HQ 955436: Classification of a zippered wallet made of plastic-coatedtextile material; clutch-bag; handbag; articles for the pocket orhandbag; GRI 3(a); GRI 6

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                            HQ 955436

                        February 24, 1994

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 955436 BC

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  4202.32.1000

Bruce Weiner 
President
Leeds Leather Products
4431 William Penn Highway
Murrysville, PA 15668

RE:  Classification of a zippered wallet made of plastic-coated
textile material; clutch-bag; handbag; articles for the pocket or
handbag; GRI 3(a); GRI 6

Dear Mr. Weiner:

     This responds to your letter of June 15, 1993, wherein you
requested a binding classification ruling for a zippered wallet. 
You submitted a sample for our examination.  We have reviewed the
matter and our decision follows.

FACTS:

     The sample submitted was described in your letter as a
zippered wallet, style #0900-46.  It is constructed of a compact
polyurethane plastic-coated textile fabric that simulates imitation
leather.  It has an envelope style and measures 7.5 inches x 4
inches x .75 inches (when closed).  It has a zipper closure on
three sides.  When unzippered, the opening expands to a width of 4
inches.  This permits easy access to the compartments inside.  The
inside is divided into two main compartments by a zippered pouch
that runs the length of the center of the wallet.  This pouch could
hold coins and other small, narrow items.  On each inside wall of
the wallet are one pocket that could hold paper money and four
smaller pockets for items such as credit cards, driver licenses,
identification cards, and the like.  A zippered pocket is located
on one side of the exterior surface of the wallet.  It could
contain small, narrow items such as coins or flat items like credit
cards.  The polyurethane plastic material forms the exterior
surface of the wallet.

ISSUE:

     What is the proper classification for the plastic-coated
textile zippered wallet?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States (HTSUS) is governed by the General Rules of
Interpretation (GRI).  GRI 1 provides that classification is
determined in accordance with the terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes.  Where goods cannot be
classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, the remaining rules will
be applied in sequential order. 

     The Explanatory Notes (EN's) to the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System assist us in the classification of
merchandise.  The EN's constitute the official interpretation of
the nomenclature at the international level.  While not legally
binding, they represent the considered views of classification
experts of the Harmonized System Committee.  It has been the
practice of the Customs Service to follow, whenever possible, the
terms of the EN's when interpreting the HTSUS.  In Treasury
Decision (T.D.) 89-80, Customs stated that the EN's should always
be consulted as guidance when classifying merchandise.  (See T.D.
89-80, quoting from a report of the Joint Committee on the Omnibus
Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988, endorsing use of the EN's in
the classification of goods.  23 Cust. Bull. 379 (1989), 54 Fed.
Reg. 35,127 (August 23, 1989).)  (See also Totes, Inc. v. United
States, No. 91-09-00714, slip op. 92-153 (CIT September 4, 1992),
26 Cust. Bull. No. 40, 35, 37 n. 3 (September 30, 1992), citing
T.D. 89-80 and acknowledging the authority of the EN's.)

     Heading 4202, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA), provides for the classification of the
following containers and similar articles:

     Trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases,
     briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular
     cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases,
     holsters and similar containers; travelling bags,
     toiletry bags, knapsacks and backpacks, 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 composition leather,
     of plastic sheeting, of textile materials, of vulcanized
     fiber or of paperboard, or wholly or mainly covered with
     such materials or with paper.

Whether the zippered wallet at issue is considered a wallet, purse,
handbag, or similar container, it is prima facie classifiable under
heading 4202, HTSUSA.

     Subheadings 4202.31 through 4202.39, HTSUSA, cover articles of
a kind normally carried in the pocket or in the handbag.  The term
"articles normally carried in the pocket or in the handbag" is not
defined in the tariff.  However, the EN's to subheadings 4202.31,
4202.32, and 4202.39 provide the following examples of these
articles (see Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System,
p. 613):

     These subheadings cover articles of a kind normally
     carried in the pocket or in the handbag and include
     spectacle cases, note-cases (bill-folds), wallets,
     purses, key-cases, cigarette-cases, cigar-cases and
     tobacco-pouches.

Clearly, wallets and purses are within the scope of the above
subheadings that cover articles normally carried in the pocket or
handbag.

     Recently, we classified under subheading 4202.32, HTSUSA,
articles substantially similar to the zippered wallet at issue. 
Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 953774, dated August 2, 1993,
classified two envelope style wallet/purse-like articles.  These
articles were essentially the same shape and measurements (except
for thickness) as the instant zippered wallet but had snap closures
instead of a zippered closure.  One had a gusset controlled opening
while the other opened by unfolding.  Between them, the articles
exhibited features similar to the instant zippered wallet, such as
interior compartments, a zippered pouch, pockets for credit and
similar cards, and external zippered pockets.  These articles were
somewhat thicker than, and capable of holding more items than, the
zippered wallet at issue.  They could be carried in the hand,
similar to a so-called "clutch-bag," a kind of handbag, but could
also be carried inside a handbag.

     In HRL 953774, we found that the wallet/purse-like articles
exhibited characteristics of both wallets and clutch-type handbags; 
thus, we found that they were prima facie classifiable under two
separate subheadings of heading 4202, HTSUSA: 4202.22 (covering
handbags with outer surface of sheeting of plastic) and 4202.32
(covering articles for the pocket or handbag with outer surface of
sheeting of plastic).  Through GRI 6, which concerns classification
at the subheading level and instructs that GRI's 1 through 5 are to
be applied in making subheading level determinations, we applied
GRI 3(a) to determine which subheading should apply to the
wallet/purse-like articles.  GRI 3(a) provides the following:

     The heading [or subheading in this context] which
     provides the most specific description shall be preferred
     to headings [subheadings] providing a more general
     description. [Emphasis supplied.]

Based on GRI 3(a), we determined that subheading 4202.32, HTSUSA,
covering articles of the kind normally carried in the pocket or in
the handbag, most specifically described the wallet/purse-like
articles at issue in HRL 953774.  Consequently, these articles were
classified under that subheading.

     Compared to the wallet/purse-like articles classified in HRL
953774, the zippered wallet at issue here is somewhat smaller with
a somewhat lesser capacity for holding articles; in a closed
position, it is flatter.  In our opinion, it is more similar to a
wallet (or similar flatgood) than a clutch-bag/handbag. 
Nonetheless, its interior compartments, interior zippered pouch,
and arrangement of multiple pockets for credit cards and I.D.'s are
arguably features also characteristic of a clutch-bag.  That being
the case, the analysis of HRL 953774 is relevant.  Applying that
analysis, we conclude that the zippered wallet at issue is
classifiable as an article normally carried in the handbag, since
the subheadings covering articles for the pocket or handbag more
specifically describe it (the zippered wallet).

     Alternatively, since the zippered wallet at issue is, in our
opinion, clearly more similar to a wallet, and thus sufficiently
distinct from a clutch-type handbag to obviate the specificity
analysis of GRI 3(a), we believe that it could be classified as an
article for the pocket or handbag on the basis of GRI 1.  Under
either theory, the classification of the zippered wallet is
subheading 4202.32, HTSUSA.

     In this regard, we note that among the various styles of
wallet/purse-like articles, there are some that will answer to the
description for clutch-type handbags, some that will answer to the
description for wallets, and others that will fall somewhere in
between.  The first type should be classified as handbags (clutch-
bags) under GRI 1.  The second type should be classified as
articles for the pocket or handbag (wallets, flatgoods, and similar
articles) under GRI 1, and the third type should be evaluated on a
case-by-case basis, with classification based on either GRI 1 or
GRI 3.  

HOLDING:

     The subject zippered wallet, with a plastic-coated textile
covering, is classifiable under subheading 4202.32.1000, HTSUSA,
which covers articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or
in the handbag, with outer surface of sheeting of plastic, of
reinforced or laminated plastic.  The applicable rate of duty is
12.1 cents/kg + 4.6% ad valorem.





                                   John Durant, Director
                                   Commercial Rulings Division