Number of Coloring Implements Determines Classification of Drawing Set, CBP Says

The number of colored pencils and markers helps determine the classification of drawing sets, CBP said in ruling HQ H280511. CBP issued the May 22 ruling in response to an application for further review from Target General Merchandise. Initially classified at entry under heading 9609 as "pencils and crayons," the company believes the kits are better classified in heading 4903 as coloring books. Sets are classified based on the component that gives the "essential character" to the product.

The sets at issue are Crayola virtual design collection kits that allow for users to scan completed pages into an application, which will then appear virtually. The kits include a 20-page activity book, a case, stencils, a pencil sharpener, and 36 colored pencils and 20 markers. The case is the most expensive part of the kit, CBP said. "However, the storage case does not relate to the activity of coloring" and "merely stores and organizes the design supplies when they are not in use," it said.

The design book, the colored pencils and markers all "play an indispensable role in relation to the use of the goods as kits, as all three items are used in conjunction with each other," it said. But, "because of the greater quantity and bulk of the coloring implements, it is likely that a child using the activity kit will use the colored pencils and markers long after he or she has run out of pages in the activity book," it said. "We find that the colored pencils impart the essential character of the set," CBP said.

Although previous rulings on coloring kits classified the sets based on the activity books, CBP said those cases involved books with more pages or fewer coloring implements. "In the instant protest, the coloring implements constitute a more substantial component in relation to the use of the activity kits as a whole, compared to the colored implements in the cited rulings," it said. "In sum, we disagree with the Protestant’s argument that the essential character of the activity kits is imparted by the 20-page/10-design activity book." The protest should be denied and the sets are classifiable in subheading 9609.10.00, which provides for “[p]encils and crayons, with leads encased in a rigid sheath,” with a duty rate of "14 cents/gross + 4.3% ad valorem," CBP said.