CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N2:222
Ms. Geri Davidson
The Container Store
500 Freeport Parkway
Coppell, TX 75019
RE: The tariff classification of a plastic shoe box from Thailand
Dear Ms. Davidson:
In your letter dated July 24, 2008, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The submitted sample is identified as a Shoe Box, SKU# 10048429. This item is rectangular in shape and has a detachable lid. It is made of a molded polystyrene (PS) plastic material that is clear, so that articles that will be stored inside the box can be viewed, even when the lid is securely in place on top. The box measures approximately 6.1 inches by 8.5 inches and stands approximately 3 inches high. It is designed to contain shoes for kids and you state that you import larger sized boxes to accommodate men’s shoes as well as women’s athletic footwear and shoes with bulky heels or platform soles. The box has a flat bottom and flat lid so that multiple boxes can be stacked, one on top of the other. Although marketed as a shoe box, this item is imported and sold without contents. It is of a class or kind of merchandise principally used as a household storage container and any of a wide variety of items can conceivably be stored in this plastic box.
Included in the box, taped to the inside bottom, is a strip of six stickers in the likeness of six different animal heads of various colors. The stickers are made of polypropylene plastic material. These stickers are presumably intended to be used to decorate the box. As such, the stickers are merely an incidental or immaterial component of the box, do not enhance the value of the box and have no commercial purpose in relation to the box. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the stickers are de minimis. Consequently, the stickers will be disregarded for classification purposes.
The applicable subheading for SKU# 10048429 will be 3924.90.5600, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for…other household articles…of plastics: other: other. The duty rate will be 3.4 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/.
Articles classifiable under subheading 3924.90.5600, HTSUS, which are products of Thailand, may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term “GSP”.
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 Gary Kalus at (646) 733-3055.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division