CD and DVD Holders Classifiable as Albums, Not Containers, CBP Says
A plastic-covered paperboard album set designed for holding CDs and DVDs is classifiable as an album for collectibles in heading 4820, not as a storage container or box file, CBP said in a recent tariff classification ruling (here). The album set is not similar to the containers described by tariff heading 4202, and the set of three albums gives the set its essential character over the slipcase, which on its own would have been classifiable in a different heading, CBP said in ruling HQ H244107.
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According to CBP, the album set, imported by Target, is a composite good made up of three albums and a slipcase, each made of paperboard coated in polyvinyl chloride. Each album has 10 pages, which in turn can each hold four CDs or DVDs. Target entered the merchandise under heading 4202, which provides for “trunks, suitcases, vanity cases, attache cases, briefcases, school satchels, spectacle cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar containers.”
The company protested and applied for further review, arguing the album sets should instead be classified in heading 4820, which covers “registers, account books, notebooks, order books, receipt books, letter pads, memorandum pads, diaries and similar articles, exercise books, blotting pads, binders (looseleaf or other), folders, file covers, manifold business forms, interleaved carbon sets and other articles of stationery, of paper or paperboard; albums for samples or for collections and book covers (including cover boards and book jackets) of paper or paperboard.” Alternatively, it argued for classification in heading 6307 for “other made up articles, including dress patterns.”
CBP found that the three albums are similar to stamp and photograph albums listed as exemplars in the Explanatory Note for heading 4820. Although that heading covers albums of paper and paperboard, the Court of International Trade has ruled that binders with a rigid paperboard are still classifiable in heading 4820 if covered with vinyl or textile fabric. CBP has also previously classified photo albums with plastic in heading 4820. “The albums in the instant matter are similar in that they are made from paperboard covered in another material and are designed to store, hold, and organize items,” CBP said. “Each album contains ten nonwoven polypropylene pages covered in plastic sheeting on one side only. Each page is capable of holding four CDs/DVDs. Therefore, the three albums at issue look like photo collection pages with larger sleeves and are covered by heading 4820, HTSUS.”
On the other hand, the slipcases designed to hold the three albums upright on a table are classifiable in heading 4819 as “box files, letter trays, and similar articles,” CBP said. Turning to General Rule of Interpretation 3(b), the agency found that the three albums give the set its essential character. The albums “hold, protect and store” the CDs and DVDs, CBP said. “The slipcase has a secondary role and only keeps the albums together in an upright position. Additionally, the albums contribute the greatest weight, bulk, and quantity to the entire good.” As such, the entire sets are classifiable in the duty-free subheading 4820.50.00, which covers albums for samples or for collections.
Heading 4202 does not cover the album sets because that heading’s Explanatory Note excludes articles “which, although they may have the character of containers, are not similar to those enumerated in the heading,” CBP said. “The four characteristics that unite the exemplars of heading 4202, HTSUS are organizing, storing, protecting, and carrying,” it said. “The albums are not used to carry CDs/DVDs and are not intended or capable of transporting CDs/DVDs from one location to another. The slipcase functions as a box that is used to hold the albums together and upright on a desk or table.” Nor are the sets classifiable in heading 6307, because a note to chapter 63 excludes articles of chapter 48, CBP said.