OT:RR:CTF:FTM H330814 TSM
Ms. Elizabeth McGuffin
Dollar General Corporation
100 Mission Ridge
Goodlettsville, TN 37072
RE: Tariff Classification of a Plant Basket Replacement Liner
Dear Ms. McGuffin,
This letter is in response to your request, on behalf of Dollar General Corporation (“DGC” or “Requestor”), dated October 10, 2022, for a binding ruling regarding the tariff classification of a certain plant basket replacement liner under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). The National Commodity Specialist Division forwarded your request to our office.
FACTS:
The product at issue is described as a plant basket replacement liner. The Requestor provides:
This item is called a Coco replacement liner. It is designed to replace the liner in a plant basket. It is approximately 10 inches in diameter with measurements listed as 10”L x 10”W x 5”H and weighs approximately 0.12 pounds. This product is made by taking coconut fibers, adding glue to the fibers, and finally drying naturally by sunlight. It is continuously turned to heat evenly. After it has dried, the mixture of coconut fiber and glue is placed in a stone mortar and beaten to shape. After the desired shape is achieved, it is again dried naturally by sunlight.
A sample plant basket replacement liner was sent to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP”) Laboratory and Scientific Services (“LSS”) for testing. The results, reported in CBP Laboratory Report No. NY20221264, dated March 17, 2023, show that the replacement liner has a structure similar to nonwoven fabric and is composed of a staple fiber web with a polyisoprene type rubber or plastic bonding material to bond the fibers together, compressed into a bowl-shaped product.
ISSUE:
What is the tariff classification of the plant basket replacement liner?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification decisions under the HTSUS are made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (“GRIs”). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods 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 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
The 2024 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
1404 Vegetable products not elsewhere specified or included
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5305 Coconut, abaca (Manila hemp or Musa textilis Nee), ramie and other vegetable textile fibers, not elsewhere specified or included, raw or processed but not spun; tow, noils and waste of these fibers (including yarn waste and garnetted stock)
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6307 Other made up articles, including dress patterns
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9602 Worked vegetable or mineral carving material and articles of these materials; molded or carved articles of wax, of stearin, of natural gums or natural resins, of modeling pastes, and other molded or carved articles, not elsewhere specified or included; worked, unhardened gelatin (except gelatin of heading 3503) and articles of unhardened gelatin
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Note 1 to Chapter 63 provides as follows:
Subchapter 1 applies only to made up articles, of any textile fabric.
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In addition, in interpreting the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (“ENs”) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff 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 these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
EN 1 to Section XI provides, in relevant part, as follows:
This Section does not cover:
(c) Cotton linters or other vegetable materials of Chapter 14
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The General EN to Chapter 53 provides in relevant part as follows:
In general, and with certain exceptions referred to in the Explanatory Note to heading 53.05, this Chapter deals with vegetable textile materials (other than cotton) at the various stages from the raw materials to their transformation into woven fabrics.
* * *
EN 1 to Chapter 63 provides as follows:
Sub Chapter 1 applies only to made up articles, of any textile fabric.
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The General EN to Chapter 96 provides, in relevant part, as follows:
This Chapter covers carving and moulding materials and articles of these materials, certain brooms, brushes and sieves, certain articles of haberdashery, certain articles of writing and office equipment, certain requisites for smokers, certain toilet articles, certain sanitary absorbent products (sanitary towels (pads) and tampons, napkins and napkin liners and similar articles, of any material) and various other articles not more specifically covered by other headings in the Nomenclature.
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EN 14.04 provides, in relevant part, as follows:
This heading covers all vegetable products, not specified or included elsewhere in the Nomenclature.
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The heading excludes vegetable materials used as stuffing but specified elsewhere or used principally for other purposes, e.g., wood wool (heading 44.05), cork wool (heading 45.01), coconut fibres (or coir) (heading 53.05) and waste of vegetable textile fibres (Chapter 52 or 53).
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EN 53.05 provides in relevant part as follows:
This heading covers vegetable textile fibres obtained from the leaves or fruit of certain monocotyledonous plants (e.g., coconut, abaca or sisal) or, in the case of ramie, obtained from the stems of dicotyledonous plants of the family urticaceae, and not specified or included in any other heading.
These fibres are in most cases coarser and thicker than the textile bast fibres of heading 53.03.
Generally they are classified here whether raw, prepared for spinning (e.g., carded or combed into slivers), or in the form of tow or fibrous waste (obtained mainly during combing), yarn waste (obtained mainly during spinning or weaving) or garnetted stock (obtained from rags or scrap rope or cordage, etc.).
However, fibres obtained from vegetable materials which, when raw or in certain other forms, fall in Chapter 14 (in particular kapok), are classified here only when they have undergone treatment indicating their use as textile materials, e.g., when they have been crushed, carded or combed in preparation for spinning.
The vegetable textile fibres classified here include:
Coconut. Coconut fibres (coir) are obtained from the external covering of the nut and are coarse, brittle and brown in colour. They are classified here whether in the mass or in bundles.
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EN 96.02 provides, in relevant part, as follows:
This group includes, on the one hand, moulded and carved articles of various materials, provided those articles are not specified or included in other headings of the Nomenclature (e.g., articles of plastics Chapter 39, or of ebonite Chapter 40). It also covers worked unhardened gelatin and articles thereof (other than goods of heading 35.03 or Chapter 49).
For the purposes of these materials, the expression “moulded articles” means articles which have been moulded to a shape appropriate to their intended use. On the other hand, materials moulded in the shape of blocks, cubes, plates, bars, sticks, etc., whether or not impressed during moulding, are not included.
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We first determine whether the subject coir plant replacement liner is a vegetable product classified in Section II, HTSUS, which includes Chapters 6 through 14, HTSUS. Because the plant replacement liner is not described in any other heading of Section II, we consider heading 1404, HTSUS, which covers, among other things, “[v]egetable products not elsewhere specified or included.” EN 14.04 provides, in relevant part, that “[t]his heading covers all vegetable products, not specified or included elsewhere in the Nomenclature.” Our research indicates that coir is a type of vegetable fiber. See Industrial Applications of Natural Fibres: Structure, Properties, and Technical Applications. See also Understanding Fabrics: From Fiber to Finished Cloth. As such, coir constitutes a vegetable product within the meaning of this term as it appears in EN 14.04. However, the glue with which the coconut fiber is mixed to form the instant product is not a “vegetable product,” and thus is not described by heading 1404, HTSUS.
Next, we consider the coconut fibers and turn to heading 5305, HTSUS, which covers, among other things, “Coconut … and other vegetable textile fibers, not elsewhere specified or included, raw or processed but not spun.” EN 53.05 provides, in relevant part, that this heading covers “vegetable textile fibers… whether raw, prepared for spinning (e.g., carded or combed into slivers), or in the form of tow or fibrous waste (obtained mainly during combing), yarn waste (obtained mainly during spinning or weaving) or garneted stock (obtained from rags or scrap rope or cordage, etc.).” Thus, based on the EN, coir, which undergoes processing beyond the methods enumerated in the EN, is not covered by heading 5305, HTSUS. CBP consistently classifies coir that is in raw masses or bundles, carded, combed, or otherwise prepared for spinning, or in the form of waste or garneted stock, in heading 5305, HTSUS, but not when the coir is subjected to other preparations or processes not enumerated in the EN. See, e.g., HQ 089765, dated July 15, 1991 (classifying coir fibrous waste under heading 5305); and HQ 088276, dated February 8, 1991 (classifying coir bundles under heading 5305). But see HQ 961111, dated October 13, 1998 (“Classification under subheading 5305.19, HTSUS, is precluded as the sample coir fibers have undergone further manufacture and subheading 5305, HTSUS, is limited to just the coir textile fibers.”); HQ 956929, dated May 23, 1995 (finding that treatment of coconut fibers with an agglutinating substance necessitated their classification outside of heading 5305, HTSUS); and HQ H122355, dated September 8, 2015 (finding that neither coir planters formed into hollow cylindrical shape from a mixture of coir, Vaseline, and clay, nor Greenhouse Kit rectangular containers molded from a mixture of coconut husks and latex glue, could be considered coir in raw, carded, combed, waste or garneted stock form, and therefore fell outside the scope of heading 5305, HTSUS). Similarly, the instant product, which consists of coconut fiber and glue, cannot be considered coir in raw, carded, combed, waste, or garneted stock form, and therefore it is not classified in heading 5305, HTSUS.
Because the plant replacement liner is not described in other HTSUS headings, we turn to heading 6307, HTSUS, which is a basket provision covering other made-up textile articles not more accurately described in other headings. Specifically, heading 6307, HTSUS, provides for “Other made up articles, including dress patterns.” With regard to products covered by heading 6307, HTSUS, Note 1 to Chapter 63 and EN 1 to Chapter 63, provide that Subchapter 1 of Chapter 63, which covers headings 6301-6307, HTSUS, applies only to made up articles of any textile fabric. However, consistent with CBP Laboratory Report No. NY20221264, dated March 17, 2023, the plant basket replacement liner has a structure “similar to a nonwoven [fabric],” but is not made of a nonwoven textile fabric. Accordingly, the plant basket liner at issue is not classified in heading 6307, HTSUS.
Noting that the plant basket replacement liner is placed in a stone mortar and beaten to shape we examine heading 9602, HTSUS, which covers, among other things, “… other molded or carved articles, not elsewhere specified or included...” EN 96.02 provides that “… the expression ‘moulded articles’ means articles which have been moulded to a shape appropriate to their intended use.” We note that because the term “molded” is not defined by the HTSUS or the relevant notes, we must consult dictionaries to ascertain its meaning. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term “moulded” as “that has been shaped or moulded; spec. made or cut according to a mould; pressed or cast (as) in a mould.” The Britannica Dictionary defines the term “molded” as “to form or press (something, such as wax, plastic, clay, or dough) into a particular shape” and “to make (something) from a material that has been formed or pressed.” Consistent with these definitions, we find that the article at issue is molded, because it is formed into shape appropriate to its intended use as a plant basket liner. Accordingly, we conclude that the plant basket replacement liner is classified in heading 9602, HTSUS, and specifically in subheading 9602.00.50, HTSUS, which provides for “Worked vegetable or mineral carving material and articles of these materials; molded or carved articles of wax, of stearin, of natural gums or natural resins, of modeling pastes, and other molded or carved articles, not elsewhere specified or included; worked, unhardened gelatin (except gelatin of heading 3503) and articles of unhardened gelatin: Other.” See HQ H122355, dated September 8, 2015 (classifying articles described as “a container for planting potted or hanging plants,” and “Greenhouse Kit,” both molded from coir, Vaseline, and clay, in subheading 9602.00.50, HTSUS).
HOLDING:
By application of GRIs 1 and 6, we find that the plant basket replacement liner at issue is classified in heading 9602, HTSUS, and specifically in subheading 9602.00.50, HTSUS, which provides for “Worked vegetable or mineral carving material and articles of these materials; molded or carved articles of wax, of stearin, of natural gums or natural resins, of modeling pastes, and other molded or carved articles, not elsewhere specified or included; worked, unhardened gelatin (except gelatin of heading 3503) and articles of unhardened gelatin: Other.” The 2024 general, column one rate of duty is 2.7% ad valorem.
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/.
Please note that 19 C.F.R. § 177.9(b)(1) provides that “[e]ach ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in connection with the ruling request and incorporated in the ruling letter, either directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. The application of a ruling letter by a Customs Service field office to the transaction to which it is purported to relate is subject to the verification of the facts incorporated in the ruling letter, a comparison of the transaction described therein to the actual transaction, and the satisfaction of any conditions on which the ruling was based.”
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,
Sarah Kafka, Chief Food, Textiles, and Marking Branch