Court of International Trade Decisions
In St. Eve International, Inc. v. U.S., the Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled in favor of the importer, finding that three entries of shelf bra camisoles were properly classified under HTS 6109.10.0037 (2002) as women's or girls' underwear (Cat 352).
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Shelf Bra Camisoles Not Clearly Outerwear Should Not Be Subject to Redelivery
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had argued that the three entries were clearly subject to Cat 339, with one of the three classifiable under HTS 6109.10.0060 (2002) as women's other tank tops, and the other two classifiable under HTS 6114.20.0010 (2002) as women's or girls' other tops.
(A CBP National Import Specialist (NIS) had testified that, by looking at nothing else but the garment, the shelf bra camisoles were indistinguishable from garments which are used and sold as sportswear, active-wear garments or yoga wear garments.)
The CIT stated that it was not persuaded that the St. Eve garments were clearly outerwear. Among other considerations, the CIT stated that the evidence showed that the trade recognizes St. Eve's camisoles to be underwear, all the more so given the underpants that match and are marketed with them. The CIT stated that both the law and the evidence on record favors St. Eve's position, and that the fundamental conclusion is that, as the garments were not clearly outerwear, they should not have been excluded and ordered redelivered. (Slip Op. 03-54, decided 05/15/03, available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/slip_op03/Slip-op%2003-54.pdf)
1997 Classification of Plastic Mini Bags for Infant/Toddler Food & Beverages
In Dolly, Inc. v. U.S., the CIT ruled in favor of the importer on the 1997 classification of seven entries of mini bags that were described by the importer as designed, manufactured, marketed and sold to provide the insulated transport and storage of infant and toddler's food and beverages.
According to the CIT, the importer contended that the mini bags were correctly classified under HTS 3924.10.50 (HTS 1997), which covers other household articles of plastic. However, CBP classified the merchandise under HTS 4202.92.45 (1997), which covers travel bags and similar containers.
The CIT found that the imported mini bags were properly classified under HTS 3924 (1997).
(Subscribers should note that this ruling is not applicable to the current HTS, as Proclamation 7515 modified the HTS so that all insulated food or beverage bags and similar containers are classified in HTS 4202, effective January 10, 2002. See ITT's Online Archives or 01/18/02 news, 02011810 for BP summary.)(Slip Op. 03-137, dated 10/22/03, available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op03/Slip%20Op%2003-137.pdf)