HQ 087421: Lifejacket shell assembled in Mexico from U.S. components does not have essential character of finished lifejacket. Shell eligible for partial duty exemption under subheading 9802.00.80.

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 087421

                        September 7, 1990



CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 087421 CRS

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  6307.90.9590; 9802.00.8050

Mr. Jack Alsup
Alsup & Alsup
P.O. Box 1251
Del Rio, TX 78841

RE:  Lifejacket shell assembled in Mexico from U.S. components
     does not have essential character of finished lifejacket.
     Shell eligible for partial duty exemption under subheading
     9802.00.80.

Dear Mr. Alsup:

     This is in reply to your letter dated May 21, 1990, to the
District Director of Customs, Laredo, Texas, on behalf of your
client Fabrionics, Inc., concerning the classification of a
lifejacket shell under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the
United States Annotated (HTSUSA).  A sample was enclosed with
your letter.

FACTS:

     The article in question is an outer shell for a child's
lifejacket.  The shell is made from 100 percent nylon woven
fabric and is secured to the body by means of web straps and
plastic buckles.  The shell is open at the top and bottom and
upon importation to the United States will be stuffed with a
foamed vinyl plastisol flotation material to form a completed
lifejacket.  The shell is labeled a type II, personal flotation
device, consistent with U.S. Coast Guard regulations.

     You state that the shell is made from cut components of U.S.
origin which are exported to Mexico by Fabrionics, Inc.  In
Mexico the components are sewn into shells and packaged for
shipment to the U.S.  The shells will be entered through the port
of Del Rio, Texas.

ISSUE:

     Whether the lifejacket shell in question is classifiable as
an other made up article; whether the shell is eligible for the
exemption from duty provided by subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUSA.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Articles are classified under the HTSUSA in accordance with
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs).  GRI 1 provides that
the classification of articles be determined according to the
terms of the headings and relative section or chapter notes and,
provided the headings or notes do not otherwise require,
according to the remaining GRIs taken in order.

     Heading 6307, HTSUSA, provides for other made up articles,
including dress patterns.  The Explanatory Notes, which
constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System
at the international level, provide at 867, EN 63.07, that:

     This heading covers made up articles of any textile material
     which are not included more specifically in other headings
     of Section XI or elsewhere in the Nomenclature.

     It includes, in particular:

     (2) Life-jackets and life-belts.

Note 7, Section XI, HTSUSA, defines the expression "made up" as
including articles assembled by sewing, gumming or otherwise.
The article in question has been sewn into a lifejacket shell
and is therefore a made up article within the meaning of Note 7.

     Subheading 6307.20, HTSUSA, provides for lifejackets and
lifebelts.  GRI 6 extends the application of the GRIs to the
subheading level.  GRI 2(a) broadens the scope of any heading
that refers to a particular article to cover not only the
completed article but also that article incomplete or unfinished,
provided that it has the essential character of the finished
article.  The shell resembles a finished (child's) lifejacket
except that it has not been filled with flotation material.

     However, in Customs' view, the essential character of a
lifejacket is imparted by the flotation material with which it is
filled, since it is this material which gives the article its
raison d'etre.  Consequently, the instant shell is not
classifiable as a lifejacket of subheading 6307.20, HTSUSA.

     You state that the shell will be manufactured in Mexico from
cut components of U.S. origin.  Subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUSA,
provides for:

     Articles assembled abroad in whole or in part of fabricated
     components, the product of the United States, which (a) were
     exported in condition for assembly without further
     fabrication, (b) have not lost their physical identity in
     such articles by change in form, shape or otherwise, and (c)
     have not been advanced in value or improved in condition
     abroad except by being assembled and except by such
     operations incidental to the assembly process such as
     cleaning, lubricating and painting.

All three requirements of subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUSA, must be
satisfied before a component may receive a duty allowance.  An
article entered under subheading 9802.00.80, HTSUSA, is subject
to duty on the full value  of the imported assembled article less
the cost or value of the U.S. components, upon compliance with
the documentary requirements of section 10.24, Customs
Regulations (19 CFR 10.24).

     According to 19 CFR 10.16(a), assembly operations may
consist of any method used to join or fit together solid
components.  Sewing is specifically enumerated in this regulation
as an acceptable means of assembly.  Thus the operation of sewing
together the cut components of U.S. origin constitutes an
acceptable assembly operation and, consequently, the shells are
acceptable for the partial duty exemption under subheading
9802.00.80, HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

     The lifejacket shell in question is classifiable in
subheading 6307.90.9590, HTSUSA, under the provision for other
made up textile articles..., other, other, other, other, and is
dutiable at the rate of 7 percent ad valorem.

     The shell is eligible for the partial duty exemption under
subheading 9802.00.8050, HTSUSA.  Allowances in duty may be made
under this provision for the cost or value of the U.S.
components.

     Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation
(the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) and the
restraint (quota/visa) categories, you should contact your local
Customs office prior to importation of this merchandise to
determine the current status of any import restraints or
requirements.

                         Sincerely,





                         John Durant, Director
                         Commercial Rulings Division