In the Jan. 18, 2023, Customs Bulletin and Decisions, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is reclassifying the following products, effective with respect to goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption on or after March 19.
For more information on how to seek or utilize classification and other rulings, please contact attorney Deb Stern at (305) 894-1007 or via email.
Outdoor Furniture Sets
CBP is reclassifying certain outdoor furniture sets as sets under HTSUS 9403.60.8040, 9403.70.8015, or 9403.89.6015 (all duty-free) rather than classifying the chairs of the sets separately based on their constituent material (HTSUS 9401.71.0010, 9401.79.0005, and 9401.61.4011, all duty-free).
The furniture sets at issue include chairs and tables of various materials. The furniture is imported either fully assembled or partially unassembled and shipped in one combined shipment but separate boxes.
CBP states that these items are classifiable as retail sets because the table and chairs are put up together to meet a particular need and are intended for use in conjunction with one another to carry out a specific activity. Further, they were ready for retail sale without repackaging and imported in the same shipment and sold at retail only as a unit. CBP had originally held that the items are considered a set only if they are packaged together but now states that “the individualized manner of retail packaging for articles of this size, imported with several large sized components, cannot be removed from the construct of retail sets simply because the table and chairs do not fit into one retail package.”
Ruling HQ H271649 will revoke rulings NY N004954, NY N028531, NY N021597, NY L80593, NY N085595, NY B85455, NY N255629, NY N084056, NY F82793, and NY N149696 to reflect this change.
Fashion Show Items
CBP is reclassifying runway haute couture items in their separate headings (4202, 4203, 4303, 6402, 6403, 6404, 6405, 6504, 6505, 6506, 7113, and 7116) rather than as collections of historical pieces under HTSUS 9705.00.0070 (duty-free).
The items at issue are apparel, accessories, jewelry, and footwear used in semiannual showcases. CBP had initially determined that these events are for show and credibility of the brand at issue, noting that the items are “showcased and displayed in museums throughout the world, are rare and change twice a year, are priced reflective of their rarity, and are used frequently in photoshoots in France and abroad after these events.”
However, CBP now states that the commercial undertaking in exhibiting these items twice a year serves a primary purpose of generating interest in the products displayed in attracting prospective future business. A secondary objective is the expectation, solicitation, and acquiring of commercial and retail orders for future delivery. While the items at issue “are one of a kind, high in value, take hours to craft by hand and consist of luxury materials,” CBP states, “there is no indication that the exceptionally high value of a particular piece is tied to any historically famous person or specific historically significant event.”
CBP concludes that the items are thus precluded from classification under heading 9705, which excludes goods produced as a commercial undertaking to commemorate, celebrate, illustrate, or depict an event or any other matter, whether or not production is limited in quantity or circulation.
Ruling HQ H305462 will revoke ruling NY N297394 to reflect this change.
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