CLA-2-96:RR:NC:N2:221 G89537
Ms. Dana N. Mobley
J.C. Penney Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 10001
Dallas, TX 75301-0001
RE: The tariff classification of a stationery kit from China.
Dear Ms. Mobley:
In your letter dated April 6, 2001, you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The sample submitted with your request is a stationery kit, identified as the zipper office set. The kit includes a ball point pen, a felt tipped marker, a clutch pencil, a plastic box filled with paper clips and binder clips, an eraser, a stapler, a box of staples, a metal ruler, a pair of scissors and a calculator. The articles are packaged inside a zippered case that is specially shaped and fitted for the contents. The case incorporates sleeves, straps and pouches appropriate for holding each of the components of the kit. The sample is being returned as you requested.
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 2 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. GRI 3(c) provides that when goods cannot be classified by reference to GRI 3(a) or 3(b), they are to be classified in the heading that occurs last in numerical order among those which equally merit consideration in determining their classification. In the zipper office set, no single component imparts the essential character, and the set will be classified in accordance with GRI 3(c). The provision that appears last in this case is the provision for clutch pencils.
The applicable subheading for the zipper office stationery kit will be 9608.40.8000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for propelling or sliding pencils (for example, mechanical pencils)…other. This provision is free of duty.
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 212-637-7034.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director,
National Commodity
Specialist Division