The tariff classification of soiled textile items from the United States exported to Mexico for laundering and returned to the U.S.

N269862 November 6, 2015 CLA-2-98:OT:RR:NC:N3:349 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 9802.00.50 Mr. Steven B. Zisser Zisser Customs Law Group Suite 1 9355 Airway Road San Diego, California 92154 RE: The tariff classification of soiled textile items from the United States exported to Mexico for laundering and returned to the U.S. Dear Mr. Zisser: In your letter dated October 1, 2015 and received by this office on October 21, 2015, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of your client, Phase II Industrial Laundry Services, LLC (“Phase II”). In your request, you inquire about the applicability of subheading 9802.00.50, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), to soiled items that will be exported from the U.S. and returned after having been cleaned in Mexico. No samples accompanied your request but you did provide a number of photographs at various stages of the process. You state that Phase II Industrial Laundry Services, LLC is a laundry collection company that supplies laundered garments, uniforms, linens, floor mats, towels and other products necessary for businesses to operate and provide a clean environment and image. Phase II collects, sorts and weighs soiled shop towels, gloves, aprons, mops and other laundry at their facility in Pico Rivera, California. The soiled items are exported to Phase II’s facility in Tijuana, Mexico where they are washed, rinsed, dried, sorted, folded and packed for export back to the United States. Customs and Border Protection has held that cleaning and sanitizing soiled linens constitutes an alteration within the meaning of subheading 9802.00.50, HTSUS. Headquarters Ruling 559654 noted. Consequently, the shop towels, gloves, aprons, mops and similar laundry will qualify for the special tariff treatment of that provision, provided that the documentary requirements of 19 C.F.R. §181.64 are met, with duty assessed only upon the value of the foreign repairs or alterations. You have not specified with sufficient detail the types of laundry involved. Without this information, we are unable to determine the primary classification of each item. However, regarding the duty to be assessed on the value of the foreign repairs or alterations, U.S. Note 3(d) to Subchapter II of Chapter 98, HTSUS, is controlling. It states: For the purposes of subheadings 9802.00.40 and 9802.00.50, the rates of duty in the “special” subcolumn of column 1 followed by the symbol “CA” or “MX” in parentheses shall apply to any goods which are returned to the United States after having been repaired or altered in Canada or in Mexico, respectively, whether or not such goods are goods of Canada or goods of Mexico under the terms of general note 12 to the tariff schedule. 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 the World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/. As noted in 19 C.F.R. §181.64 (c)(2), the port director may require additional information as is deemed necessary to prove actual exportation of the goods from the United States and subsequent re-importation of the same goods after alteration. The documentation must clearly follow the laundry through exportation, alteration, and re-importation. For information as to the documentation that will satisfy Section 181.64, C.R., you should contact the port director at the anticipated U.S. port of entry. 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 Kim Wachtel at kimberly.a.wachtel@cbp.dhs.gov. Sincerely, Gwenn Klein Kirschner Director National Commodity Specialist Division