Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings Oct. 30
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated Oct. 30 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
H331495: Affirmation of NY N329311; Tariff Classification of Footwear from China
| Ruling: NY N329311 is affirmed. That ruling correctly classified the “Rogue Wave” boot in subheading 6401.92.9060 as “Waterproof footwear with outer soles and uppers of rubber or plastics, the uppers of which are neither fixed to the sole nor assembled by stitching, riveting, nailing, screwing, plugging or similar processes: Other footwear: Covering the ankle but not covering the knee: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Issue: Does the “Rogue Wave” boot have an outer sole “of rubber or plastics” and thus is properly classified in heading 6401, or is the outer sole of leather and thus is classified as “other footwear” in heading 6405? |
| Item: A unisex boot intended for use during outdoor activities such as fishing, hiking, or boating. The above-the-ankle, below-the-knee, slip-on boot, is said to have been manufactured by an exclusively adhesive construction and includes a foxing band. The material composition breakdown provided by you shows the constituent material having the greatest surface area of the upper to be predominantly rubber/plastics, with the balance of elastic gore on the medial and lateral sides, at the top. The rugged outer sole is composed of rubber or plastic to which you state a leather flocking has been applied, covering the majority of the surface area in contact with the ground. The leather application is microns thin and not visible. |
| Reason: The material of the upper shall be taken to be the constituent material having the greatest external surface area. Explanatory note 64.01 states that heading 6401 waterproof footwear with both the outer soles and the uppers, of rubber, plastics or textile material with an external layer of rubber or plastics being visible to the naked eye, provided the uppers are neither fixed to the sole nor assembled by the processes named in the heading. |
| Ruling Date: Oct. 20, 2023 |