January 15, 2009 CBP Bulletin Notice on Classification of Certain Cigarette Cases
In the January 15, 2009 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 4), CBP published a notice proposing to revoke one ruling and a treatment as follows:
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Proposed revocation of ruling; proposed revocation of treatment. CBP is proposing to revoke a ruling on the classification of certain cigarette cases. Additionally, CBP proposes that this notice covers any rulings on this merchandise that may exist but have not been specifically identified. CBP is also proposing to revoke any treatment it has previously accorded to substantially identical transactions.
CBP states that any party who has received a contrary written ruling or decision on the merchandise that is subject to the proposed revocations, or any party involved with a substantially identical transaction, should advise CBP by February 14, 2009, the date that written comments on the proposed ruling are due. Furthermore, CBP states that an importer's failure to advise CBP of such rulings, decisions, or substantially identical transactions may raise issues of reasonable care on the part of the importer or its agent for importations subsequent to the effective date of the final decision in this notice.
Cigarette cases. The merchandise at issue is described as a cigarette case made of injection molded plastic, designed to hold twenty standard cigarettes and a BIC lighter.
CBP is proposing to issue HQ H026225 in order to revoke HQ 084525 and determine that the cigarette cases should be classified under HTS 3926.90.9980 as "other articles of plastics other, other, other" rather than under HTS 3923.10.0000 as "articles of plastic for the conveyance or packing of goods, of plastics; stoppers, lids, caps and other closures, of plastics: boxes, cases, crates and similar articles . . ."
CBP proposes this change as a correction based largely on the Explanatory Notes (ENs) and prior rulings. The ENs to 3923 state: "This heading covers all articles of plastics commonly used for the packing or conveyance of all kinds of products. The articles covered include: (a) Containers such as boxes, cases, crates, sacks and bags (including cones and refuse sacks), casks, cans, carboys, bottles and flasks."
It is CBP's consistently stated position that the exemplars listed in EN 39.23 are used generally to convey or transport goods over long distances and often in large quantities. Furthermore, heading 3923 provides for cases and containers used for shipping purposes. (See notice for ruling numbers.) Accordingly, heading 3923 provides for cases and containers of bulk goods and commercial goods, not personal items. With respect to personal items, CBP has revoked a series of rulings (see notice for details) in which containers used for personal articles were classified under heading 3923 and reclassified under heading 3926. CBP asserts that the subject merchandise is not used in the conveyance of goods, but is designed to facilitate the purchaser's personal transportation and storage of cigarettes.
CBP now proposes that, by application of GRI 1, the subject cigarette case is classifiable under HTS 3926.90.9980 which provides for: "other articles of plastics and articles of other materials of headings 3901 to 3914: other: other . . . other."
Proposed: 3926.90.9980, 5.3%; Current: 3923.10.0000, 3%
January 15, 2009 CBP Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 4) available athttp://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/legal/bulletins_decisions/bulletins_2009/