CLA-2-48:OT:RR:NC:2:234
Mr. Kevin Maher
C-Air Customhouse Brokers
181 S. Franklin Avenue
Valley Stream, NY 11581
RE: The tariff classification of a child’s stationery set from China
Dear Mr. Maher:
In your letter dated September 1, 2010, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Sky High Intl LLC.
The ruling was requested on the Dora’s Fantasy Adventures, eleven piece stationery set. A sample of the article was submitted for our review and will be returned as you requested. The set consists of the following school supplies packed together in a clear plastic bag with a printed header card sealed at the top:
Two 9” x 12” design printed portfolio folders
One subject notebook, 8” x 10 ½”
One 3” x 5” memo pad
Three pencils
One small hand held pencil sharpener
One 6” plastic ruler
One eraser
One 4” x 9” zippered pencil pouch made of design-printed plastic sheeting
Although you state in your letter that the pencil and notebook will be manufactured in Vietnam the sample indicates the pencils are made in China and the notebook is made in Vietnam.
The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System provide guidance in the interpretation of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System at the international level. Explanatory Note X to GRI 3(b) provides 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 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 users without repacking. Goods classifiable under GRI 3(b) are classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, which may 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 article.
You submitted to this office a cost value breakdown. You have also suggested classification under 3926.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, HTSUS, which provides for other articles of plastics, office or school supplies. We find the submitted sample is similar in style to merchandise previously addressed in rulings NY M82499 and NY M80484.
However, the merchandise of those two rulings is distinguishable from the instant stationery kit. The sets of the two cited rulings each included a large notebook and a stiff paper folder as well as a small notepad. The accumulation of the paper products of these two sets was decisive in determining the essential character.
Therefore, for tariff classification purposes, the above items will be considered “goods put up in sets for retail sale”. The essential character of this product is imparted by the spiral notebook and the memo pad, both of which are classifiable in the same subheading.
The applicable subheading for the child’s stationery set will be 4820.10.2060, (HTSUS), which provides for Diaries, notebooks and address books, bound; memorandum pads, letter pads and similar articles: Other. The rate of duty will be Free.
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/.
The pencils may be subject to antidumping duties. Written decisions regarding the scope of AD/CVD orders are issued by the Import Administration in the Department of Commerce and are separate from tariff classification and origin rulings issued by Customs and Border Protection. You can contact them at http://www.trade.gov/ia/ (click on "Contact Us") You may also write to them at the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Antidumping Compliance, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20230. For your information, you can view a list of current AD/CVD cases at the United States International Trade Commission website at http://www.usitc.gov (click on "Antidumping and Countervailing Duty" on the lower right hand side under "Investigations"), and you can search AD/CVD deposit and liquidation messages using the AD/CVD Search tool at http://addcvd.cbp.gov.
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 Patricia Wilson at (646) 733-3037.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division