Brassiere components with cloth tape and metal hooks are classifiable as parts of brassieres, not general clothing fittings.

Hooks and eyes fixed in cloth tape for brassieres were held to be completed components specially adapted for brassiere use, not mere base-metal fittings. Although Heading 8308 covers hooks, eyes and similar fittings used for clothing, the imported goods included a functional cloth tape that enabled stitching to the brassiere and prevented direct metal contact with the body. On that basis, classification followed the tariff scheme and the nature of the finished article, so the goods fell under Heading 6212 as parts of brassieres rather than Heading 8308.

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Issues: Whether hooks and eyes inserted in cloth tape for brassieres were classifiable under Heading 8308 as hooks and eyes of a kind used for clothing, or under Heading 6212 as parts of brassieres.

Analysis: Heading 8308 covers hooks, eyes and similar base-metal fittings used for clothing, but the imported goods were not bare metal hooks and eyes. The goods consisted of readymade cloth tape with metallic hooks and eyes fixed to it, designed to be stitched onto brassieres. The cloth tape had functional significance, including attaching to the brassiere and preventing direct contact of metal with the body. On that basis, the goods were not mere metallic fittings but completed components specially adapted for brassieres. Classification had to follow the terms of the headings and the tariff scheme, not the rate of duty.

Conclusion: The goods were correctly classifiable under Heading 6212 as parts of brassieres and not under Heading 8308.

Final Conclusion: The appellate challenge to the customs classification was rejected and the departmental classification was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Goods that are finished components specially adapted for incorporation into brassieres are classifiable as parts of brassieres under the relevant textile heading, even if they contain metallic hooks and eyes, where the cloth tape forms a functional and integral part of the article.

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