Classification of Bifold Covers for Books, Diaries, WritingPads

HQ 960835 June 29, 1999 CLA-2 RR:CR:TE 960835 GGD CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4820.90.0000; 4205.00.8000; 3926.90.9880 Ms. Norah de Bekker The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce 2015 South Park Place, Suite 110 Atlanta, Georgia 30339 RE: Classification of Bifold Covers for Books, Diaries, Writing Pads Dear Ms. de Bekker: This letter is in response to your request of July 21, 1997, on behalf of your client, The Arrow Company of the Netherlands, concerning the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) of three bifold covers for books, diaries, calendars, writing pads, etc., that are imported without inserts. The merchandise will be manufactured in The Netherlands. Samples were submitted with your request. FACTS: The first of the three samples consists of a bifold checkbook cover of imitation leather. The cover’s exterior layer is composed of a cellular plastics material backed with an unidentified material that is not a textile fabric. The interior left and right sides each have a clear plastic slot into which a checkbook or other type of book or pad may be inserted. The second sample consists of an unfinished bifold cover of a kind that would normally be finished into a cover for a book or a memorandum pad. The item is composed of a paper material that -2- is processed with a water-based substance to form a coating that resembles leather on the exterior surface. The interior left and right sides of the article have thin paperboard stiffeners that are permanently affixed. The article’s unfinished appearance results from there being no slots on the left or right interior sides. The third sample closely resembles the second sample except the material of the article’s exterior is composed of genuine leather and the item’s interior has paperboard slots into which a book or pad may be inserted. ISSUE: Whether the articles are classified under heading 4820, HTSUSA, which covers, in part, binders, folders, file covers, and other articles of stationery, of paper or paperboard; under heading 4202, HTSUSA, which covers, in part, attache cases, school satchels, wallets, and similar containers; under heading 4205, HTSUSA, which covers other articles of leather or of composition leather; or under heading 3926, HTSUSA, which covers other articles of plastics. LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification under the HTSUS is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI may then be applied. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level, facilitate classification under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and GRI. Among other merchandise, chapter 48, HTSUSA, covers articles of paper or of paperboard. Note 1(h) to chapter 48, HTSUSA, states that “[t]his chapter does not cover: Articles of heading 4202 (for example, travel goods).” Among the items covered by heading 4820, are notebooks, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles, binders (looseleaf or other), folders, file covers...and other articles of stationery, of paper or paperboard....” The EN to heading 4820 indicate that the -3- heading covers various articles of stationery including (in addition to the examples noted above) notebooks of all kinds, file covers, files (other than box files), and portfolios. The second sample is essentially composed of paper and/or paperboard material. Although the article is imported in an unfinished state, GRI 2(a) states, in pertinent part, that: Any reference in a heading to an article shall be taken to include a reference to that article incomplete or unfinished, provided that, as entered, the incomplete or unfinished article has the essential character of the complete or finished article.... The unfinished second sample is of a kind that would normally be finished into a cover in which a book or writing pad may be inserted. We find that the item has the essential character of a complete or finished book cover, and that it is classifiable in heading 4820, which includes binders, folders, file covers, book covers, and other articles of stationery that are “of paper or paperboard....” If the second sample is not also classifiable as an article of heading 4202, it will be classified under heading 4820, HTSUSA. We therefore next examine heading 4202, HTSUSA. Among other goods, heading 4202, HTSUSA, provides for attache cases, briefcases, school satchels, wallets, and similar containers. The exemplars named in heading 4202 have in common the purpose of organizing, storing, protecting, and carrying various items. EN (c) to heading 4202 states that the heading does not cover: Articles which, although they may have the character of containers, are not similar to those enumerated in the heading, for example, book covers and reading jackets, file-covers, document-jackets...etc., and which are wholly or mainly covered with leather, sheeting of plastics, etc. Such articles fall in heading 4205 if made of (or covered with) leather or composition leather, and in other Chapters if made of (or covered with) other materials. Although the second sample may cover a book or a writing pad, it is not similar to the containers enumerated in heading 4202 and is not classifiable thereunder. The second sample falls in chapter 48, and is classified under heading 4820, specifically in subheading 4820.90.0000, HTSUSA. -4- As noted in the FACTS section above, the third sample closely resembles the second sample, except for the presence of interior slots, and for the fact that the article’s exterior is made of or covered with leather. Like the second sample, the third sample is not similar to the containers enumerated in heading 4202. As EN (c) to heading 4202 suggests, the third sample falls in heading 4205, which covers “Other articles of leather or of composition leather.” Although the language of heading 4205 does not enumerate the book covers referenced in the EN to heading 4202 above, the EN to heading 4205 state, in pertinent part, that the heading includes: ...reading-covers for books...and other containers (including those wholly or mainly covered with leather or composition leather) not being similar to those specified in heading 4202... In light of the EN to headings 4202 and 4205, the third sample is classified under heading 4205, specifically in subheading 4205.00.8000, HTSUSA. Like the third sample, the first sample is designed to cover a pad and/or a book (a checkbook). The article may have the character of a container. To determine whether a bifold checkbook cover is similar to the containers enumerated in heading 4202, we first note that a checkbook cover bears some resemblance to a wallet, which is an exemplar of heading 4202 that is sometimes termed a “flatgood.” Subheading 4202.32, as well as subheadings 4202.31 and 4202.39, HTSUSA, cover articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or handbag. The subheading EN to these three subheadings states: These subheadings cover articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or in the handbag and include spectacle cases, note-cases (bill-folds), wallets, purses, key-cases, cigarette-cases, cigar-cases, pipe-cases and tobacco-pouches. On June 21, 1995, this office published a General Notice in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 29, Number 25, concerning goods identified as “Wallets on a String.” The attributes of articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or in the handbag were discussed. The notice stated in pertinent part that: -5- Such articles include wallets, which may be described as flat cases or containers fitted to hold credit/ identification cards, paper currency, coins and in some instances a checkbook holder. Articles meeting this description which also possess a detachable carrying strap have been classified as flatgoods. The fact that a checkbook cover is not normally fitted to hold credit/identification cards, paper currency, or coins, and that a wallet may be fitted to hold a checkbook holder, indicate that wallets and checkbook covers are separate and distinct commodities. Unlike a wallet, a checkbook cover is specifically designed to accommodate articles of stationery, i.e., a book of checks and a pad for the recording of details concerning each check written. We therefore find that the checkbook cover is not similar to the containers enumerated in heading 4202, and is not classifiable in that heading. Chapter 39, HTSUSA, provides for “Plastics and Articles Thereof.” Heading 3926, HTSUSA, covers “Other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914.” Although the language of the heading does not enumerate exemplars, the EN to heading 3926 state, in pertinent part, that the heading covers articles of plastics which include: ...file-covers, document-jackets, book covers and reading jackets, and similar protective goods made by sewing or glueing together sheets of plastics. In light of the EN to headings 4202 and 3926, the first sample is classified under heading 3926. Subheading 3926.10.0000, HTSUSA, provides for “Other articles of plastics...: Office or school supplies.” Although the sample is of a kind likely to be used as a cover for a checkbook and/or an other type of book or pad, there is no evidence or indication that the article will be used as an office or school supply. The first sample is therefore classified in subheading 3926.90.9880, HTSUSA. HOLDING: The bifold checkbook cover identified as the first sample is classified in subheading 3926.90.9880, HTSUSA, the provision for “Other articles of plastics...: Other: Other, Other.” The general column one duty rate is 5.3 percent ad valorem. -6- The unfinished bifold cover identified as the second sample is classified in subheading 4820.90.0000, HTSUSA, the provision for “Registers...binders (looseleaf or other), folders, file covers...and other articles of stationery...book covers (including cover boards and book jackets) of paper or paperboard: Other.” The general column one duty rate is 2.6 percent ad valorem. The leather bifold cover identified as the second sample is classified in subheading 4205.00.8000, HTSUSA, the provision for “Other articles of leather or of composition leather: Other: Other.” The general column one duty rate is free.  Sincerely, John Durant, Director Commercial Rulings Division