Request for information regarding the treatment of footwear imported with drawstring shoe bags/pouches from Italy.

NY G87749 March 30, 2001 CLA-2-64:RR:NC:TP:347 G87749 CATEGORY: Classification Mr. Edward B. Ackerman Mr. Anthony A. Tonucci Grunfeld, Desiderio, Lebowitz, Silverman and Klestadt LLP 245 Park Avenue 33rd floor New York, NY 10167-3397 RE: Request for information regarding the treatment of footwear imported with drawstring shoe bags/pouches from Italy. Dear Sirs: In your letter dated March 14, 2001, written on behalf of your client, PRADA USA Corp. and PRADA Holding B.V. (Swiss Branch), you requested a tariff classification ruling. You have submitted samples of two pairs of leather shoes. You state that each imported pair of shoes will be packed with a shoe bag/pouch, enclosed in a cardboard shoebox. Your ruling request concerns the proper treatment of the shoe bags imported with the footwear. You state that the shoe bags are also of Italian origin and are made of either soft woven cotton fabric or PVC material. Each bag has a drawstring closure at one end of the bag and the size of the bag can vary depending on the size of the footwear. The enclosed shoe bags measure approximately thirteen inches in width and fifteen inches in height. A design is printed on the outside front center of each bag, depicting the importer’s trade name, as is also printed on the footbed of each shoe. You also state that the shoe bags are never individually sold at retail, but accompany the shoes at the time of retail and can be used as a means of storing the shoes when they are not in use. GRI 3(b) provides for composite goods made up of different components. Explanatory Note IX to GRI 3(b) provides that composite goods can consist of separable components, provided these components are adapted to one another and are mutually complementary and that together they form a whole which would not normally be offered for sale separately. The shoes and bag are a composite good as that term is defined and applied in the HTSUS. In this case, the components are separable and adapted to be used together. The simple bags/pouches are slightly larger than a pair of the shoes they are imported with and would not easily accommodate additional items, with room enough at the top to close the drawstring. The “Prada” logo, featured on the footbed of each shoe, is also featured on the bags. The bags would not likely be sold as independent products for carrying various other personal effects (as would a back pack, fanny bag, or shoulder bag). Although shoes are not always sold with drawstring bags/pouches, placement of the shoes in the bag during travel will keep the pair together and protect other personal effects from dirt that the shoes pick up. In this regard, the shoes and bag together form a composite article classified according to GRI 3(b). Composite goods are classified according to the component which gives them their essential character, therefore, a pair of shoes and accompanying bag constitute a composite article classifiable with the rate applicable to the shoes. 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 Richard Foley at 212-637-7089. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division