Avenues in Leather, Inc. v. U.S.
| Decision Date | 24 April 1998 |
| Docket Number | Slip Op. 98-54.,Court No. 94-12-00794. |
| Citation | 11 F.Supp.2d 719 |
| Parties | AVENUES IN LEATHER, INC., Plaintiff, v. The UNITED STATES, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of International Trade |
Frank W. Hunger, Assistant Attorney General; Joseph I. Liebman, Attorney-in-Charge, International Trade Field Office; Amy M. Rubin, Commercial Litigation Branch, Civil Division, Department of Justice; Mark G. Nackman, Office of the Assistant Chief Counsel, U.S. Customs Service, for defendant.
The issue presented concerns the proper tariff classification and rate of duty to be assessed by the United States Customs Service ("Customs") on merchandise described by the plaintiff as "folios" and imported during 1993. Plaintiff brings this "test case" challenging Customs' classification of the folios upon liquidation of the entries. Jurisdiction is predicated on 28 U.S.C. § 1581(a), and, therefore, Customs' classification is subject to de novo review by this court in accordance with 28 U.S.C. § 2640. Currently before the court are cross-motions for summary judgment.
Customs classified the merchandise in question under subheading 4202.11.00 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States ("HTSUS"), and assessed duty at the rate of eight per centum ad valorem. Subheading 4202.11.00 provides:
4202 Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases
briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases
binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument
cases, gun cases, holsters and similar
containers; traveling bags, toiletry bags
knapsacks and back packs, handbags, shopping
bags, wallets, purses, map cases, cigarette
cases, tobacco pouches, tool bags, sports
bags, bottle cases, jewelry boxes, powder
cases, cutlery cases and similar containers, of
leather or of composite leather, of sheeting of
plastics, of textile materials, of vulcanized
fiber, or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly
covered with such materials or with paper
Trunks, suitcases vanity cases, attache
cases, briefcases, school satchels and similar
containers
4202.11.00 With outer surface of leather,
of composition leather, or
of patent leather ....................8%
In support of Customs' classification, defendant maintains that the imported articles are ejusdem generis with the exemplar items listed under Heading 4202 because they share the same common characteristics and purpose of the exemplar items.
Plaintiff, however, asserts that the imported goods are properly dutiable under Chapter 48 at the rate of four percentum ad valorem under subheading 4820.10.20 of the HTSUS, because they are actually diaries or personal organizers used for time management. Subheading 4820.10.20 reads:
4820 Registers, account books, notebooks, order
books, receipt books, letter pads, memorandum
pads, diaries and similar articles, exercise
books, blotting pads, binders (looseleaf or
other), folders, file covers, manifold business
forms, interleaved carbon sets and other articles
of stationery, of paper or paperboard;
albums for samples or for collections and
book covers (including cover boards and book
jackets) of paper or paperboard:
4820.10 Registers, account books, notebooks, order
books, receipt books, letter pads and similar
articles:
4820.10.20 Diaries, notebooks and address
books, bound; memorandum
pads letter pads and
similar articles ....................4%
Alternatively, plaintiff claims classification under subheading 4820.10.20 invoking the General Rules of Interpretation, GRI 3(b), and contending that the essential merchandise is prima facie classifiable under both competing provisions, but that the essential character of the imported goods is imparted by their planner-like features. As a further alternative argument, plaintiff posits that in the event that GRI 3(b) is inapplicable to the classification of the goods, then under GRI 3(c) the articles must be classified under the heading that occurs last in numerical order among those headings which equally merit consideration. Defendant responds that classification under Chapter 48 is precluded by Chapter Note 1(g) which requires that articles which can be classified under Heading 4202 must be excluded from classification under Chapter 48. Therefore, it is unnecessary to reach the arguments posed under GRI 3. In any event, the government argues, Customs' classification was also correct under GRI 3.
There is no genuine dispute as to the following material facts.
1. The disputed merchandise consists of four kinds of leather cases or folios incorporating a three ring looseleaf binder mechanism, representative samples of which have been identified as Defendant's Exhibits E, G, H and I.
2. Defendant's Exhibit E (Style 3345) is marketed by plaintiff as part of its "Pro-Folio" line. Exhibit E consists of a zippered case holding an 8½ by 11 inch lined notepad. This exhibit also features two retractable padded handles and a zipper closure extending around three sides. The exterior is of a nappa leather and the interior is of a different leather material. When closed, the article measures 14¼ inches by 11 inches by 3 inches. The interior of the article is fitted with a variety of pockets and compartments. An expandable two compartment folio section is secured by double snap tabs and covers all of one interior side of the case. The front interior panel of the folio is fitted with three pen compartments, a zippered utility pocket and two pockets with hook and loop flap closures. The zippered pocket and one hook and loop pocket measure 6 inches wide by 4 inches deep. The second hook and loop pocket measures 3¾ inches wide by 4 inches deep. The smaller hook and loop pocket is of the kind intended to contain a standard 3½ inch floppy disk. The opposite interior side of the case is fitted with a slot containing a standard 8½ inch by 11 inch lined writing pad. The interior center portion, the spine, is fitted with a permanent three ring binder mechanism. The exterior sides of the article each contain an open pocket which is the full size (height and width) of the case. The notepad is bound at the top with staples, adhesive and paper binding. The left edge is perforated with three holes in a manner that allows the pages to be removed from the pad and placed on the rings of the binder. The pad has a plasticized paper cover and the interior of the pad cover is imprinted with a three year calendar. The case contains no other paper inserts.
3. Defendant's Exhibits G, H and I (Styles 3343, 3345 and 3349) are each identified as part of plaintiff's "Present-O-Folio" line. Except for variations in color and the exterior leather material, the three articles are practically identical. Each case measures 10 ½ inches by 13½ inches by 1¾ inches and has a zipper closure which extends around three sides. The exterior is either a natural leather or a plastic coated leather material. The interior is either leather or imitation leather. The interior is fitted with various pockets and compartments. One side has an accordion folio section on the interior which has two compartments and two gussets and is the full size of one side of the case. This folio section is large enough to contain small books or newspapers. The front panel of the folio is fitted with two pen/pencil holders, two pockets, each having a hook and loop flap closure and designed to hold 3½ inch floppy disks or other small articles, a pocket for business cards, and a zippered utility security pocket which measures 10 inches wide by 5½ inches deep. This fitted front panel is similar to those frequently found in briefcases, attache cases, and other executive business cases. The opposite interior side is fitted with a slot designed to contain a standard 8 ½ by 11 inch pad. Exhibit H has additional slots under and horizontal to the pad slot and under the opposite folio section. These slots are intended to hold the removable plastic covered binder which slides into the case so that the spine of the binder runs along the spine of the case. Exhibits G and I do not have the removable binder, but instead the binder assembly is sewn into the spine of the case. The exterior sides of all of these cases are fitted with an open pocket which measures the full size, height and width of the side of the case. Each of these articles has a leather padded carrying handle fitted to the exterior spine. Each case has a writing pad inside, like exhibit E, although in Exhibits G and I the writing pad has a one year calendar on the inside of the cover and does not have pre-cut holes for securing the pages in the binder mechanism.
4. All four of the articles in question can be carried by the handles or under the arm.
5. The merchandise is sold in its imported condition, without any paper inserts other than the notepad. However, paper inserts consisting of lined monthly calendars with tabs and lined pages designed for entries of names, addresses and phone numbers, are available for purchase from other companies for use in all of the subject articles.
6. The imported goods are sold in boxes displaying them with various features high-lighted. Among these features are: padded handles, zipper closures, inside security zip pockets, multi-pocket organizers, expandable file compartments, pen loops and the 3 ring binder mechanisms.
Pursuant to the rules of this Court, summary judgment is...
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