The tariff classifications of steel magazine racks and stand from China.

N143617 February 11, 2011 CLA-2-94:OT:RR:NC:N4:433 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 9403.20.0020 Todd Brand Import/Export Manager Liberty Diversified International, Inc. 5600 North Highway 169 New Hope, MN 55428 RE: The tariff classifications of steel magazine racks and stand from China. Dear Mr. Brand: In your letter dated January 18, 2011, on behalf of Safco Products Company, you requested a tariff classification ruling. No samples were provided. The merchandise at issue consists of three steel magazine racks and one steel base. Model 4310 is a 5-pocket steel magazine rack, model 4321 is an 11-pocket steel magazine rack, model 4322 is a 23-pocket steel magazine rack, and model 4323 is a steel base (a/k/a stand). The racks and base are composed of powder-coated steel sheet and are available in black or gray colors. The three magazine racks can be mounted to a wall or stand on the floor when combined and used with the base. The pockets are slanted to allow for the storage and removal of literature, and are sized to facilitate the quick identification of the title of the magazine or other literature. The racks and stand are imported fully assembled, with each of the racks being able to slide into the stand from the top. These magazine racks and stand are imported separately. Legal Note 2 to Chapter 94 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) states that articles referred to in headings 9401 to 9403 are to be classified in those headings only if they are designed for placing on the floor or ground, however articles such as cupboards, bookcases, other shelved furniture and unit furniture can be classified in those headings even if they are designed to be hung, fixed to a wall, or to stand one on the other. We find that the slanted pockets of the magazine racks are akin to angled shelves, thereby falling within the scope of other shelved furniture, thus classifiable within heading 9403, HTSUS – the provision for other furniture. When interpreting and implementing the Harmonized Tariff of the United States (HTSUS), the Explanatory Notes (ENs) of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System may be utilized. The ENs, while neither legally binding nor dispositive, provide a guiding commentary on the scope of each heading, and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. CBP believes the ENs should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). The ENs at General (4) (B) (i) to Chapter 94, HTSUS, states in pertinent part: For the purposes of this Chapter, the term “furniture” mean the following: Cupboards, bookcases, other shelved furniture and unit furniture, designed to be hung, to be fixed to the wall or to stand one on the other or side by side, for holding various objects or articles (books, crockery, kitchen utensils, glassware, linen, medicaments, toilet articles, radio or television receivers, ornaments, etc.) and separately presented elements of unit furniture. Neither the HTSUS, nor the ENs to the HTSUS, provide a definition of the term “unit furniture”. A tariff term that is not defined in the HTSUS or in the ENs is construed in accordance with its common and commercial meanings, which are presumed to be the same. Nippon Kogasku (USA) Inc. v. United States, 69 CCPA 89, 673 F. 2d 380 (1982). Common and commercial meaning may be determined by consulting dictionaries, lexicons, scientific authorities and other reliable sources. C.J. Tower & Sons v. United States, 69 CCPA 128, 673 F. 2d 1268 (1982). A search of relevant sources indicates that the term “unit furniture” is similar in meaning to the term “modular furniture,” in which different elements of furniture are designed and intended to be used to create one unit. In many cases the individual pieces of unit/modular furniture are constructed from the same base materials or identical fabrics, and form part of a named collection within a furniture grouping. Although the racks and base are not imported or sold together, or even used at all times together, it is our opinion that the base is a separately presented element of unit furniture, in that, the base is made of the same material as the racks which is powder-coated steel, specifically designed to accommodate each of the racks with its slanted (angled) shelves, available in the same colors as the racks, and can only be used in conjunction with the magazine racks. The base is not a part or an accessory of the wall hanging racks, and serves no other function than at the choice of the consumer to be used to create a floor-standing magazine rack. Accordingly, the base would be considered a separately presented element of unit furniture, and would be classifiable under heading 9403, HTSUS – the provision for other furniture. See HQ 950246 dated November 22, 1991. The applicable subheading for the steel magazine racks and base, will be 9403.20.0020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Other furniture and parts thereof: Other metal furniture: Other: Counters, lockers, racks, display cases, shelves, partitions and similar fixtures.” 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 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 Neil H. Levy at (646) 733-3036. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director National Commodity Specialist Division