Newly Released CBP HQ Rulings for July 23
The Customs Rulings Online Search System (CROSS) was updated July 23 with the following headquarters rulings (ruling revocations and modifications will be detailed elsewhere in a separate article as they are announced in the Customs Bulletin):
H313594: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 2704-20-141606; Tariff Classification of The Comfy
| HTS: 6110.30.30, 32%, “Sweaters, pullovers, sweatshirts, waistcoats (vests) and similar articles, knitted or crocheted: Of man-made fibers: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Item: The Comfy, which is assembled by sewing together a 100 percent knitted microfleece exterior fabric with a sherpa interior fabric lining. The Comfy features a neck opening, a hood, a frontal marsupial pouch pocket open at both ends, and long-sleeves with ribbed cuffs. The hemmed bottom extends to below the waist and is curved with the back panel slightly longer than the front panel. The Comfy is sold in two sizes. The Comfy Original is made for adults and children over 10 years of age and The Comfy Original Jr. for children ages 10 and younger. The Comfy is reversible. |
| Reason: Although The Comfy is marketed as a “wearable blanket,” it does not preserve the essential characteristics of a “blanket” -- a large piece of fabric providing a warm covering. Though the materials used are typical of those used for blankets, the features of The Comfy are substantially in excess of the features of a blanket within the common meaning of the term. The Comfy is a garment made of knitted microfleece exterior fabric, which is designed to be pulled over the wearer’s head and cover the upper part of the body, and which, contrary to the Protestant’s claim, does not have a full-length opening. As such, it meets definitions of the term “pullover." Since The Comfy is more accurately described as a pullover under heading 6110, heading 6307 does not apply. |
| Ruling Date: May 21, 2021 |
H293759: Application for Further Review of Protest Number 2720-16-100930 Concerning Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells under Antidumping Order A-570-979 and Countervailing Order C-570-980
| Ruling: The five entries were properly assessed the China-wide entity rate applicable to ETDZ. |
| Issue: Whether CBP properly liquidated the importer's five entries of solar cells |
| Item: Five entries of solar cells from China listing Ningbo ETDZ Holdings, Ltd. as the exporter of the solar cells and Hangzhou Zhejiang University Sunny Energy Science and Technology Co., Ltd. as the manufacturer. Commerce liquidated the entries at the 238.95% AD rate assigned to ETDZ. The importer says the entry documentation demonstrates that Hangzhou Sunny is the manufacturer of the subject solar cells, explaining that it negotiated export prices with the Chinese factory, Hangzhou Sunny, and merely arranged with ETDZ to consolidate its purchased merchandise with other merchandise to fill a container load and to prepare the export documents. It says that, as a result, the entries should have been assessed AD duties at the 9.67% rate assigned to Hangzhou Sunny. |
| Reason: It is a matter for Commerce, not CBP, to determine which party is the appropriate exporter to be assessed a specific rate, after analyzing a specific transaction. CBP’s ministerial role is to follow the liquidation instructions and to compute the duty by applying the antidumping and countervailing duty rate set by Commerce. Here Commerce’s instructions indicated that the pertinent rate should be assessed on the exporter, not that of the manufacturer. |
| Ruling Date: May 21, 2021 |