The tariff classification of a jewelry display platform from Hong Kong.

N257603 October 24, 2014 CLA-2-44:OT:RR:NC:N4:433 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4420.90.8000 Debra Aillet Senior Analyst, Trade and Customs Tiffany & Co. 15 Sylvan Way Parsippany, NJ 07054 RE: The tariff classification of a jewelry display platform from Hong Kong. Dear Ms. Aillet: In your letter dated September 24, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling. A photo of the merchandise concerned and illustrative literature of other jewelry platforms were provided. The merchandise concerned is a jewelry display platform used in a retail store. The jewelry display platform is composed of Medium-density Fibreboard (MDF) and is wrapped in a polyester and polyurethane blend of Majilite fabric. The dimensions of the jewelry display platform are stated at 20-inches wide by 18-inches long by ½-inch high. This jewelry display platform is predominately used inside a display case. Photos, similar to the merchandise concerned, depict jewelry items, jewelry boxes and the Tiffany placard, placed on top of these jewelry display platforms. From observation of the photo of the merchandise concerned and the illustrative literature of the other similar jewelry display platforms, these platforms appear removable from their display cases and capable of being placed on top of their display cases or elsewhere upon flat surfaces. To answer whether or not the jewelry display platform of the merchandise concerned belongs within heading 9403 “Other furniture and parts thereof” of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), a full reading of the text of Legal Note 2 to Chapter 94, HTSUS, is in order. Legal Note 2 and 2 (a) to Chapter 94, HTSUS, provides at 2, that the articles (other than parts) referred to in the headings of 9401 to 9403 are to be classified in those headings only if they are designed for placing on the floor or ground, and at 2 (a), the following are, however, to be classified in the above headings even if they are designed to be hung, to be fixed to the wall or to stand one on the other --- (a) Cupboards, bookcases, other shelved furniture (including single shelves presented with supports for fixing them to the wall) and unit furniture and (b) Seats and beds. Consequently, as the jewelry display platform is not floor or ground standing, nor one of the exceptions listed in Legal Note 2 (a), the merchandise concerned is not classifiable in the furniture provisions of heading 9403, HTSUS. When interpreting and implementing the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 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 jewelry display platform is composed of different components (MDF – an engineered wood and a blended Majilite fabric) and is considered a composite good. The ENs to the HTSUS, Rule 3 (b) (VIII), state that “The factor which determines essential character will vary between different kinds of goods. It may for example, be determined by the nature of the materials or components, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to the use of the goods.” When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good. Consideration of the jewelry display platform reveals that the underlying wooden base provides the structure and support onto which jewelry items, jewelry boxes and the Tiffany placard, are placed. Although the decorative fabric aesthetically enhances the product, it is the wooden base that allows the constituent material to accomplish its primary function of being a display unit. Accordingly, the essential character of the good is imparted by the MDF, engineered wood. The applicable subheading for the jewelry display platform will be 4420.90.8000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for “Wood marquetry and inlaid wood; caskets and cases for jewelry or cutlery and similar articles, of wood; statuettes and other ornaments, of wood; wooden articles of furniture not falling within chapter 94: Other: Other.” The rate of duty will be 3.2% 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 Neil H. Levy at E-mail address: neil.h.levy@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Director National Commodity Specialist Division