When is a Tote Bag a Wallet?

Never obviously, at least not under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HSTUS).

But what about when you have a make-up bag that could double as a wallet or snack bag? When does size matter when it comes to an HTSUS classification determination?

What about when you have a lunch bag that is made out of a textile? Will the classification turn on it being coated in a plastic coating? What about a rubber/plastic combo?

While I will pass on answering the question about when “size matters,” I can tell you that a duty rate can significantly jump when an article is considered to be coated with an outer surface of plastic versus that of a textile.

Take HTSUS subheading 4202.32 which classifies articles of a kind normally carried in the pocket or in the handbag. The rate of duty on this type of product, such as a make-up bag, when it has an outer surface of cotton is 6.3%.

Contrast this to the same article with an outer surface of a reinforced or laminated plastic, such as a resusable lunch bag. Now an importer is looking at paying a compound rate of duty of 12.1¢ per kilogram, along with an additional 4.6% on top of that.

The rate of duty on most products is typically an ad valorem rate, i.e., a percentage, of the invoice total. On occasion, a product will have a "compound" rate of duty which represents a per unit or per measure (e.g. 10¢/kg) price PLUS an additional ad valorem rate of duty for duty calculation purposes.

Moreover, where the same article is coated in a sheeting of plastic that is neither of reinforced or a laminated plastic, now that same article will have a 20% rate of duty, all because of the outer material of the product.

Nuances like these are rife throughout the tariff. I would recommend that importers take a periodic review of its imports to confirm that its use of HTSUS classifications are correct in order to identify any errors – as the HTSUS changes throughout the year – as well as to avoid future penalties due to stopped shipments or customs audits where inadvertent classifications may be discovered and outstanding duties across multiple entries may be sought.

Questions/comments? Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com