CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:2:230
Mr. Troy Crago-Edwards
Atico International USA, Inc
501 South Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
RE: The tariff classification of a wine box set from China
Dear Mr. Crago-Edwards:
In your letter dated November 30, 2010 you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The ruling was requested on a wine box set, item # A038GA00885. Photographs of the product were attached with your request. The product consists of a rectangular medium density fiberboard (MDF) box designed to hold a wine bottle and fitted with various wine bottle accessories. The exterior of the MDF box is covered with a white PVC faux leather material and the interior is not lined. The box has a lid with a metal clasp closure. Glued to the inside of the lid is a foam insert fitted with five metal accessories used to serve a bottle of wine. The accessories consist of a wine collar ring, a wine stopper, a wine pourer, a wine thermometer, and a waiter’s corkscrew. The wine box will be imported together with the accessories, but without the wine bottle.
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 General Rule of Interpretation (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) consists 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.
The wine box set constitutes a set for classification purposes. The set contains multiple articles classifiable in different headings; the articles are used for carrying out the activity of serving a bottle of wine; and the set is put up for retail sale, as demonstrated by the product photograph you provided. 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 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.
Because no component imparts the set’s essential character with respect to material or role, the value of the components is considered. A value breakdown submitted by you shows that the value of the box is substantially more than the value of each separate metal accessory. The subject box is not mere packing. It is an essential part of this wine box set. It is intended to be reused often to hold a bottle of wine and additionally, it is an organized storage container for the wine bottle accessories. The wine box set will thus be classifiable as the wooden case, in accordance with GRI 3(b).
The applicable subheading for the wine box gift set will be 4420.90.4500, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for jewelry boxes, silverware chests, cigar and cigarette boxes, microscope cases, tool or utensil cases and similar boxes, cases and chests, all the foregoing of wood, not lined with textile fabrics. The rate of duty will be 4.3 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/.
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 Laurel Duvall at (646) 733-3035.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division