CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N4:421
Mr. Mark J. Segrist
Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.
225 West Washington Street, Suite 1640
Chicago, IL 60622
RE: The tariff classification of plastic hangers
Dear Mr. Segrist:
In your letter dated July 17, 2014, on behalf of Sears Holdings Management Corporation, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
Five samples were included with your request. All are hangers made of black plastic with an integral plastic top hanging hook. KMTN15 and KMTR15 are 15 inch top hangers. KMT17 and KMTNR17 are 17 inch top hangers. KMBP12 is a 12 inch bottom hanger with metal spring clips.
The applicable subheading for the plastic hangers, if imported separately, will be 3923.90.0080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for articles for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics, other. The general rate of duty will be 3 percent ad valorem.
You have not identified the country of origin. The rate of duty provided above is the rate applicable to the hangers when they are manufactured in a country with which the United States has Normal Trade Relations.
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/.
You ask whether the hangers, when imported holding garments, may be classified separately from the garments. General Rule of Interpretation (GRI) 5(b) of the HTSUS provides that, subject to the provisions of GRI 5(a), packing materials and packing containers entered with the goods therein shall be classified with the goods if they are of a kind normally used for packing such goods. However, this provision is not binding when such materials or packing containers are clearly suitable for repetitive use.
The sample hangers are of a kind normally used for the shipment of garments, and they are classifiable with the garments unless they are clearly suitable for repetitive use. In HQ 964963, 964964 and 964948, all dated June 19, 2001, Customs Headquarters ruled that certain hangers that were of substantial construction and that were used in hanger recovery systems for the repeated international transport of garments were suitable for repetitive use for the conveyance of goods and could be classified separately in subheading 3923.90.00, HTSUS, even when imported with garments. Documents were provided to verify the claim that a substantial portion of the hangers that were the subject of those rulings were forwarded to a hanger supply company and then sorted, sanitized and sold to garment vendors for use in packing, shipping, and transporting other garments. The hangers had a useful life of four to six cycles. In HQ 964963, Headquarters noted that actual reuse of the hangers is not necessary as long as the hangers are substantial and are of the class or kind of goods used for the conveyance of garments.
The hangers of your inquiry are not similar in style or construction to the hangers in the above cited rulings. They appear to be of a type used for one-time shipping of garments and given to the customer with the garment at the point of sale. This office has no evidence that hangers of these styles and constructions are of a kind commercially reused for conveyance of garments, and you have not submitted any information or documentation demonstrating repeated use of these particular styles or of similar styles for the commercial shipment of garments. In the absence of such evidence, the hangers are considered to be ordinary packing for the garments with which they are imported.
You have implied that the hangers are suitable for reuse because they comply with VICS hanger guidelines. VICS standards were developed by the Voluntary Interindustry Commerce Standards Association in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the retail industry supply chain. The goal was to create a standard so that garment and apparel makers could supply floor-ready items on standard garment hangers, eliminating the costs of transferring the garments from international shipping containers to the hangers used to display garments for sale on the retail selling floor. VICS compliant hangers include more flimsily constructed hangers such as those for intimate apparel and for infants’ clothing which, though standard in size and construction, nevertheless are not suitable for commercial reuse for international shipment and are dutiable with the garments with which they are imported. Therefore, evidence of VICS compliance is not sufficient evidence of commercial reuse.
Evidence that these hangers are suitable for reuse would include invoices or other documentation verifying re-sales of these styles of hangers, after their original use, to garment vendors for use in packing, shipping and transportation of garments. If you can provide such information, you may wish to consider resubmission of your request. In the absence of such evidence, these hangers, when imported with garments, are classifiable with those garments, and are dutiable at the same rate of duty as those garments, in accordance with the provisions of GRI 5(b).
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 Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division