The tariff classification of a religious book from the United Kingdom

N337649 January 25, 2024 CLA-2-49:OT:RR:NC:4:434 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4901.99.0040 Alfred Rosales St. Patrick Cathedral 1206 Throckmorton St. Fort Worth, TX  76102 RE:      The tariff classification of a religious book from the United Kingdom      Dear Mr. Rosales: In your letter, dated January 18, 2023, you requested a tariff classification ruling.  Photos and a description of the item were submitted for our review.  No sample was available. The item under consideration is a book authored by Pope Francis, C’est la Confiance, on the life of St. Therese of Lisieux, in celebration of the 150 year anniversary of her birth.  The glue-bound soft cover book contains 44 pages.  The Vatican website lists the book as an “Apostolic Exhortation” written by Pope Francis and dedicated to the Saint of Lisieux. Per the descriptive literature you provide in your request, the book is more than a straightforward biography of St. Therese, who was a nun who lived in late-19th century France.  The book “celebrates the saint’s great trust and confidence in God.” The words and events of the saint retold by the Pope serve to evoke her passion to proclaim Christ's salvation to all and gives the Pope an opportunity to highlight the relevance of the Carmelite saint for the Church's apostolic work in the present.  Pope Francis makes references to the Decree on Justification of the Council of Trent and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The applicable subheading for the book will be 4901.99.0040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Bibles, testaments, prayer books and other religious books.”  The rate of duty will be Free. 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 the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current. The holding set forth above applies only to the specific factual situation and merchandise description as identified in the ruling request.  This position is clearly set forth in Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Section 177.9(b)(1).  This section states that a ruling letter is issued on the assumption that all of the information furnished in the ruling letter, whether directly, by reference, or by implication, is accurate and complete in every material respect.  In the event that the facts are modified in any way, or if the goods do not conform to these facts at time of importation, you should bring this to the attention of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and submit a request for a new ruling in accordance with 19 CFR 177.2.  Additionally, we note that the material facts described in the foregoing ruling may be subject to periodic verification by CBP. 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 Charlene Miller at [email protected]. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division