May 1, 2009 CBP Bulletin Notice on Classification of Paintball Capsules
In the May 1, 2009 issue of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 18), CBP published a notice proposing to revoke a ruling and a treatment as follows:
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Proposed revocation of ruling; proposed revocation of treatment. CBP is proposing to revoke a ruling on the classification of paintball capsules. 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 May 31, 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.
Paintball capsules. The merchandise is described as soft gelatin capsules which are a mixture of vegetable oil and food coloring. These paintballs are used in the game of paintball. Paintball is a game in which opposing teams attempt to capture the other's flag station. When a player gets tagged (hit by a paintball) he/she is out of the game. The paintballs are an essential part of the game of paintball.
The game of paintball is described in an article written by the chief editor of a popular paintball magazine, "Recon", as posted on the website of the Paintball Sports Trade Association, as follows: "Paintball is a game in which players use compressed-gas-powered guns (paintball markers) to shoot each other with small balls of encapsulated gelatin. When these paintballs break, they leave a brightly colored mark, about the size of a quarter, signifying that the player is eliminated from the game. Games are played in the woods or on small fields containing brightly colored inflatable bunkers."
CBP is proposing to issue HQ H054812 in order to revoke NY B85784 and reclassify the paintball capsules under HTS 9306.90.00 as "other ammunition and projectiles" rather than under HTS 9504.90.40 as "articles for arcade, table or parlor games."
CBP proposes this change as a correction. The game of paintball is played in the woods or on a field, not in an arcade, parlor or on a table. As such, the subject merchandise does not meet the terms of heading 9504. Furthermore, pursuant to Note 1(s) of Chapter 95, insofar as the subject articles are classifiable in a heading of Chapter 93, they cannot be classified in a heading of Chapter 95.
Heading 9306 of HTS Chapter 93 describes cartridges and projectiles. "Projectile" is defined in Mirriam-Webster's as follows: "a body projected by external force and continuing in motion by its own inertia" Paintballs are ordinarily propelled using "compressed-gas-powered guns", upon firing the paintballs continue in motion by their own inertia. As such, the articles meet the definition of projectiles.
CBP now proposes that by application of GRI 1, the paintballs described above are classified in subheading 9306.90.00 as "Projectiles other."
Proposed: 9306.90.00, duty-free; Current: 9504.90.40, duty-free
May 1, 2009 CBP Bulletin (Vol. 43, No. 18) available athttp://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/legal/bulletins_decisions/bulletins_2009/