a zipper closure and include compartments to organize small personal items. See HQ 959062, dated January 28, 1997, HQ 960899, dated September 24, 1999, and HQ H005625, dated November 28, 2007. Regarding tote bags, CBP has stated that a tote bag generally has at least one side which exceeds 12 inches in length and can carry many different sundry items such as food, books, or clothing. See HQ 082271, dated December 1, 1988, and HQ 950708, dated December 24, 1991.
Protestant states that the primary purpose of the subject bag is its use as an everyday handbag and is designed and sized to contain only modestly-sized personal effects, e.g., money, keys, wallet, sunglasses, cosmetics, etc. Protestant claims that the instant bag would typically be carried in addition to a briefcase or travel/sports bag. Protestant admits the instant bag does tend toward the large end of the spectrum in terms of handbags, but asserts that women’s handbags have become larger in size over the years to carry oversized accessories. It argues that the bag at issue does not afford space nor durability sufficient to carry articles that would typically be carried in a travel or sports bag. Finally, protestant explains that in regards to the channels of trade for this particular bag, it is sold in its handbag department and not its luggage or travel bag departments.
Many factors must be evaluated in classifying a handbag or a tote bag, but the most important factor is a bag’s ability or inability to contain the larger personal effects associated with travel such as books, food, clothing and shoes, or other sundry articles. The classification of similar merchandise was addressed in HQ H140975, dated April 5, 2011. CBP tested the capacity of three bags by placing two bottles of water, a pair of women’s shoes, books and other large items into them. Despite having design features in common with a handbag (e.g., inner lining, reinforced bottom and a substantial closure), two of the bags which had two sides exceeding 12 inches in length (the pewter bag and the big berry bag) and had the capacity to hold these items were each classified as a tote bag under subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUS. The third bag (the small berry bag) had one side exceeding 12 inches in length but unlike the other two bags which had longer carrying handles, it had one short strap affixed to either side, thereby making it difficult to carry the aforementioned sundry items while properly securing the bag’s top. For this reason, it was classified as a handbag of subheading 4202.22.15, HTSUS.
Also, in HQ H268949, dated January 30, 2017, CBP considered the classification of a women’s hobo bag (style no. 37556). This bag closed at the top with a zipper and was characterized by a crescent shape, measuring at 14-1/2 inches in length, 6 inches in width, and 9.5 inches in height at its center and 13 inches on each side of its crescent shape. It had one carrying strap affixed to either side of the bag designed to be carried by hand or over the shoulder. Like the small berry bag in HQ H140975, the hobo bag had one side exceeding 12 inches as does a typical tote bag. However, it also had a shorter carrying strap that caused it to become taut across the bag’s opening at top when filled with various sundry items (e.g., water bottles, a pair of shoes, books, etc.), thus making it difficult to maneuver them and close the zipper on top. CBP therefore concluded that the hobo bag was designed to carry small personal items and classified it as a handbag of subheading 4202.22.15, HTSUS.
Applying Customs’ established criteria for defining tote bags to the instant case, the subject bag has one side measuring 12 inches in length and one side exceeding 12 inches in length. Its dimensions are substantially similar to the two bags classified as tote bags in HQ H140975. Despite having some design features in common with a handbag (e.g., inner lining, compartments to organize small personal items), as protestant has acknowledged, the instant bag is “on the large end of the spectrum.” Upon CBP’s physical examination, it has been determined that the instant bag is large enough to fit larger items like shoes, bottled water, magazines or books, and/or other sundry items, as well as items needed on a daily basis such as a wallet, keys, etc.
Unlike the two bags with tote bag dimensions that were instead classified as handbags in HQ H140975 (small berry bag) and the hobo bag in HQ H268949, the instant bag does not have a single handle that is close and taut across the bag’s opening and/or a zippered top opening that makes it difficult to maneuver larger items into the bag. Furthermore, the instant bag does not have a reinforced bottom and corners that are typical of a handbag, nor is its single snap closure substantial (like a zipper closure) for securing a handbag. Instead, like the two bags that were classified as tote bags in HQ H140975, the instant bag’s features of a long carrying strap and a single snap closure located in the center make it easy to open and utilize its space. For a bag with one side well over 12 inches to be considered a handbag, the bag must possess some other unique design feature that limits its storage capacity. Examples of such design features consist of a small opening that does not allow larger items into the bag, thick quilting that causes the interior storage area to be much smaller than the outer dimensions would suggest, an interior that is divided into several smaller sections that do not accommodate larger articles, or an unusual shape or novelty design which warps the storage area. None of these features are present in the instant bag. Instead, the bag at issue in this protest easily contains the larger effects associated with travel, with storage capacity for additional articles.
Accordingly, we find that the instant bag is a tote bag of subheading 4202.92.4500, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
Pursuant to GRIs 1, 3(c), and 6, the Cross Body Tote Bag is classified under subheading 4202.92.45, HTSUS (2014), which provides for “[T]raveling bags … handbags … of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper: Other: With outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textile materials: Travel, sports and similar bags: Other…” The 2014 column one, general rate of duty is 20% ad valorem.
You are instructed to DENY the protest.
In accordance with Sections IV and VI of the CBP Protest/Petition Processing Handbook (HB 3500-08A, December 2007, pp. 24 and 26), you are to mail this decision, together with the CBP Form 19, to the protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision.
Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings, will make the decision available to CBP personnel, and to the public on the Customs Rulings Online Search System (“CROSS”), at https://rulings.cbp.gov/, and other methods of public distribution.
Sincerely,
Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division