CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Tammie Oliver
Customs Compliance Coordinator
Kohl’s Department Stores Inc. – Corporate Governance
N56 W17000 Ridgewood Drive, Building 3
Menomonee Falls, WI 53051
RE: The tariff classification of a magazine basket from China.
Dear Ms. Oliver:
In your letter dated January 28, 2010, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The sample you submitted will be returned as requested.
A sample has been submitted of a magazine basket, item number MFC7218. The magazine basket is made of paperboard covered with faux leather (from polymer) and non-woven fabric. This item measures 17 inches high by 14.5 inches wide by 10.5 inches deep. The stated total cost of the item is $6.00, with reported cost and weight breakdowns: paperboard $3.30/1.36lbs., faux leather $1.80/0.79lbs., and non-woven fabric $0.90/0.22lbs. It is designed to be floor standing and to be used for storage of magazines and other reading matter.
You have also inquired about the classification of the magazine basket when the paperboard frame is replaced by either MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard) or stiff plastic sheeting, with cost, thickness and dimensions remaining the same.
The magazine basket is composed of different components and is considered a composite good. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), GRI 3 (b) (VIII), state that the factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods. When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good.
In this case, the faux leather which represents over 50% of the stated total cost of the item and covers the underlying paperboard of the item, is the component that imparts the essential character to the good. As the factors using MDF or stiff plastic sheeting in place of paperboard remain the same, the essential character of the goods would be the faux leather.
The applicable subheading for the magazine basket, whether having an underlying substrate of paperboard, MDF, or stiff plastic sheeting, will be 9403.89.6010, Harmonized Tariff Schedule `of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of other material…Other; Other; Household.” The rate of duty will be free.
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 World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Neil H. Levy at (646) 733-3036.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division