H315828

HQ H315828 November 15, 2023 OT:RR:CTF:CPMMA H315828 NAH CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO: 4420.90.80 Mr. David Prata Trade Compliance Analyst OHL International at CVS Health Mail Code 5055 1 CVS Drive Woonsocket, RI 02895 RE: Revocation of NY N274180; Classification of a decorative wood box from China Dear Mr. Prata: This letter is in reference to New York Ruling Letter (NY) N274180, dated and issued to you on April 21, 2016, concerning the tariff classification of a decorative wood box from China. In NY N274180, U.S. Customs and Broder Protection (CBP) classified the subject merchandise in subheading 4420.90.4500, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (“HTSUSA”), as “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: Jewelry boxes, silverware chests, cigar and cigarette cases and similar boxes, cases and chests, all the foregoing of wood: Other: Not lined with textile fabrics.” We have reviewed NY N274180 and determined that the ruling is in error. Accordingly, for the reasons set forth below, CBP is revoking NY N274180. Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), a notice of the proposed action was published in the Customs Bulletin, Vol. 57, No. 33, on September 13, 2023. No comment was received in response to this notice. FACTS: The subject merchandise was described in NY N274180 as follows: SKU number 511220 is the {7” wood box}. The item is a small decorative wooden box with slats in the shape of an open produce crate. The box measures approximately 4 inches by 6 inches by 7 inches. The box is available in two styles. The first style features a front and back panel painted with pumpkins and the second style features a front and back panel painted with apples. The two styles of decorative boxes are not used for general packing and transport of goods, but rather can be used for storage of household personal effects, and food items such as apples and other fruits, spices, etc. ISSUE: Whether a decorative wood box from China is classified under subheading 4420.90.45, HTSUS, as “…caskets and cases for jewelry or cutlery and similar articles, of wood. . . : Other: Jewelry boxes, silverware chests, cigar and cigarette boxes, microscope cases, tool or utensil cases and similar boxes, cases and chests, all the foregoing of wood: Other: Not lined with textile fabrics,” or under subheading 4420.90.80, HTSUS, as “…caskets and cases for jewelry or cutlery and similar articles, of wood. . . : Other: Other.” LAW AND ANALYSIS: Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely based on GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. GRI 6 provides that for legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. The 2023 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows: 4420 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: 4420.90 Other: Jewelry boxes, silverware chests, cigar and cigarette boxes, microscope cases, tool or utensil cases and similar boxes, cases and chests, all the foregoing of wood: Other: 4420.90.45 Not lined with textile fabrics… 4420.90.80 Other… The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). EN 44.20 states, in pertinent part, as follows: The articles of this heading may be made of ordinary wood or of particle board or similar board, fibreboard, laminated wood or densified wood (see Note 3 to this Chapter). It also covers a wide variety of articles of wood (including those of wood marquetry or inlaid wood), generally of careful manufacture and good finish, such as: small articles of cabinetwork (for example, caskets and jewel cases); small furnishing goods; decorative articles. Such articles are classified in this heading, even if fitted with mirrors, provided they remain essentially articles of the kind described in the heading. Similarly, the heading includes articles wholly or partly lined with natural or composition leather, paperboard, plastics, textile fabrics, etc., provided they are articles essentially of wood. The heading includes: (1) Boxes of lacquered wood (of the Chinese or Japanese type); cases and boxes of wood, for knives, cutlery, scientific apparatus, etc.; snuff-boxes and other small boxes to be carried in the pocket, in the handbag or on the person; stationery cases, etc.; needlework boxes; tobacco jars and sweetmeat boxes. However, the heading excludes ordinary kitchen spice boxes, etc. (heading 44.19). (2) Articles of wooden furniture, other than those of Chapter 94 (see the General Explanatory Note to that Chapter. This heading therefore covers such goods as coat or hat racks, clothes brush hangers, letter trays for office use, ashtrays, pen-trays and ink stands. * * * * * Subheading 4420.90, HTSUS, 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.” There is no dispute at the six-digit level that the decorative wood boxes are classified therein. As such, the classification is governed by GRIs 1 and 6. Instead, the issue at hand is whether the decorative wood boxes are classified in subheading 4420.90.45, HTSUS, as “[j]ewelry boxes, silverware chests, cigar and cigarette cases and similar boxes, cases and chests, all the foregoing of wood,” or in subheading 4420.90.80, HTSUS, as “[o]ther” than “[j]ewelry boxes, silverware chests, cigar and cigarette cases and similar boxes, cases and chests, all the foregoing of wood.” Nothing about the decorative wood box in NY N274180 makes it specifically a jewelry box, silverware chest, cigar or cigarette box, microscope case, tool or utensil case, or similar box of subheading 4420.90.45, HTSUS, or other similar boxes enumerated in the ENs. The subject decorative wood box is not specially shaped or fitted to hold jewelry; it does not, for example, have separate internal compartments or drawers to organize and protect individual articles of jewelry. Moreover, in Headquarters Ruling Letter (HQ) H304788, dated August 23, 2020, CBP noted that based on prior CBP practice, merchandise classifiable in subheading 4420.90.45, HTSUS, generally contains a lid to protect the contents of the box, whereas merchandise classifiable in subheading 4420.90.80, HTSUS, generally does not have a lid. The subject decorative wood boxes are generic, unlidded boxes used for storage of household personal effects, food items, spices, etc. Accordingly, they are properly classified as other than “jewelry boxes, silverware chests, . . .” in subheading 4420.90.80, HTSUS

Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative section or chapter notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely based on GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order.GRI 6 provides that for legal purposes, the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable. The 2023 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:4420 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: 4420.90 Other: Jewelry boxes, silverware chests, cigar and cigarette boxes, microscope cases, tool or utensil cases and similar boxes, cases and chests, all the foregoing of wood: Other:4420.90.45 Not lined with textile fabrics…4420.90.80 Other…The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. While neither legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).EN 44.20 states, in pertinent part, as follows:The articles of this heading may be made of ordinary wood or of particle board or similar board, fibreboard, laminated wood or densified wood (see Note 3 to this Chapter).It also covers a wide variety of articles of wood (including those of w