Planners Shouldn't Be Classified as Calendars Under HTS, DOJ Argues
Calendars are visual objects, not notebooks or weekly planners, the government said Feb. 12 in a tariff classification case contesting CBP’s classification of an importer’s weekly planners as “stationary products” rather than duty-free “calendars” (Blue Sky The Color of Imagination v. U.S., CIT # 21-00624).
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The importer that filed the case, Blue Sky The Color Of Imagination, had argued in December that its weekly/monthly planners are classifiable as “calendars” because they “systematically” display the days of the week, meeting definitions put forward by both it and DOJ (see 2312260055). Other sections of the planners, such as lined pages, reference pages and spaces to take notes, were only “peripheral” features that did not transform the product into something other than a calendar, it said.
The government disagreed in its Feb. 12 brief. It said Blue Sky’s primary argument is that its weekly planners share similar features with other products it entered that were classified as “planners.” That argument, it said, fails to consider the plain language of the relevant tariff provisions.
It said that the fact monthly desk calendars imported by Blue Sky were categorized as calendars in the tariff schedule doesn’t mean that a different product, its weekly planners, should have been, too.
“Plaintiff fails to apply basic principles for interpreting the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States,” it said.
The common definition of a calendar is “a system or chart representing the days, weeks or months of the year,” DOJ said, noting calendars are visual objects. That definition “does not encompass every dated item,” it said, as "almost every dictionary definition for calendar describes a table, grid or other visual depiction." Calendars are intended for quick visual references to pinpoint dates in reference to the broader year, it said.
“Undisputed facts,” on the contrary, show that the weekly planners “share the common characteristics and unifying purpose” of stationary products, the government said.
“Plaintiff offers no argument or evidence to properly challenge this classification,” it said.
Blue Sky argued in its own motion that the government should be judicially estopped from saying that planners aren't calendars because planners also fit DOJ's own calendar definition. Judicial estoppel wouldn't apply in this case because the government hasn't taken any other positions with respect to planner classification, successfully or unsuccessfully, DOJ said.