HQ 951076

March 18, 1992

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 951076 jb

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 4820.10.4000; 4820.10.2020

Mr. Thomas E. Bernstein

Leeds Leather Products

4431 William Penn Highway

Murrysville, PA 15668

RE: \"Pocket Secretary\" (telephone/address book, calendar and

notebook); \"President Writing Pad\" (leather holder with pad

of writing paper); eo nomine provision; Heading 4820.

Dear Mr. Bernstein:

This is in response to your letter dated January 8, 1992 to

our New York office in which you requested a tariff

classification ruling under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the

United States Annotated (HTSUSA) on the merchandise described

below. Samples were provided. Our response follows.

FACTS:

Two samples were received with you request: style number

1000-03, referred to as \"Pocket Secretary\", and 1000-01, referred

to as \"President Writing Pad\". Both items will be manufactured

in China.

The first item, \"Pocket Secretary\", is a 3 1/2 x 7 inch

folding leather case which contains three independent paper

articles: a telephone/address book, a 20-month engagement

calendar book, and a note pad. These are held in place by means

of cardboard appendages slipped into pockets on the inside of the

leather case.

The second item, \"President Writing Pad\", is a 9 1/2 x 12

1/2 inch leather folder containing an 8 1/2 x 11 inch pad of

lined writing paper. The cardboard backing sheet of the pad is

slipped into a large pocket inside the leather folder, which

also incorporates a pen holder and an additional pocket for

loose papers.

ISSUE:

Whether the subject merchandise is classifiable under

heading 4820 of the Harmonized Tariff of the United States

Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for, inter alia, notebooks,

letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the

General Rules of Interpretation (GRI\'s). GRI 1 provides that

classification is determined first in accordance with the terms

of the headings of the tariff and any relative section or chapter

notes. Where goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of

GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise

require, the remaining GRI\'s may be applied in the order of their

appearance.

Style 1000-03, \"Pocket Secretary\"

Heading 4820, HTSUSA, provides for:

Registers, account books, notebooks, order books, receipt

books, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar

articles (emphasis added), exercise books, blotting pads,

binders (looseleaf or other), folders, file covers, manifold

business forms, interleaved carbon sets and other articles

of stationary, of paper or paperboard; albums for samples or

for collections and book covers (including cover boards and

book jackets) of paper or paperboard:

In Headquarters Ruling (HQ) 089960 dated February 10, 1992

and 089850 dated January 8, 1992, merchandise similar to the

submitted sample was examined. In those rulings it was decided

that an article which featured an address book, a note pad and

calendar was considered similar to a diary.

The term \"diary\" as defined by the Compact Edition of the

Oxford English Dictionary 1987, states:

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.

As was found in HQ 089960:

A similar article might be an address book for recording and

keeping important addresses and telephone numbers in a

single place for easy reference. The sample agendas are

designed to keep notes, memoranda, addresses and telephone

numbers in a single convenient location, as evidenced by the

address-telephone book and note pad. The calendar

facilitates daily record keeping. Customs considers heading

4820 to include within its scope diaries and similar

articles such as these.

The \"Pocket Secretary\", Style 1000-03, containing a

calendar, address book and note pad is designed to keep daily

records and memoranda. Customs does not consider the submitted

article to be bound. As such, proper classification is under

subheading 4820.10.4000, HTSUSA, as \"other\" diaries and similar

articles.

Style 1000-01, \"President Writing Pad\"

Heading 4820, HTSUSA, provides, inter alia, for notebooks,

memorandum pads, diaries, and similar articles. The term

\"memorandum pad\" is not defined per se in the dictionary, but

is found under two separate entries in Webster\'s Ninth New

Collegiate Dictionary 1991:

memorandum: 1. an informal record; also: a written reminder

pad: 4. a collection of sheets of paper glued together at

one end

Considered as one term, a \"memorandum pad\" is an article

featuring a block of blank pages attached at one end to

facilitate note taking.

The submitted sample, by virtue of its design, a leather

folder incorporating a pen holder and additional pockets for

loose papers, emphasizes the distinctive function of the article.

The role of the \"President Writing Pad\" is to provide a

convenient and organized method in which to take notes.

Memorandum pads are specifically provided for under subheading

4820.10.2020, HTSUSA, under the provision for memorandum pads,

letter pads and similar articles.

HOLDING:

Heading 4820, HTSUSA, provides, eo nomine, for the

merchandise at issue. Style 1000-03, \"Pocket Secretary\", is

classified in subheading 4820.10.4000, HTSUSA, under the

provision for registers, account books, notebooks, order books,

receipt books, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar

articles: other. Articles classifiable in this subheading are

free of duty. Style 1000-01, \"President Writing Pad\", is

classifiable under subheading 4820.10.2020, HTSUSA, under the

provision for diaries, notebooks, and address books, bound;

memorandum pads, letter pads and similar articles\... memorandum

pads, letter pads and similar articles. The applicable rate of

duty is 4 percent ad valorem.

Due to the changeable nature of the statistical annotation

(the ninth and tenth digits of the classification) 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