MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen; NY D84861

HQ 962861 March 7, 2000 CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 962861 MGM CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3824.90.4500 Ms. Amy Johnson Wal Mart Stores, Inc. 702 Southwest 8th Street Bentonville, AR 72716-8023 RE: MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen; NY D84861 Dear Ms. Johnson: This office has determined that New York Ruling Letter (NY) D84861, dated December 9, 1998, concerning the tariff classification of the MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen is in error. That ruling classified the MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen in subheading 3206.49.1000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), as a dispersion of pigments in plastics materials. Upon review of NY D84861, Customs has concluded that the MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen is properly classified in subheading 3824.90.4500, HTSUS, the residual provision for products of the chemical or allied industries. Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1625 (c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057, 2186), notice of the proposed revocation was published on November 3, 1999, in Volume 34, Number 4 of the CUSTOMS BULLETIN. No comments were received in response to this notice. FACTS: The MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen is a correction pen used to administer correction fluid to paper. It is typically used to cover written or typed mistakes in a document. The correction fluid is a mixture of titanium dioxide, which acts as a white colorant, polyacrylic resin, which acts as a binder, and methylcyclohexane, which acts as a solvent. ISSUE: What is the correct classification of the MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen? LAW AND ANALYSIS: Merchandise imported into the United States is classified under the HTSUS. Tariff classification is governed by the principles set forth in the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) and, in the absence of special language or context which requires otherwise, by the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation. The GRIs and the Additional U.S. Rules of Interpretation are part of the HTSUS and are to be considered statutory provisions of law for all purposes. GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes and, unless otherwise required, according to the remaining GRIs taken in order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and mutatis mutandis, to the GRIs. In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. See, T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989). In NY D84861, the MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen was classified in subheading 3206.49.1000, HTSUS, as a dispersion of pigments in plastics materials. However, Note 2(d), Chapter 38, HTSUS, states that “correcting fluids put up in packings for retail sale” are included within heading 3824 and are not to be classified in any other heading of the tariff schedule. Further, the ENs to Chapter 38 state: This heading covers:...[c]orrecting fluids put up in packings for retail sale. These are opaque (white or otherwise coloured) fluids consisting essentially of pigments, binders, and solvents, used for masking errors or other unwanted marks in typescripts, manuscripts, photocopies, offset printing masters or the like. They are usually put up in small bottles (the cap of which is usually provided with a small brush), in tins or in the form of pens. EN 38.24 (B)(21). As the merchandise is correcting fluid put up in a packing for retail sale, it is classified in heading 3824, HTSUS. One component of the corrective fluid is methyl cyclohexane. Methyl cyclohexane is derived from petroleum. Hawley, The Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 10th edition. Subheading 3824.90.45, HTSUS, provides for “Mixtures that are in whole or in part of hydrocarbons derived in whole or in part from petroleum, shale oil or natural gas.” As the corrective fluid is a mixture which contains hydrocarbons derived from petroleum, it falls in this provision. HOLDING: The MonAmi White Clean Correction Pen is classified in subheading 3824.90.4500, HTSUS (Annotated). NY D84861 is REVOKED. In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the CUSTOMS BULLETIN. Sincerely, John Durant, Director Commercial Rulings Division