March 26, 2009 CBP Bulletin Notice on Country of Origin Marking of Burial Caskets
In the March 26, 2009 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 13), 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 country of origin marking of burial caskets. 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 April 25, 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.
Burial caskets. The merchandise at issue is burial caskets imported from China and sold to funeral homes, which are in turn sold by funeral service providers to the final consumers. The bottom of each casket is marked using permanent ink with "Made in China" in letters clearly readable from a distance. The caskets are finished on all sides and on the top, and these finished surfaces do not lend themselves to country of origin marking. Therefore, country of origin marking is affixed on the unfinished bottom, along with other inventory control and model number labeling.
CBP is proposing to issue HQ H033598 in order to revoke NY N013043 and determine that the current method of marking is not acceptable because the country of origin marking is not conspicuous pursuant to the requirements of 19 USC 1304 and 19 CFR 134.41.
CBP proposes this change pursuant to reconsideration of the original ruling. As provided 19 CFR 134.41, country of origin marking is considered to be conspicuous if the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. The ultimate purchaser in the U.S. is not the funeral home, but the individual. The regulations at 19 CFR 134.1(k) define "conspicuous" as "capable of being easily seen with normal handling of the article or container."
Under the holding of Charles A. Redden v. U.S., the country of origin of an article need not be marked in the most conspicuous place, "but merely in any conspicuous place which shall not be covered or obscured by subsequent attachments or arrangements."
CBP is does not require country of origin marking which would detract from the appearance of the article, and takes into account where the ultimate purchaser expects to find country of origin marking. CBP is also guided by the requirement that the marking be easily found and read without strain; that the method of marking is appropriate to the nature of the article; and that the marking will be sufficiently permanent to insure that the marking will remain on the article until it reaches the ultimate purchaser unless deliberately removed. No single factor is considered conclusive in determining whether a marking meets the conspicuousness requirement of 19 CFR 134.41 and 19 USC 1304. Instead, it is the combination of factors which will determine whether the marking is acceptable.
Caskets offered for sale from a showroom may be displayed horizontally on display racks with casket lids open to reveal their interiors. However, in NY 013043, the photograph of the unfinished bottom panel of the casket demonstrates that the country of origin marking "Made in China" near the center of the bottom panel can only be seen when the casket is lifted and stood up vertically on one end.
CBP suggests that in this case use of a pressure sensitive label or a hangtag affixed in a conspicuous place on a casket would be sufficiently permanent to meet the requirements of 19 CFR 134.44. The marking "Made in China" on a label or hangtag affixed in a conspicuous place on a casket would be easy to find, securely affixed, and would come off only if it were deliberately removed.
CBP now proposes that the country of origin marking "Made in China" near the center of the unfinished bottom panel of a casket does not meet the conspicuousness requirements of 19 USC 1304 and 19 CFR 134.41, in that the country of origin marking is not capable of being easily seen with normal handling of the article or container.
March 26, 2009 CBP Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 13) available athttp://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/legal/bulletins_decisions/bulletins_2009/