The tariff classification of a floating art palette from China

N073417 September 1, 2009 CLA-2-39:OT:RR:NC:N4:421 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 3926.90.9980 Ms. Christina Yun MZ Berger & Company 29-76 Northern Blvd. Long Island City, NY 11101 RE: The tariff classification of a floating art palette from China Dear Ms. Yun: In your letter dated August 4, 2009, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The sample submitted with your request is identified as the Crayola Floating Art Palette. The kit includes a starfish shaped palette, four small tubs of bathtub paint and a paintbrush. The palette measures approximately 10 inches by 10 inches by 1½ inches high. It has an outer shell of molded plastics and is filled with foam plastics, allowing it to float. The palette is molded to include six shallow circular compartments for holding and mixing paints and one large, deep compartment at the middle for holding water to rinse the brush. It also features one hole for holding the included paintbrush. According to the cost breakdown provided with your letter, the cost of the palette accounts for 60 percent of the cost of the kit and the cost of the paints accounts for 35 percent of the cost of the kit. The sample is being returned as you requested. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff System 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 repacking. 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. The floating art palette is considered to be a set for tariff classification purposes. No single component imparts the essential character, so the set will be classified in accordance with GRI 3(c). In this set, the components that equally merit consideration are the floating art palette and the paints. The heading for the palette appears last in numerical order among the competing headings which equally merit consideration. The applicable subheading for the floating art palette kit will be 3926.90.9980, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for other articles of plastics, other. The rate of duty will be 5.3 percent ad valorem. 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 Joan Mazzola at (646) 733-3023. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division