CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N4:421
Mr. Mehul Mody
Shriflex International
1624 Thistle Ct.
Canton, MI 48188
RE: The tariff classification of printed polypropylene film from India
Dear Mr. Mody:
In your letter dated January 21, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
A sample was presented with your letter. The “printed flexible packaging material” is composed of two layers of biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) film. One of the layers of film is metallized. The film is printed with product information, and will be used to form bags which will be used to package food products, such as snacks and chips.
You suggest classification in heading 4911, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as other printed matter. Tariff classification under the HTSUS is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. Legal note 2 to Section VII of the HTSUS states, "Except for the goods of heading 3918 or 3919, plastics, rubber and articles thereof, printed with motifs, characters, or pictorial representations which are not merely incidental to the primary use of the goods, fall in Chapter 49." The question of whether the printing on rolls of plastic packaging film is "merely incidental" to the primary use of the goods was addressed in HQ 087759, dated December 24, 1990, and HQ 088984, dated July 24, 1991. In both rulings, HQ stated that the film’s essential character was not imparted by the fact that it was printed but by the fact that it formed the actual packaging for the food products. The printing on packaging material is incidental or secondary to the product’s primary function as packaging.
The applicable subheading for the printed polypropylene film will be 3920.20.0050, HTSUS, which provides for other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics, noncellular and not reinforced, laminated, supported, or similarly combined with other materials...of polymers of propylene, other. The rate of duty will be 4.2 percent ad valorem.
Articles classifiable under subheading 3920.20.0050, HTSUS, which are products of India, 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".
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 Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division