HQ 955251: Modification of NYRL 880597 (12/2/92); classification of diaries; day or week planners; organizers; address books; engagement books; agendas; heading 4820, HTSUSA; HRL 089960 (2/10/92); HRL 953413 (3/29/93).

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 955251

                        November 12, 1993

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 955251 SK

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 4820.10.2010

Ms. Stevens
Wholesale Supply Company, Inc.
P.O. Box 24600
Nashville, TN 37202

RE: Modification of NYRL 880597 (12/2/92); classification of    
    diaries; day or week planners; organizers; address books;    
    engagement books; agendas; heading 4820, HTSUSA; HRL 089960  
    (2/10/92); HRL 953413 (3/29/93).

Dear Ms. Stevens:

     On December 2, 1992, the New York office of the U.S. Customs
Service issued you New York Ruling Letter (NYRL) 880597 in which
a leather-covered agenda was classified under subheading
4820.10.4000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA).  Upon review, this office deems that ruling
to be in error.  Our analysis follows.

FACTS:

     The article the subject of NYRL 880597 is a leather-covered
agenda measuring 8 1/2 inches by 6 inches.  The article is a
folding leather case which contains a spiral-bound address book
and a blank paper note pad.  Each of the components is inserted
into slots in the interior of the agenda.  The article has no
means of closure.

ISSUE:

     Whether the article at issue is classifiable under
subheading 4820.10.4000, HTSUSA, as an article similar to
registers, account books, notebooks receipt books and diaries, or
whether classification is proper as a diary under subheading
4820.10.2010, HTSUSA?





                              - 2 -
LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of merchandise under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA) is governed by
the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's).  GRI 1 provides that
classification shall be determined according to the terms of the
headings and any relative section or chapter notes, taken in 
order.  Merchandise that cannot be classified in accordance with
GRI 1 is to be classified in accordance with subsequent GRI's.

     Heading 4820, HTSUSA, provides for, in pertinent part,
notebooks, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles.  At
issue is whether the subject merchandise fits the definition of
"diary" or whether the article is more aptly described as similar
to a diary; this distinction governs classification of the
subject merchandise at the eight digit level within heading 4820,
HTSUSA.  

     In HRL 089960, dated February 10, 1992, and in HRL 953413,
dated March 29, 1993 (which partially affirmed the holding in HRL
951736, dated September 17, 1992, and concurred with the finding
that day planners, organizers and the like were properly deemed
to be a form of "diary"), Customs relied on lexicographic sources
in making the determination as to what constituted a diary.  The
term "dairy" is defined in the Compact Edition of the Oxford
English Dictionary, 1987, as:

     2.   A book prepared for keeping a daily record, or having
     spaces with printed dates for daily memoranda and jottings;
     also applied to calendars containing daily memoranda on
     matters of importance to people generally or to members of a
     particular profession, occupation, or pursuit.

     In HRL's 953413 and 089960, this office held that articles
known as daily planners/calendars and agendas fit the definition
of "diary" as set forth in the Compact Edition of the Oxford
English Dictionary.  Similarly, this office is of the opinion
that the agenda the subject of NYRL 880597 also fits squarely
within the perimeters of this definition.  The note pad
facilitates daily record keeping (we note that not all methods of
record keeping require significant amounts of writing space as is
normally associated with traditional diaries in which the minutia
of daily life is recorded in detail).  The personal directory,
also referred to as an address book, provides a place to keep
names, addresses and telephone numbers in a convenient and
organized manner.  

     It is this office's position that the analysis set forth in
HRL 089960 is correct and applies to the article currently under
review.   Accordingly, the agenda the subject of NYRL 880597 is 



                              - 3 -

classifiable as a bound diary under subheading 4820.10.2010,
HTSUSA.  

HOLDING:

     NYRL 880597 is modified.
     
     The weekly planner/engagement book is classifiable under
subheading 4820.10.2010, HTSUSA, which provides for, inter alia,
bound diaries and address books dutiable at a rate of 4 percent
ad valorem.  There is no textile quota category applicable to the
merchandise at this time.

     In order to ensure uniformity in Customs' classification of
this merchandise and eliminate uncertainty, pursuant to section
177.9(d)(1), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 177.9(d)(1)), NYRL
880597 is modified to reflect the above classification effective
with the date of this letter.  



                               Sincerely,



                               John Durant, Director
                               Commercial Rulings Division