Recent CBP NY Rulings
The following are short summaries of recent CBP NY rulings issued by the agency's National Commodity Specialist Division in New York:
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N348138: The tariff classification of the “Broken Empires” game from China
| HTS: 9504.90.9080, 9903.01.24; 9903.01.25; 9903.88.15, free + 20% + 10% + 7.5%, "Video game consoles and machines, articles for arcade, table or parlor games, including pinball machines, bagatelle, billiards and special tables for casino games; automatic bowling alley equipment; parts and accessories thereof: Other: Other: Other: Other." |
| Item: A boxed starter set containing printed materials and components required to learn and play a fantasy role-playing game. The product includes a Quick Start Rules booklet, a “Witches of Grimdale” booklet, four character sheets, a character sheet pad, six double-sided 11” x 17” encounter maps, a full-color annotated world map of “The Broken Empires,” tokens, and 10 custom die. The game is designed for children 12 years of age and older. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348190: The tariff classification of a frozen meal from Vietnam
| HTS: 1902.30.0040, 9903.01.25, 6.4% + 10%, "Pasta, whether or not cooked or stuffed (with meat or other substances) or otherwise prepared, such as spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, lasagna, gnocchi, ravioli, cannelloni…other pasta…other…frozen." |
| Item: A ready-to-eat meal consisting of an alfredo sauce poured over cooked fettucine pasta topped with blackened seasoned salmon pieces and finished with blanched broccoli florets. The ingredients are blended in the tray which are said to contain approximately 48% cooked fettucine pasta (wheat semolina, wheat flour, water), with the balance of the ingredients consisting of Alfredo sauce, cooked Atlantic Salmon (blackened seasoning mix), and broccoli. The ready-to-eat meal will be imported frozen, in 284-gram (10 ounce per tray) packages. Directions on the product label instruct the consumer to pierce the plastic film with a fork twice, place the tray into the microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes, subsequently allow the meal to cool, prior to removing the plastic film and consuming. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348191: The tariff classification of a frozen meal from Vietnam
| HTS: 1902.30.0040, 9903.01.25, 6.4% + 10%, "Pasta, whether or not cooked or stuffed (with meat or other substances) or otherwise prepared, such as spaghetti, macaroni, noodles, lasagna, gnocchi, ravioli, cannelloni…other pasta…other…frozen." |
| Item: Shrimp scampi with spaghetti & cherry tomatoes ready-to-eat meal. The cooked spaghetti is placed at the bottom of the microwave-safe tray with six pieces of shrimp on top. The meal is garnished with fresh half-cut cherry tomatoes, fresh blanched parsley and drizzled with garlic & herb scampi sauce. The ingredients are mixed in the tray and contain approximately 63 percent cooked spaghetti (wheat semolina, durum wheat flour, water), with the balance of the ingredients consisting of shrimp, cherry tomatoes, garlic butter sauce and parsley. The ready-to-eat meal will be imported frozen, in 284-gram (10 ounce per tray) packages. Directions on the product label instruct the consumer to pierce the plastic film with a fork twice, place the tray into the microwave and cook on high for three minutes, cool, remove the plastic film and consume. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348222: The tariff classification of a gondola shelf from China
| HTS: 9403.91.0080, 9903.01.24, 9903.01.25, 9903.88.03, free + 20% + 10% + 25%, “Other furniture and parts thereof: Parts: Of wood: Other.” |
| Item: A gondola shelf intended for use in a retail gondola shelving system. The article is comprised of an MDF shelf supported by five powder-coated, cold-rolled-steel (CRS) brackets. The shelf measures 30" (W) x 17" (D) x 3/4". The shelf is supported by two triangular brackets (one on either side) that lock into vertical gondola display channels. Three side-to-side brackets, one in front, one in back, and one in the middle, connect the triangular side brackets and support the shelf. The complete assembly is made in China. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348452: The tariff classification of multilayer wood flooring from Poland
| HTS: 4412.33.3225, 9903.01.25, 8% + 10%, "Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: (con.) Other plywood consisting solely of sheets of wood (other than bamboo), each ply not exceeding 6 mm in thickness: Other, with at least one outer ply of nonconiferous wood of the species alder (Alnus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), beech (Fagus spp.), birch (Betula spp.), cherry (Prunus spp.), chestnut (Castanea spp.), elm (Ulmus spp.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), hickory (Carya spp.), horse chestnut (Aesculus spp.), lime (Tilia spp.), maple (Acer spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), plane tree (Platanus spp.), poplar and aspen (Populus spp.), robinia (Robinia spp.), tulipwood (Liriodendron spp.) or walnut (Juglans spp.): Not surface covered, or surface covered with a clear or transparent material which does not obscure the grain, texture or markings of the face ply: Wood flooring." |
| Item: Multilayer wood flooring panels constructed of ten plies. The face ply, measuring 3.5mm or 3.95mm in thickness, consists of a continuous sheet of oak (Quercus spp., a non-coniferous wood) wood veneer. The substrate plies all measure less than 2mm in thickness and consist of birch (Betula spp., a non-coniferous wood) wood. The grain of each ply is oriented at a 90-degree angle to the grains of the adjacent plies. The panel is tongued and grooved on its edges and ends, and the back ply is grooved crosswise at regular intervals. The product is not surface-covered with any material. |
| Reason: “Plywood” is defined in the ENs for heading 4412: a panel “consisting of three or more sheets of wood glued and pressed one on the other and generally disposed so that the grains of successive layers are at an angle. This definition describes the instant panels. |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348456: The tariff classification of multilayer wood flooring from Vietnam
| HTS: (1) 4412.33.3225, 9903.01.25, 8% + 10%, "Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: (con.) Other plywood consisting solely of sheets of wood (other than bamboo), each ply not exceeding 6 mm in thickness: Other, with at least one outer ply of nonconiferous wood of the species alder (Alnus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), beech (Fagus spp.), birch (Betula spp.), cherry (Prunus spp.), chestnut (Castanea spp.), elm (Ulmus spp.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), hickory (Carya spp.), horse chestnut (Aesculus spp.), lime (Tilia spp.), maple (Acer spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), plane tree (Platanus spp.), poplar and aspen (Populus spp.), robinia (Robinia spp.), tulipwood (Liriodendron spp.) or walnut (Juglans spp.): Not surface covered, or surface covered with a clear or transparent material which does not obscure the grain, texture or markings of the face ply: Wood flooring." (2) 4412.33.2625, 9903.01.25, 5.1% + 10%, "Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood: Other plywood consisting solely of sheets of wood (other than bamboo), each ply not exceeding 6 mm in thickness: Other, with at least one outer ply of nonconiferous wood of the species alder (Alnus spp.), ash (Fraxinus spp.), beech (Fagus spp.), birch (Betula spp.), cherry (Prunus spp.), chestnut (Castanea spp.), elm (Ulmus spp.), eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp.), hickory (Carya spp.), horse chestnut (Aesculus spp.), lime (Tilia spp.), maple (Acer spp.), oak (Quercus spp.), plane tree (Platanus spp.), poplar and aspen (Populus spp.), robinia (Robinia spp.), tulipwood (Liriodendron spp.) or walnut (Juglans spp.): Not surface covered, or surface covered with a clear or transparent material which does not obscure the grain, texture or markings of the face ply: With a face ply of walnut (Juglans spp.): Wood flooring." |
| Item: Multilayer wood flooring panels constructed of 10 or 12 plies. The face ply, measuring 3.95mm in thickness, consists of a continuous sheet of (1) oak (Quercus spp., a non-coniferous wood) or (2) walnut (Juglans spp., a non-coniferous wood) wood veneer. The substrate plies all measure less than 2mm in thickness and consist of birch (Betula spp., a non-coniferous wood) wood. The grain of each ply is oriented at a 90-degree angle to the grains of the adjacent plies. The panel is tongued and grooved on its edges and ends, and the back ply is grooved crosswise at regular intervals. The product is not surface-covered with any material. |
| Reason: “Plywood” is defined in the ENs for heading 4412: a panel “consisting of three or more sheets of wood glued and pressed one on the other and generally disposed so that the grains of successive layers are at an angle. This definition describes the instant panels. |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348534: The tariff classification of a night light from China
| Item: 9405.49.0000, 9903.01.24, 9903.01.25, 9903.88.03, 3.9% + 20% + 10% + 25%, "Luminaires and lighting fittings…, and parts thereof not elsewhere specified or included: Other electric luminaires and lighting fittings: Other.” |
| Item: A night light primarily made of plastic that has a two-prong polarized plug designed to be inserted into a wall receptacle. The socket contains an E12 incandescent light bulb. Atop the light is a plastic shell (light shade) in the form of Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas wearing a hat resembling the Santa hat. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348576: The country of origin of two foam mattresses incorporated into a sleeper sofa bed
| Origin: Japan |
| Item: Foam mattresses. The following operations are performed in Japan: 100% polyurethane memory foam is extruded, layered, cut to size, sewn into a fireproof sock and zipped into an outer cover to produce a finished mattress. The finished mattress is wrapped in plastic, compressed by rolling, and shipped to Cambodia. In Cambodia, the mattress is unrolled and allowed to decompress and then placed on a metal frame inside a Cambodian-origin sofa bed. No other operations are performed on the mattress, and it is not attached or otherwise secured. The sleeper sofa bed with the incorporated mattress is packed for export and shipped to the U.S. |
| Reason: The Japanese-origin mattresses, subject of this ruling, are incorporated into Cambodian-origin sleeper sofas in Cambodia. No operations other than the mere placement of the mattresses on the sleeper frame are performed in Cambodia. As such, although subsumed in the Cambodian-origin sleeper sofas, the Japanese-origin mattresses have not lost their own identity. They have not undergone a substantial transformation, they have not taken on a new name, character or use, and they retain their identity as mattresses and, therefore, they maintain their Japanese country of origin. |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348685: The tariff classification and country of origin determination for laparotomy sponges; 19 CFR 102.21(c)(2)
| HTS: 6307.90.9891, 9903.01.25, 7% + 10%, “Other made up articles, including dress patterns: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Origin: Vietnam |
| Item: Laparotomy sponges, disposable textile pads designed to cover wounds and absorb bodily fluids during medical procedures. The sponges are composed of 100% woven cotton fabric. The sponges feature a 3 or 4-inch long barium sulfate monofilament strip % into each sponge to facilitate X-ray detection to help prevent the item from being left in the patient’s body, and a 5-inch long 100 percent cotton dyed blue woven loop carrying strap sewn to one corner for easy removal of the sponge out of a patient’s body during surgery. Each sponge also features either a Data Matrix Tag (DMT) or a Radio Frequency Identification Tag (RFID) heat pressed on the top right corner to allow a customer to scan the sponge and to assist with inventory management. The manufacturing operations for the lap sponges are as follows: Vietnam: 100% cotton fabric is woven and shipped in rolls to China. United States: DMT tags are formed and shipped to China. Taiwan: RFID tags are formed and shipped to China. China: 100% cotton sewing thread and barium sulfate monofilament strip is produced; 100% cotton loop carrying strap is woven and dyed; Cutting of the cotton fabric and loop carrying strap; Fold the fabric into four layers; Sewing of the fabric and loop carrying strap; Insertion of the barium sulfate monofilament into the fabric; Either a DMT or RFID label is heat pressed onto the sponges; Sponges are banded together in groups of three or five with a paper band. |
| Reason The country of origin of a good classifiable under 6307.90 is the country, territory, or insular possession in which the fabric comprising the good was formed by a fabric-making process. As the laparotomy sponges are comprised of fabric that is formed by a fabric-making process in a single country, that is Vietnam, as per the terms of tariff shift requirement country of origin is conferred in Vietnam. |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |
N348880: The tariff classification of a protective cover for an IBC container from China
| HTS: 6307.90.9891, 9903.01.24, 9903.01.25, 9903.88.15, 7% + 20% + 10% + 7.5%, “Other made up articles, including dress patterns: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other.” |
| Item: A textile cover designed to fit over an intermediate bulk container (IBC) and intended to protect the container. The cover is composed of a 100 percent% dyed (black) woven fabric coated on one side with a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coating. |
| Reason: N/A |
| Ruling Date: May 20, 2025 |