CBP Says Bottle Bags Not Classified as Shopping Bags
Bags with designated compartments meant to hold bottles should not be classified as "shopping bags," as claimed by the Earthwise Bag Company, said CBP in a May 17 ruling. The ruling, HQ H235569, came after Earthwise's lawyer, Bruce Shulman of Stein Shostak, asked CBP to reconsider a 2008 ruling that classified the bottle bags as "bottle cases or similar containers."
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While both sides agree that the bags should be classified under headed 4202, Earthwise said the bags should be given duty-free treatment under subheading 9902.92.30, because they are made of polypropylene fabric. CBP disagreed with Earthwise that the "shopping bag" provisions within 4202 is a "use provision," said the ruling. The 4202 heading describes its merchandise by name rather than use, the agency said. The merchandise in question also differs from merchandise from previous rulings found to be "travel, sports or similar bags," said CBP, refuting an argument from Earthwise that compared the two situations. In that case, the bags, the travel bags didn't include interior compartments fitted for specific merchandise, "thereby precluding the ability to carry other articles," said CBP.
CBP also discounted the lab results submitted by Earthwise, that showed durability, machine washability and other characteristics meant to show similarities between the subject merchandise and shopping bags. "The cited laboratory results do nothing to minimize the differences between the subject bottle bags and general shopping bags" and are not relevant to CBP's analysis, the ruling said. CBP's ruling held that bags continue to be classified in 4202.92.90, and, because the bags cannot be described as shopping bags, they also cannot be given duty-free treatment under subheading 9902.40.01. The applicable duty rate is 17.6 percent, said CBP.