Recent CBP NY Rulings
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
N324981: The tariff classification of a shoe care kit and replacement components from China
| HTS: (1) 8509.80.5095, 4.2% “Electromechanical domestic appliances, with self-contained electric motor, other than vacuum cleaners of heading 8508; parts thereof: [o]ther appliances: [o]ther: [o]ther. |
| (2) 3405.10.0000, 9903.88.03, free + 25%, "Polishes and creams, for footwear, furniture, floors, coachwork, glass or metal, scouring pastes and powders and similar preparations (whether or not in the form of paper, wadding, felt, nonwovens, cellular plastics or cellular rubber, impregnated, coated or covered with such preparations), excluding waxes of heading 3404; [p]olishes, creams and similar preparations for footwear or leather.” |
| (3) 9603.50.0000, 9903.88.15, free + 7.5%, “Brooms, brushes (including brushes constituting parts of machines, appliances or vehicles), hand-operated mechanical floor sweepers, not motorized, mops and feather dusters; prepared knots and tufts for broom or brush making; paint pads and rollers; squeegees (other than roller squeegees): [o]ther brushes constituting parts of machines, appliances or vehicles.” |
| Items: (1) “Equerry Pro,” which is a compact shoe care kit that consists of two handheld batons. One baton is an electric, motorized, horsehair brush shoe polisher that is powered by a rechargeable battery. The other baton has an application sponge that contains 50 milliliters of shoe cream. (2) Replacement shoe cream batons (3) Replacement horsehair brush heads |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 5, 2022 |
N325006: The tariff classification of the Intelligent Pen Set from China
| HTS: 8471.60.9050, 9903.88.03, free + 25% “Automatic data processing machines and units thereof…Input or output units, whether or not containing storage units in the same housing: Other: Other: Other”. |
| Item: Intelligent Pen Set, which is described as a retail package containing the Intelligent Pen, a paper notebook, an ink refill cartridge, a charging adapter, and a USB cable. The Intelligent Pen is comprised of printed circuit board assemblies, a lens, an ink pen cartridge, a battery, and a housing/cap. Incorporated into the PCBAs are a pressure sensor, a Bluetooth module, and a high-speed camera. The notebook is comprised of 99 pages of paper, each having a specialized arrangement of dots that the pen uses to capture the handwritten notes of the user. The Intelligent Pen stores the handwritten information for transfer to other devices, such as a personal computer or a mobile phone. |
| Reason: While the Intelligent Pen contains an ink cartridge and functions as an ordinary writing instrument, the instant pen is nearly identical to the Digital Pen classified in NY J89440 and would be considered an input unit for an automatic data processing (ADP) machine. |
| Ruling Date: April 5, 2022 |
N325016: The tariff classification of a costume from China and Vietnam
| HTS: 9505.90.6000, free, “Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other.” |
| Item: An adult-sized costume identified as Gold Disco Queen, which consists of long-sleeved jumpsuit and a separate sequin waist sash. The flimsy man-made textile jumpsuit imparts the essential character of the set. The pull-on jumpsuit is constructed with long, loose, straight stitching. The top and pant are joined loosely at the exposed elastic waist by a single line of stitching. The leg openings are unhemmed with raw unfinished edges. Although the sleeve ends have the well-made feature of covered elastic, the jumpsuit is not a well-made garment. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 5, 2022 |
N324696: The tariff classification of door jamb products from China
| HTS: (1) (3) (6) 4418.99.9195, 9903.88.03, 3.2% + 25%, "Builders' joinery and carpentry of wood, including cellular wood panels and assembled flooring panels; shingles and shakes: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other." |
| (2) 4411.14.9090, 9903.88.03, 3.9% + 25%, "Fiberboard of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not bonded with resins or other organic substances: Medium density fiberboard (MDF): Of a thickness exceeding 9mm: Other: Other: Other: Other." |
| (4) 4410.12.0020, 9903.88.03, free + 25%, "Particle board, oriented strand board (OSB) and similar board (for example, waferboard) of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not agglomerated with resins or other organic binding substances: Of wood: Oriented strand board (OSB): Other." |
| (5) 4411.13.9090, 9903.88.03, 3.9% + 25%, "Fiberboard of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not bonded with resins or other organic substances: Medium density fiberboard (MDF): Of a thickness exceeding 5 mm but not exceeding 9 mm: Other: Other: Other: Other." |
| Items: (1) A flat door jamb constructed of finger-jointed, edge-glued pine wood. The wood is shaped with a continuous profile throughout its length. The face is flat, and the back has three half-circle grooves that run the length of the jamb. The face corners are radius-curved. The face is wider than the back and the edges slope diagonally inward between the face and back. The ends of the jambs are continuously shaped with a rabbet (or step) cut across the board width. The rabbet is for assembly with jamb top components. The boards are imported in various widths ranging from 4.5” to 6.875” and in lengths from 81” to 98.188”. (2) A “colonial style” doorstop constructed wholly of medium density fiberboard. The stop measures approximately 7/16” (11.11mm) thick by 1 3/8” wide and 80.9” to 97” in length. The doorstop is continuously shaped throughout its length. The profile is a rectangle with an ogee curve along one side. (3) A door jamb constructed from oriented strand board with an applied MDF doorstop. The OSB body of the jamb is shaped in the same manner as Item 1. The MDF stop measures approximately 1.115” wide and 0.35” (8.89mm) thick. It is rectangular in shape with radius-curved face corners. (4)(5) are the OSB and MDF jamb and stop components identified in Item 3, imported independently of one another. (6) A combination of Item 1, an edge-glued, finger-jointed pine jamb combined with Item 5, the rectangular MDF doorstop. |
| Reason: Item 1 is wood that has been continuously shaped, it is wood that has been edge-glued, and is therefore precluded from classification in heading 4409. Item 3 is a jamb that combines an OSB flat jamb with an MDF doorstop. The resulting product is not classifiable as OSB or MDF alone because of their combination. The complete jamb is, however, a recognizable article used in the construction of a building, and is therefore classifiable in heading 4418. |
| Ruling Date: April 4, 2022 |
N324844: The country of origin of three decorative pillows
| Country of Origin: Pakistan |
| Items: Three decorative pillows that have an outer r pillow cover fabric made in China and an inner pillow shell fabric made in Pakistan. All manufacturing operations subsequent to the forming of the fabrics were performed in Pakistan. |
| Reason: In HQ 960337, CBP ruled that the country of origin of a decorative pillow with an outer cover fabric from one country and an inner pillow shell fabric from another country could not be determined under 19 CFR 102.21(c)(4) because the fabric formation occurred in more than one country and one fabric could be considered more important than any other fabric. Where the country of origin of a textile or apparel product cannot be determined ... the country of origin of the good is the last country, territory or insular possession in which an important assembly or manufacturing process occurred. |
| Ruling Date: April 4, 2022 |
N324885: The tariff classification and country of origin of laminated truck flooring
| HTS: 4421.99.9880; 9903.88.03, 3.3% + 25%, “Other articles of wood: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Country of Origin: China |
| Item: Laminated wood flooring used in trucks and trailers. The finished flooring panels consist of red oak laminated boards connected end-to-end by finger jointing and side-to-side by edge gluing. The panels will come in varying sizes, measuring between 1058-15898 mm in length by 103-350 mm in width by 28-35 mm in thickness with lap joinery on both edges. Red oak lumber measuring from1800-5000 mm in length by 76-550 mm in width by 25.4 mm in thickness is sourced in the U.S. The lumber is shipped to mainland China where the lumber is cut into strips; all defects, such as knots and cracks, are removed; finger joint tennons are machined at the two ends of each strip; the strips are connected in length by finger joints and bonded together side-by-side with melamine glue. Finally, they are grooved and planed before packaging. The raw material red oak makes up approximately 85% of the cost of the final product. |
| Reason: In China the raw lumber is transformed into finished flooring, constituting a substantial transformation The flooring has a new name, character and use different from the raw lumber. |
| Ruling Date: April 4, 2022 |
N324894: The tariff classification of aluminum welded channel coolers from China
| HTS: 8419.50.1000; 9903.88.01, 4.2% + 25%, “Machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated (excluding furnaces, ovens and other equipment of heading 8514), for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such as heating, cooking, roasting, distilling, rectifying, sterilizing, pasteurizing, steaming, drying, evaporating, vaporizing, condensing or cooling, other than machinery or plant of a kind used for domestic purposes; instantaneous or storage water heaters, nonelectric; parts thereof: Heat exchange units: Brazed aluminum plate-fin heat exchangers.” |
| Item: Aluminum welded channel cooler used in beds and loungers. While the part numbers differ in dimensions, the design of each cooler is the same. Each unit consists of two electric fans mounted on a brazed aluminum plate-fin heat exchanger. The function of the cooler is to remove heat that is generated by the internal water pressure during a massage. The unit is connected to a circulating water supply within a chair, bed, or lounger. Heated water enters from an inlet at the top of the heat exchanger and traverses the unit before exiting through a second outlet. As the heated water travels through the unit, the fans blow air over the heat exchanger, transferring heat from the water to ambient air. |
| Reason: |
| Ruling Date: April 4, 2022 |
N324961: The tariff classification of footwear from Vietnam
| HTS: 6404.19.9030, 9%, "Footwear with outer soles of rubber, plastics, leather or composition leather and uppers of textile materials: Footwear with outer soles of rubber or plastics: other: other: valued over $12/pair: for men." |
| Item: A man’s, closed-toe/closed-heel, below-the-ankle, slip-on shoe. The external surface area of the upper (esau) consists predominantly of knitted man-made fiber textile materials. The rubber outer sole was crosscut and found to incorporate a foxing-like band. The shoe does not have a separately attached tongue. It has a rubber/plastic heel counter, a textile pull-tab, and textile laces. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 4, 2022 |
N324977: The tariff classification of party favors from China
| HTS: 9505.90.4000, free, “Confetti, paper spirals or streamers, party favors and noisemakers; parts and accessories thereof.” (2) 9208.90.0080, 9903.88.15, 5.3% + 7.5% “Music boxes, fairground organs, mechanical street organs, mechanical singing birds, musical saws and other musical instruments not falling within any other heading of this chapter; decoy calls of all kinds; whistles, call horns and other mouth-blown sound signaling instruments: Other: Other.” |
| Items: (1) Halloween Party Pack 3 is a package containing 54 items, enough for 18 children. This package contains 18 black jumping spiders, 18 wiggly eye novelty rings, 4 plastic hair bands with cat ears on the crown of the hair bands, 4 pairs of novelty glasses without lenses shaped like pumpkins, and 10 spinning tops. Halloween Party Pack 4 is a package containing 45 items, enough for 9 children. This package contains 9 each of black jumping spiders, bats, skeletons, fangs and (2) kazoos (lip whistles). |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: April 4, 2022 |
N324996: The tariff classification of a costume from China and Vietnam
| HTS:9505.90.6000, free, “Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles, including magic tricks and practical joke articles; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other.” |
| Item: Adult plus-size costume identified as Roman Warrior, item number 8122-094. The Roman Warrior costume consists of body armor with an attached cape, an upper body garment which you refer to as a tunic, wrist guards and medallion shoulder straps attached with hook and loop fasteners. The sleeveless armor is composed of man-made textile fabric and pulls on over the head. The back opening is closed with string ties. The shoulders feature wide fringe with raw, unfinished edges and the attached cape has raw, unfinished edges all around. The armor is secured to the body by fabric ties with raw, unfinished edges that tie at the wearer’s back waist. Lappets with raw unfinished edges extend from the waist down to the thighs. |
| Reason: The flimsy pullover body armor with attached cape imparts the essential character of the set. |
| Ruling Date: April 4, 2022 |