Request for Internal Advice concerning the Classification of a Neoprene Laptop Sleeve

HQ H013156 April 29, 2008 CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H013156 BAS CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4202.92.9026 Port Director Port of New York/Newark Area 1100 Raymond Blvd. Newark, NJ 07102 RE: Request for Internal Advice concerning the Classification of a Neoprene Laptop Sleeve Dear Port Director: This is in response to a letter, dated April 2, 2007, submitted by Meeks & Sheppard, on behalf of Built NY, Inc., requesting internal advice concerning classification of a laptop case that was presented to Customs on August 2, 2006. The request, along with your memorandum dated May 11, 2007, and a sample were forwarded to this office for our response. Consideration was also given to a supplemental submission, dated January 14, 2008, after a meeting on December 19, 2007 with counsel. FACTS:The subject merchandise is a laptop case specially shaped and fitted to hold a laptop computer. It is made of neoprene material that is sandwiched between two layers of man-made textile material. The item is 70 percent neoprene and 30 percent nylon. It measures approximately 10.5” (W) x 15” (L) x .5” (H). It features one main storage compartment and a zippered closure at one end. The item also features “Shark Gil Grips” used to hold the laptop case. It is designed, sized, and marketed to provide storage, protection, portability and organization to a laptop computer. ISSUE:Whether the laptop sleeve is properly classified under 4202, HTSUSA, which provides for “Trunks, suitcases…briefcases… and similar containers; traveling bags…and similar containers …of textile materials…” or heading 6307, HTSUSA, which provides for other made up articles of textile materials? LAW AND ANALYSIS:Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) 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 heading and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI may then be applied. The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes ("ENs") constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). HEADING 4202, HTSUSA Heading 4202, HTSUSA, specifically covers various cases and containers, and provides as follows: Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers; traveling bags, insulated food or beverage bags, toiletry bags, knapsacks and backpacks, handbags, shopping bags, wallets, purses, map cases, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder cases, cutlery cases and similar containers, of leather or of composition leather, of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber, or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper. Heading 4202 provides for named containers and cases that are specially shaped or fitted and are of a kind that got their name from the article they are designed to contain. The Heading includes all forms of the articles and those that are similar. The EN to heading 4202 includes goods that are sheaths designed to contain an article. Containers or cases that possess the useful characteristics of storage, protection, organization as well as portability are goods that are similar to those of Heading 4202, HTSUSA. The Webster’s II New College Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1995, defines a sheath as “1. A case for a blade as of a knife or sword. 2. a covering resembling or used like a sheath.” The laptop sleeve is a type of sheath designed to contain an article. It is designed to store and protect a laptop computer and increase its portability. Therefore, the laptop sleeve at issue is properly classified in heading 4202, HTSUSA. In HQ 962450, dated August 23, 1999, we addressed the proper classification of a similar item, a neoprene rubber CD case covered on both sides with a knit man-made fiber fabric. We held that the neoprene rubber CD case was properly classified in heading 4202, HTSUSA. In HQ 962450, we reasoned that although CD cases are not expressly listed as an exemplar of heading 4202, Customs (now CBP) has held that CD cases - including “unfinished” cases imported without CD-holding inserts - are classifiable as being “similar” to the containers of the heading. In making such determinations, Customs has noted that there is no requirement that cases of heading 4202, HTSUSA, be specially fitted to accommodate particular objects, be constructed with rigid exteriors, nor possess handles or straps. The containers of heading 4202 have in common the purpose of providing storage, protection, organization and convenient transportation for their contents. Like the CD case, the laptop sleeve at issue, although not specifically listed as an exemplar of heading 4202, HTSUSA, is classifiable as being similar to the containers of the heading. The present article is similar in many respects to some of the named goods of heading 4202 and the Explanatory Notes. Like a brief case or attaché case, it is used to transport various items to the intended destination, and, like many of the other cases, including camera cases, binocular cases and musical instrument cases, it is specially designed in size, shape and structure to fit and protect the intended item. An individual carries the laptop sleeve, which is reusable, in order to help transport and protect the laptop. The company’s marketing information on its website, www.builtny.com, reinforces the item’s function which is providing for protection and portability. The website characterizes the laptop sleeve as follows: Composed of extra-thick durable neoprene, it cushions and protects your laptop for maximum protection and safely slides in and out of your briefcase or luggage with ease. Perfect for business travelers and urban nomads alike. Best of all, slide it in and as it conforms to the size of your computer, its unique bone shape creates an instant built-in bumper system for extra protection. Its Shark Gill Grips on the sides makes gripping and handling slip-free. The marketing material also states that the laptop sleeve is “ideal for office, campus, travel, etc.” For these reasons, the similarity between the laptop sleeve and the articles of heading 4202 is evident, and we conclude that classification thereunder is appropriate. This is consistent with several cases in which we have classified “laptop sleeves” or “covers” in heading 4202, HTSUSA. NY N003760, dated December 22, 2006 (“Sleeve-Me- Alone” laptop computer case with one storage compartment and a top opening secured with a button); NY G82461, dated September 28, 2000 (textile covered neoprene rubber laptop case secured by zip around closure). We have also classified laptop carrying cases in heading 4202, HTSUSA. See HQ 965938, March 4, 2003; HQ 966107, dated March 4, 2003, HQ 082205, September 19, 1989. In addition, we have classified IPOD sheaths and covers which, like the subject merchandise, provide storage, protection, organization and portability to an item but which do not have significant carrying capacity and do not have handles, in heading 4202, HTSUSA. NY M87017, dated October 24, 2006; NY M82021, dated May 1, 2006; NY M81276, March 31, 2006. HEADING 6307, HTSUSA We note that there have been several cases in which book covers, bible covers and writing pad covers have been classified in 6307, HTSUSA. HQ 962227, June 7, 1999; HQ 961418, dated August 4, 1998; HQ 960989, dated July 20, 1998. We find those articles, however, to be more akin to those excluded from classification in heading 4202 by EN (c) which 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….” We find that the subject merchandise is closer in nature and function to a sheath and to the other 4202 exemplars than it is to a book cover. We further note that in NY H86543, January 11, 2002, a computer monitor cover was classified in heading 6307, HTSUSA. In that case the article was constructed of a knit pile fabric and featured a stuffed head of either a panda bear, monkey or frog. While the computer monitor cover in NY H86543, provided protection for the computer, it was clearly decorative in nature and could not be used to carry it and is therefore significantly distinguishable from the subject merchandise. In NY H81428, June 8, 2001, a “Lap Top Protector” used to cover a portable computer to protect in from scratches and cushion jarring was classified in heading 6307, HTSUSA. The Lap Top Protector in NY H81428, however, does not have the “Shark Gill Grips” that allow for the laptop sleeve in the instant case to be easily carried. HOLDING: The laptop case is properly classified in subheading 4202.92.9026, HTSUSA, which provides for “Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attaché cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers; traveling bags, insulated food or beverage bags, toiletry bags, knapsacks and backpacks, handbags, shopping bags, wallets, purses, map cases, cigarette cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder cases, cutlery cases and similar containers, of leather or of composition leather, of sheeting of plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized fiber, or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with such materials or with paper: Other: With outer surface of sheeting of plastic or of textile materials: Other: Other: With outer surface of textile materials: Other: Of man-made fibers.” The general column one duty rate of duty at the time of entry was 17.6 percent ad valorem. Sincerely, Myles Harmon, Director Commercial & Trade Facilitation Division