CLA-2-45:S:N:N8:230 880614

Mr. Steven R. Block
R.M. Arden & Co., Inc.
200 Broadhollow Road, Suite 202
Melville, NY 11747

RE: The tariff classification of wine bottle re-corkers from Taiwan or Hong Kong

Dear Mr. Block:

In your letter dated November 6, 1992, which was received in our office on November 24, 1992, you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The ruling was requested on wine bottle re-corkers. A drawing and a value breakdown were submitted. The product consists of a cork stopper with an elf head attached to it. The elf head may be made of wood or of plastic. The cork stopper is made of natural cork and measures 1-3/32 inches in length and tapers in diameter from 25/32 inch to 21/32 inch. The product will be given away as a promotional item and can be used by the recipient as a more decorative and easier to use wine bottle stopper. Although the plastic or wood elf head is of greater value than the cork stopper, the essential character of the wine bottle re-corker is imparted by the cork stopper because of the greater role it plays in relation to the use of the product.

The applicable subheading for the wine bottle re-corkers both with a plastic elf head and with a wood elf head will be 4503.10.4000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for articles of natural cork; corks and stoppers; tapered and of a thickness (or length) greater than the maximum diameter; other (than with a maximum diameter not over 19 mm); other (than wholly of cork). The duty rate will be 15.4 cents per kilogram based on the total net weight.

Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, (19 U.S.C. 1304) provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin imported into the United States shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article.

This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).

A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the transaction.


Sincerely,

Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
New York Seaport