The tariff classification of “Make Your Own Magnet” kits from China

N255846 August 29, 2014 CLA-2-32:OT:RR:NC:2:236 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3213.10.0000 Ms. Jacqueline M. Flores Hellmann Worldwide Logistics 2270 East 220th Street Carson, CA 90810 RE: The tariff classification of “Make Your Own Magnet” kits from China Dear Ms. Flores: In your ruling request received August 4, 2014, on behalf of your client, Creative Kids Far East Inc., you requested a tariff classification ruling on “Make Your Own Magnet” kits. Your three submitted samples have been reviewed and will be returned, as requested. Each of the three kits contains a small magnetic strip attached to the back side of a 3” x 4” plaster decorative item in the shape of either a butterfly, airplane, or mermaid, three small plastic containers filled with paint, and one plastic paint brush, all packaged for retail sale in a cardboard box, intended to be used by children over six years of age. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System, although not legally binding, 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 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 re-packing. 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. You suggest that the products at issue are classifiable as toys. However, the principal activity of each kit is painting the plaster decorative item. CBP does not consider drawing, writing, coloring or painting to have significant play value for classification purposes as a toy. Moreover, CBP does not classify the tools for writing, coloring, drawing or painting as toys since those tools are not designed to amuse. These items are not classifiable in Chapter 95. The “Make Your Own Magnet” kits will be classified as sets for tariff classification purposes in accordance with GRI 3(b), with the essential character imparted by the paints. The applicable subheading for the three “Make Your Own Magnet” kits will be 3213.10.0000, (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 general rate of duty will be 6.5 percent ad valorem on the entire set. This merchandise may be subject to the requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which are administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Information on the TSCA can be obtained by contacting the EPA at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Mail Code 70480, Washington, D.C., by telephone at (202) 554-1404, or by visiting their website at www.epa.gov. 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 Nuccio Fera at [email protected]. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Director National Commodity Specialist Division