CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433
Sandra Tovar
Licensed Customs Broker
CST, Inc.
Customs Brokerage & Compliance Consulting
500 Lanier Avenue, West, Suite 901
Fayetteville, GA 30214
RE: The tariff classification of a showcase, table and shelf from China.
Dear Ms. Tovar:
In your letter dated May 19, 2014, on behalf of Firefly Store Solutions, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Photos were submitted of a rectangular box showcase; a table having a metal stand with a wooden top; and a table having a metal stand with a wooden top and lower wooden shelf, along with a showcase placed on top.
Item CSH-045 is identified as the Hanson Showcase. The Hanson Showcase is described by you as a three-piece set used to display items in retail stores. The Hanson Showcase consists of a detachable showcase in the form of a rectangular box and a table having a tubular steel stand with a wooden top set within a metal framework. The wood top is permanently attached to its base. The table has an optional lower wooden shelf that attaches to the cross section of the steel stand by means of metal clips. The detachable showcase is composed of two sides made from wood, two sides made from tempered glass, a top made from tempered glass and a bottom made from wood. Photos depict various display items in the showcase and placed on the lower shelf. Observation of the table without the showcase placed on top, indicates that display items, as well as personal items, can be placed on the table denoting that the table is not dedicated solely for use with the showcase. It appears that the table can be used without the showcase for household and non-household purposes.
You state that the three pieces (showcase, table and shelf) may be imported together or separately and that the end user may purchase the three pieces as a set or each piece may be purchased separately. It is your opinion that if the three pieces are imported together that the whole Hanson Showcase should be classified as a set under subheading 9403.20.0020 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
The Explanatory Notes (ENs) which constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS at the international level, state in Note X to Rule 3 (b) of the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs), that the term “goods put up in sets for retail sale” means goods which: (a) consist of at least two different articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in different headings; (b) consist of products or articles put up together to meet a particular need and carry out a specific activity; and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without repacking. Based on the description and photos you provided, the three pieces in Hanson Showcase when imported together do not qualify as a set for tariff purposes, in that the table with shelf can display items without use of the showcase, and that both the table with shelf and the showcase have the same purpose, that of displaying items. Moreover, the three pieces do not appear packaged together at time of import for sales directly to users without repacking. Consequently, the showcase, table and shelf must be classified separately.
The table of the Hanson Showcase is composed of different components (i.e. base metal and wood) and is considered a composite good. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the 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. Based on observation of the photos for the table, the metal imparts the essential character of good, in that the bulk of the table (its exposed legs, cross section and framework) conveys the appearance of a metal table with a wooden top.
The applicable subheading for the “table” of the Hanson Showcase will be 9403.20.0030, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Other metal furniture: Other; Other.” The rate of duty will be free.
The applicable subheading for the “wood shelf” with its metal clips, used on the table, will be 9403.90.7080, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Parts: Other; Of wood; Other.” The rate of duty will be free.
Regarding the classification of the showcase, issues on similar types of display cases containing glass are pending before Headquarters, in the Office of Regulations and Rulings. Section 177.7 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. §177.7) provides that rulings will not be issued in certain circumstances. Specifically §177.7 (a) reads, in pertinent part: No ruling letter will be issued in any instance in which it appears contrary to the sound administration of the Customs and related laws to do so. As the issue of glass display cases is currently pending review by Regulations and Rulings, the issuance of a ruling on the showcase would be inconsistent with 19 C.F.R. §177.7 (a). Consequently, at this time we are unable to rule upon the showcase.
You also state that the three pieces may be shipped together. No information was presented on the packaging of the three pieces of the Hanson Showcase. Nevertheless, it is a long standing CBP (formerly Customs) practice that when components in unassembled or disassembled condition are exported on one shipment, even in separate boxes, and have the essential character of the completed good, the classification of the good is that of the completed article – see General Rules of Interpretation (GRI) 2 (a) to HTSUS. Under the principle of GRI 2 (a), the Hanson Showcase (showcase and table, with or without shelf) has the essential character of a floor standing display showcase, when imported together and in equal quantities, regardless if separately packaged.
At this time, we are unable to rule upon the floor standing display case as additional information is needed. Specifically, the provided information on the material breakdown by composition, weight and cost of each material in relation to the table and the showcase is insufficient for making an essential character determination on the floor standing display showcase. Please refer back to the previous returned ruling for the types of additional information needed for a material breakdown, as well as other information requested for purposes of classifying the floor standing display showcase.
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 E-mail address: [email protected].
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division