HQ 960587

June 23, 1998

CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 960587 HMC

CATEGORY: Classification

TARIFF NO.: 8201.90.60

Ms. Melinda Siegel

Pacific Rim

Import Corporation

5930 4th Avenue South

Seatle, Washington 98108-3254

RE: 6-Piece Garden Tool Basket; Subheading 4602.10.12; Other

Baskets and Bags of Willow; Hand Tools; Explanatory Notes (VIII)

and (X) to GRI 3(b); Explanatory Note 82.01.

Dear Ms. Siegel:

This is in response to your letter to the Customs National

Commodity Specialist Division, New York, dated May 21, 1997,

regarding the tariff classification of a 6-piece garden tool

basket, item no. 80905, (gardening set) under the Harmonized

Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Your letter was

forwarded to this office for a reply. We regret the delay.

FACTS:

The merchandise consists of a basket made of peeled willow

and 6 gardening tools made of metal and painted wooden handles.

The back of the basket is a long wall that has an elastic strip

woven to the back of the basket. The strip holds the tools in

place. The tools include a clawdigger, a rake, a trowel, a

spade, a hoe and a weeder. You state that the 6-piece garden

tool basket will be sold as a set.

The provisions under consideration are as follows:

4602 Basketwork, wickerwork and other articles,

made directly to shape from plaiting

materials or made up from articles of heading

4601; articles of loofah:

4602.10 Of vegetable materials:

Other baskets and bags, whether or

not lined:

4602.10.12 Of willow\...5.8%

\* \* \* \* \* \*

8201 Hand Tools of the following kinds and base

metal parts thereof: spades, shovels,

mattocks, picks, hoes, forks and rakes; axes,

bill hooks and similar hewing tools;

secateurs and pruners of any kind; scythes,

sickles, hay knives, hedge shears, timber

wedges and other tools of a kind used in

agriculture, horticulture or forestry:

8201.10.00 Spades and shovels, and parts

thereof\....0.6%

8201.30.00 Mattocks, picks, hoes and rakes, and

parts thereof\...0.6%

8201.90 Other handtools of a kind used in

agriculture, horticulture or forestry,,

and parts thereof:

8201.90.60 Other\...Free

ISSUE:

Whether the 6-piece garden tool basket is classifiable as

hand tools under subheading 8201.90.60, HTSUS.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Merchandise is classifiable under the HTSUS in accordance

with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 states in

part that for legal purposes, classification shall be determined

according to the terms of the headings and any relative section

or chapter notes, and provided the headings or notes do not

require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6. GRI 6 states

that the classification of goods in the subheadings of a heading

shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings

and any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to the

above rules, on the understanding that only subheadings at the

same level are comparable. For the purposes of this rule, the

relative section, chapter and subchapter notes also apply, unless

the context otherwise requires.

We note that the willow basket is described by heading 4602.

We also note that the tools are described by heading 8201. Since

the 6-piece garden tool basket is imported as a set and described

in part by two or more headings of the HTSUS, we must apply GRI

3(b).

GRI 3(b) states that mixtures, composite goods consisting of

different materials or made up of different components, and goods

put up in sets for retail sale, which cannot be classified by

reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of

the material or component which gives them their essential

character, insofar as this criterion is applicable. Since we

have various items sold together, we must first determine if we

have a set put up for retail sale.

The Harmonized Commodity Description And Coding System

Explanatory Notes (EN\'s) constitute the official interpretation

of the Harmonized system. While not legally binding on the

contracting parties, and therefore not dispositive, the EN\'s

provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the

Harmonized System and are thus useful in ascertaining the

classification of merchandise under the System. Customs believes

the EN\'s should always be consulted. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed.

Reg. 35127, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).

Explanatory Note (X) to GRI 3(b), at page 5, states that the

term \"goods put up in sets for retail sale\" shall be taken to

mean goods which:

\(a\) consist of at least two different articles which are,

prima facie, classifiable in different headings.

\(b\) consist of products or articles put up together to meet

a particular need or carry out a specific activity; and

\(c\) are put up in a manner suitable for sale directly to

users without repacking (e.g., in boxes or cases or on

boards).

In this instance, we believe that the gardening set meets

the EN\'s definition of \"goods put up in sets for retail sale.\"

First, the gardening set consists of at least two different

articles which are, prima facie, classifiable in two different

headings. Secondly, the items are put up together to carry out

the specific activity of gardening. The tools and the willow

basket will be used together or in conjunction with one another,

the basket being specifically designed to accommodate the tools

within the elastic strip and not used as a general purpose

container or packing material. Lastly, the articles are put up

in a manner suitable for sale directly to users without

repacking. We thus believe that the gardening set qualifies as a

set of GRI 3(b); and, we must then determine which item imparts

the essential character to the set.

Explanatory Note (VIII) to GRI 3(b), at page 4, states that

the factor which determines essential character will vary as

between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be

determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk,

quantity, weight or value, or by the role of a constituent

material in relation to the use of the goods.

We believe that, in this instance, the tools impart the

essential character to the gardening tool basket set. They are

the most significant components of the set which will be used to

perform the gardening activity. The basket simply assists in

this function, as a storage compartment specifically designed to

hold the tools and keep them readily accessible to the user.

Based on GRI 3(b), we find that the 6-piece garden tool basket

set is classifiable as if consisting only of the hand tools.

Since the tools are provided for in heading 8201 (See EN 82.01),

we turn to their classification at the subheading level.

The set includes six hand tools for working in the garden.

They include a clawdigger, a rake, a trowel, a spade, a hoe and a

weeder. They are all made of metal and have painted wooden

handles. We find that the tools are equally important within the

set and that there is no single significant feature that

distinguishes one from the other. Thus, we cannot ascertain

which of the hand tools in this set imparts the essential

character. Accordingly, GRI 3(c) states that when goods cannot

be classified by reference to 3(a) or 3(b), they shall be

classified under the heading which occurs last in numerical order

among those which equally merit consideration. The gardening

tools are classifiable under subheadings 8201.10.00, 8201.30.00

and 8201.90.60, HTSUS. The 6-piece garden tool basket set is

therefore classifiable, based on the trowel, under subheading

8201.90.60, HTSUS, as other handtools of a kind used in

agriculture, horticulture or forestry, and parts thereof.

HOLDING:

The 6-piece garden tool basket set is classifiable under

subheading 8201.90.60, HTSUS, as \"Other handtools of a kind used

in agriculture, horticulture or forestry, and parts thereof:

Other.\" The rate of duty is free.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Commercial Rulings Division