The Product
- A retail three-pack of adhesive tape rolls, each on its own refillable plastic tape dispenser.
- The tape is the kind used in an office or school.
- The tape is plastic coated on one side with adhesive, cut to size and wound onto small plastic cores.
- The dispensers are injection molded from polystyrene plastic.
- Three rolls, each on a dispenser, are packed together for retail in a paperboard box.
CBP's Ruling
| Item | HTS code | CBP's description of the line |
|---|---|---|
| Three-pack of tape with dispensers | HTS 3926.10.0000 | Office or school supplies (of plastic) |
Explanation
CBP treated the pack as goods put up in a set for retail sale under General Rule of Interpretation 3(b). The letter cites the Explanatory Notes to that rule: a set has at least two articles that fall in different headings, put together to meet a particular need, and packed for sale directly to users without repackaging. The tape rolls and the dispensers fall in different headings, work together and are sold together, so the pack qualifies.
A set is classified by the component that gives it its essential character. CBP found the dispenser does: it is sturdy and refillable, so it can be used many times beyond the tape rolls it comes with. Heading 3926 covers other articles of plastics, and the line covers office or school supplies.
The letter also notes. CBP also ruled on marking: slitting the tape and rewinding it onto smaller cores in a second country doesn't change the tape's country of origin, while injection molding the dispensers makes them a product of the country where that happens. Marking the retail box and the shipping containers with each component's country was found acceptable, as long as the marking on the box is conspicuous, legible and permanent.
Does this apply to your product?
It likely does if you can answer yes to each of these:
- Is it adhesive tape sold together with a refillable plastic dispenser?
- Is the tape the kind used in an office or school?
- Is the dispenser sturdy enough to be refilled and reused after the included tape is gone?
- Is it packed for retail sale as is, without repackaging?
A no to any of them can mean a different code. A licensed broker can classify your product.
The code today
| HTS code | In today's schedule | Where it sits | Today's duty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3926.10.0000 | ✓ Still in the schedule | Heading 3926 › Office or school supplies | Today's duty from Malaysia Today's duty from Cambodia |
Checked against today's tariff schedule. The duty calculator opens with the code and country filled in.
Related rulings
N339653 (tape dispensers and tape) and N217581 (a tape dispenser) are on the same line. N300342 and 801359 also cover tape dispensers, 801359 with parts as well, and each lists more than one code.
- N339653May 3, 2024The tariff classification and country of origin of tape dispensers and tape3926.10.0000
- N300342September 26, 2018Tape Dispensers from China3926.10.0000, 8422.30.9191
- N337434January 19, 2024Clip dispensers and clips from China3926.10.0000, 8305.90.3050
- 801359September 1, 1994Tape dispensers and parts from Taiwan3926.10.0000, 3926.90.9590, 7326.90.9090
- N217581May 23, 2012Tape dispenser from China3926.10.0000
- N332899May 25, 2023Pencil boxes from China3926.10.0000
- N333383June 13, 2023Stone paper legal pads from China and Vietnam3926.10.0000
- N336162November 13, 2023Desk pad from China3926.10.0000
Borderless, a licensed U.S. customs brokerage, summarized CBP ruling N346664 in plain English and checked its codes against the letter and today's tariff schedule. A ruling applies only to goods that match its facts; our terms explain the rest. Terms