CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:463
Deana Smith
The William Carter Company
3438 Peachtree Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30326
RE: The tariff classification of two activity tables and one activity table lid from China
Dear Ms. Smith:
This ruling is being issued in response to your letter dated November 17, 2023, requesting tariff classification determinations. In lieu of samples, pictures, product descriptions and bills of materials were provided.
The Activity Table and Toys, style # 9Q249010, is a retail-packaged children’s table and toy set designed for toddlers and young children (18+ months). The table, which measures approximately 22" (L) x 18" (W) x 19" (H), has two side-by-side plastic bins beneath two removeable lids that also serve as the tabletop. The marketing materials show that removal of the detachable metal legs allows the table to be placed directly on the ground and used as a low table, and that the bins can be filled with water or sand and used with the included toys. The bins also serve as storage when the toys are not in use. The toys consist of a mushroom cap strainer/sifter, a rolling pin with small, medium, and large embossed rollers, a cat-tail brush, a large scoop in the form of a leaf, a bridge, wooden tongs, a saw grass block, and nesting bunny, turtle, and snail scoops, as well as an inclined base.
The Activity Table with Beechwood Lid and Toys is identical to the previous version except that it will be imported with a single laminated beechwood lid, which measures approximately 19" (L) x 14" (W) x 0.4" (H), instead of the two plastic bin lids.
The Activity Table Beechwood Lid, style # 9R772810, may be imported separately.
The plastic in the tables and toys is neither laminated nor reinforced, and all of the above articles are made in China.
The requester suggested classification of the Activity Table with Beechwood Lid and Toys, in subheading 9403.70.8015, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for household furniture of unlaminated and unreinforced plastic. We disagree.
The requester suggested classification of the Activity Table Beechwood Lid in subheading 9403.60.8081, HTSUS, which provides for other wooden furniture, other. We disagree.
The requester offered no suggested classification for the Activity Table and Toys.
Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. If the goods cannot be classified solely based on GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and coding System, which constitutes the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level, may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. The ENs to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS state, in relevant part, for the purposes of this Chapter, that the term “furniture” means: (A): Any “movable” articles (not included under other more specific headings of the Nomenclature), which have the essential characteristic that they are constructed for placing on the floor or ground, and which are used, mainly with a utilitarian purpose, to equip private dwellings, hotels, theatres, cinemas, offices, churches, schools, cafés, restaurants, laboratories, hospitals, dentists, surgeries, etc., or ships, aircraft, railway coaches, motor vehicles, caravan-trailers or similar means of transport. (It should be noted that, for purposes of this Chapter, articles are considered to be “movable” furniture even if they are designed for bolting, etc., to the floor, e.g., chairs for use on ships). Similar articles (seats, chairs, etc.) for use in gardens, squares, promenades, etc., are included in this category. The activity tables are within the meaning of furniture as described by the General ENs to Chapter 94 of the HTSUS.
The ENs to GRI 3(b) state at Note X that the term “goods put up in sets for retail sale” means goods that: (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 or carry out a specific activity; and (c) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to end users without repacking.
Since the activity tables 1) are made up of a table classified in one heading of the HTSUS (9403, furniture) and multiple toys classified in another (9503, toys), 2) are used together to promote play, and 3) are sold together at retail as imported, this office finds that the Activity Table and Toys and the Activity Table with Beechwood Lid and Toys meet the terms of EN X to Rule 3(b), HTSUS, “goods put up in sets for retail sale” and shall therefore be classified as if they consisted of the single material or component that imparts their essential character.
In general, essential character has been construed to mean the attribute which strongly marks or serves to distinguish what an article is: that which is indispensable to the structure, core or condition of the article. In addition, GRI 3(b) state at Note VIII states 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 material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.
Additionally, the Court of International Trade (CIT) has listed other factors to be considered in determining “essential character,” including the respective indispensability of the properties of the components of the merchandise, the respective cost of the components of the merchandise, the basis for a consumer’s decision to purchase the merchandise, and the respective duration and/or frequency of the use of the components. See Better Home Plastics Corp. v. United States, 20 CIT 221, 916 F. Supp. 1265 (1996), aff’d, 119 F.3d 969 (Fed. Cir. 1997).
With respect to the Activity Table and Toys with plastic lids, the table accounts for approximately 90% of the cost and the toys account for approximately 10% of the cost. With respect to the Activity Table with Beechwood Lid and Toys, the table and lid account for an even larger percentage of the cost and the toys account for a correspondingly smaller percentage of the cost. Additionally, this office is of the opinion that the utility of both the Activity Table and the Activity Table and Beechwood Lid will continue long after the toys have been outgrown or possibly lost. Taking these factors into account, this office determines that the essential character of both items is imparted by the table.
Barring significant evidence to the contrary with respect to the classification of tables, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has historically found that the material comprising the tabletop imparts the essential character. (See NYRLs N324295, N315828, and N334127.) These tables are no exception. When the activity table is imported with plastic lids (tabletop), it will be classified as a plastic table and when the activity table is imported with a beechwood lid (tabletop), it will be classified as a wood table.
The applicable classification for the Activity Table and Toys, style # 9Q249010, will be subheading 9403.70.8015, HTSUS, which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Furniture of plastics: Other: Other household.” The rate of duty will be free.
The applicable classification for the Activity Table with Beechwood Lid and Toys will be subheading 9403.60.8081, HTSUS, which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Other wooden furniture: Other: Other.” The general rate of duty will be free.
The applicable classification for the Activity Table Beechwood Lid, style # 9R772810, will be subheading 9403.91.0080, HTSUS, which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Parts: Of wood: Other.” The general rate of duty will be free.
Products of China classified under subheading 9403.70.8015, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.04, in addition to subheading 9403.70.8015, HTSUS, listed above.
Products of China classified under subheading 9403.60.8081 and 9403.91.0080, HTSUS, unless specifically excluded, are subject to an additional 25 percent ad valorem rate of duty. At the time of importation, you must report the Chapter 99 subheading, i.e., 9903.88.03, in addition to subheadings 9403.60.8081 and 9403.91.0080, HTSUS, listed above.
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 the internet at https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request. This position is set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1). This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect. If the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at the time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of CBP and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2. Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (19 C.F.R. Part 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 Seth Mazze at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division