The tariff classification of two Art Sets from China

NY M85274 July 25, 2006 CLA-2-96:RR:NC:2:224 M85274 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3213.10.0000; 9609.10.0000 Mr. Gordon Van Sise KAT Import Brokers, Division of Kamino Int’l Transport, Inc. Airport Ind. Office Park, Bldg. B4A Valley Stream, NY 11581 RE: The tariff classification of two Art Sets from China Dear Mr. Van Sise: In your letter dated July 6, 2006, you requested a tariff classification ruling, on behalf of Loew-Cornell Inc., your client. You are requesting the tariff classification on 2 items that are identified as follows: item 8710, and 8711. Item 8711 is comprised of: 12 color pencils, 1 piece of sandpaper, 4 drawing pencils, 2 charcoal pencils, 1 pencil sharpener, 1 eraser, 1 blending stump, and 1 ruler packed in a fitted storage case. Item 8710 includes: 8 acrylic paint tubes, 8 color pencils, 2 bristle brushes, 1 pencil sharpener, 1 water bottle, and 1 eraser packaged in a storage case. Item 8711 is sold and marketed as a set and will also be considered a set for tariff purposes. No one heading in the tariff schedule covers these components in combination; GRI 1 cannot be used as a basis of classification. GRI 3 provides for goods that are, prima facie, classifiable in two or more headings. GRI 3 (b) provides that mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character. Noting GRI-3 (b), the component that imparts the essential character to the product will determine the classification of the set. The color pencil portion of the drawing set, item number 8711, imparts the essential character to the set. Therefore, the applicable subheading for the art drawing set, item 8711, will be 9609.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for pencils and crayons, with leads encased in a rigid sheath. The rate of duty will be 14¢/gross + 4.3% ad valorem. Item 8710 is also sold and marketed as a set. This type of set is provided for specifically in the HTSUS. The applicable subheading for the Painting Set, item #8710, will be 3213.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for artists’, students’ or signboard painters’ colors, modifying tints, amusement colors and the like, in tablets, tubes, jars, bottles, pans or in similar forms or packings: colors in sets. The rate of duty will be 6.5% on the entire set. You have asked whether this product (pencils encased in a rigid sheath) is subject to antidumping duties or countervailing duties. A list of AD/CVD proceedings at the Department of Commerce (DOC) and their product coverage can be obtained from the DOC website at: http://ia.ita.doc.gov, or you may write to them at the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Antidumping Compliance, 14th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20230. 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. 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 Tom McKenna at (646) 733-3025. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division