The tariff classification of novelty erasers from China

N097904 March 24, 2010 CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N4:421 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3926.10.0000 Ms. Katie Kenny Fashion Angels Enterprises 4353 North Richards Street Milwaukee, WI 53212 RE: The tariff classification of novelty erasers from China Dear Ms. Kenny: In your letter dated March 8, 2010, you requested a tariff classification ruling. Various samples identified as Crazerasers® puzzle erasers were provided with your request. There are two series, 96900 and 96925, and additional series will be released in the future. Each assortment in the series is a blister package containing four erasers. The erasers are made of a thermoplastic elastomer formed in the shape of miniatures such as food, tools or bathroom accessories. In some cases the four erasers are variations of a single category of product, e.g., four different high heeled shoes or four different handbags. In some cases the four erasers relate to a particular theme, e.g., a take-out food container, a bowl of rice with chopsticks, a bottle of soy sauce and a fortune cookie. You describe the products as collectibles and suggest classification as toys. The products are not principally designed for amusement but are fully functional erasers in novelty shapes. Each package is labeled to identify the products as “Totally FUNctional!” erasers. Any amusement the item may provide is incidental to its utilitarian function. The erasers do not meet the definition of puzzles as described in Headquarters Ruling Letter 083051, dated April 18, 1990. That ruling described a puzzle as a contrivance designed to amuse by presenting difficulties to be solved by ingenuity or patient effort. The erasers have multiple pieces that can be pulled apart and put together, but it does not require either ingenuity or patience to put the parts together. For example, the shoes separate into the heel, the shoe body and the decorative toe ornament. The take-out container has a removable handle. The rice bowl includes a bowl, a clump of rice, and two individual chopsticks that fit into slots on the bowl. The bottle of soy sauce consists of the bottle and the cap. The fortune cookie consists of a slotted cookie with a removable fortune. The applicable subheading for the Crazerasers® puzzle erasers will be 3926.10.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other articles of plastics…office or school supplies. The rate of duty will be 5.3 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 Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division