CLA-2-95:OT:RR:NC:N4:424
Ms. Gabriela Lockney
Hasbro Inc.
1 Hasbro Place
Providence, RI 02903
RE: The classification, country of origin, and marking of the “Yahtzee Frenzee” game
Dear Ms. Lockney:
In your letter submitted July 7, 2021, you requested a tariff classification, a country of origin and a marking ruling on Item# F5516, “Yahtzee Frenzee” game.
The “Yahtzee Frenzee” game consists of (20) dice, (80) playing cards, (1) round tracker card, (1) token and instructions for game play. In “Yahtzee Frenzee,” there are six rounds of fast-paced dice roll action. Each player has a set of five dice. Three cards are laid out on each round, players roll their dice to match the dice set depicted on the cards. When you are the first player to match one of the cards, you call it out and collect the cards. Different cards have different values and multipliers, which account for your point totals. The play continues until each card from that round is claimed. In rounds 4 and 6, players have the opportunity to roll for another player’s cards. Collecting cards with matching symbols score bonus points. The winner of the game is the player with the most points at the end of 6 rounds. The game is considered to be a set for tariff classification purposes. GRI 3(b) states that the goods "shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character." In this case, it is the dice which impart the essential character of the set.
The applicable subheading for the “Yahtzee Frenzee” game will be 9504.90.6000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for articles for arcade, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, bagatelle, billiards and special tables for casino games…parts and accessories thereof: other: chess, checkers, parchisi, backgammon, darts and other games played on boards of a special design, all the foregoing games and parts thereof (including their
boards); mah-jong and dominoes; any of the foregoing games in combination with each other, or with other games, packaged together as a unit in immediate containers of a type used in retail sales; poker chips and dice. The rate of duty will be free.
Your submission indicates that, except for the 20 dice, the above-described game is manufactured in Vietnam and packaged there for retail sale. The dice are manufactured in China and shipped to Vietnam where they are packaged together with the 82 Vietnamese components, instructions and game rules, into a finished game box, for export to the United States.
In 19 C.F.R. § 134.1(b), “country of origin” is defined as “the country of manufacture, production, or growth of any article of foreign origin entering the United States. Further work or material added to an article in another country must effect a substantial transformation in order to render such other country the ‘country of origin’ within the meaning of this part.”
With respect to the “Yahtzee Frenzee” game at issue, we find that the combining and packaging of the Chinese dice with the other Vietnamese origin game components in Vietnam is not sufficient to be a substantial transformation of the Chinese origin game components.
The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. As provided in section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), the country of origin marking is considered conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. With regard to the permanency of a marking, section 134.41(a), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(a)), provides that as a general rule marking requirements are best met by marking worked into the article at the time of manufacture. For example, it is suggested that the country of origin on metal articles be die sunk, molded in, or etched. However, section 134.44, Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.44), generally provides that any marking that is sufficiently permanent so that it will remain on the article until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless deliberately removed is acceptable. As the individual Chinese components of the game do not lose their identity as a result of being packaged together with the Vietnamese components in Vietnam, the external packaging of the game should be marked in a conspicuous manner to indicate that the finished game contains components that are made in China and Vietnam. In other words, the finished game has multiple countries of origin, China, and Vietnam for marking purposes. 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 Roseanne Murphy at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division