CLA-2-94:OT:RR:E:NC:1:110
Ms. Denise M. Franz
Seasonal Specialties, LLC
11455 Valley View Road
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
RE: The tariff classification of lighting sets from China.
Dear Ms. Franz:
In your letter dated February 5, 2008, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise under consideration are five lighting sets, LED Light Set, Remains Lit Light Set, C7 Light Set and two C6 Light Sets. All five sets are Indoor/Outdoor String Light Sets. All light sets are offered with various shapes and colors of light bulbs. Copies of packaging material were submitted with your ruling request. All light sets are rated for 120 Volts (V).
From the information provided on the packaging material, the LED (Light Emitting Diode) Light Set is a string of lights measuring a total of 22 feet long. It consists of a wire harness with green insulation and incorporates 60 green lamp-holders with multicolor faceted miniature LED light bulbs, equally spaced along 19.5 feet of the cable. The Remains Lit Light Set is a string of lights measuring a total of 35.3 feet long. It consists of a wire harness with white insulation and incorporates 100 white lamp-holders with white miniature filament light bulbs, equally spaced along 33 feet of the cable. The C7 Light Set is a string of lights measuring a total of 25 feet long. It consists of a wire harness with green insulation and incorporates 25 green C7 size lamp-holders with multicolor ceramic C7 size filament light bulbs, equally spaced along 24 feet of the cable. One C6 Light Set is a string of lights measuring a total of 22 feet long. It consists of a wire harness with green insulation and incorporates 60 green C6 size lamp-holders with white faceted LED C6 size light bulbs, equally spaced along 19.5 feet of the cable. C6 size lamps are slightly smaller in both size and wattage from a C7. The second C6 Light Set is a string of lights measuring a total of 22 feet long. It consists of a wire harness with green insulation and incorporates 60 green C6 size lamp-holders with blue faceted sphere C6 size filament light bulbs, equally spaced along 19.5 feet of the cable.
In your letter you suggest classification under 9405.40.8000 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as other electric lamps and lighting fittings. However, you state that Seasonal Specialties is an importer of decorative Christmas and other holiday merchandise. We note that subheading 9405.30.00, HTSUS, is a “principal use” provision within the meaning ascribed in Primal Lite v. United States, 15 F. Supp. 2d 915 (CIT 1998); aff’d 182 F. 3d 1362 (CAFC 1999), in which the court concluded that because subheading 9405.30.00, HTSUS, is a principal use provision, it is therefore subject to Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(a), HTSUS, which states in part that a tariff classification controlled by use (other than actual use) is to be determined in accordance with the use in the United States at, or immediately prior to, the date of importation, of goods of that class or kind to which the imported goods belong, and the controlling use is the principal use; Additionally, the Primal Lite court, in discussing principal use, held that “it is the use of the class or kind of goods being imported that is controlling, rather than the specific use to which the importation itself is put,” i.e. goods need not be actually used in the same manner as the entire class or kind in order to be recognized as part of that class or kind. CBP has repeatedly upheld this analysis by defining principal use as the use of the class or kind of the merchandise at issue that exceeds any other use.
The applicable subheading for the LED and Remains Lit Light Sets will be 9405.30.0010, HTSUS, which provides for “Lamps and lighting fittings…and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included: Lighting sets of a kind used for Christmas trees: Miniature series wired sets.” The general rate of duty will be 8 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for the C6 and C7 Light Sets will be 9405.30.0040, HTSUS, which provides for “Lamps and lighting fittings…and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included: Lighting sets of a kind used for Christmas trees: Other.” The general rate of duty will be 8 percent 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 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 Thomas Campanelli at 646-733-3016.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division