Chapter 95 covers toys, games, and sports requisites, and it is one of the chapters where the heading turns on the product's purpose rather than its materials. A board game, a puzzle, a doll, a construction set, and a tennis racket can all sit in the same chapter, and the classification still comes out differently for each one, because the chapter is organized by what the thing is used for.
The first step is GRI 1: read the heading terms and the chapter notes before reaching for anything else. The notes to Chapter 95 exclude some things that look like toys, including Christmas tree decorations that belong elsewhere, and they draw lines around what counts as a game versus what counts as sports equipment. A product that is really a piece of sports equipment, even if it is sold as a toy, belongs with sports requisites, and a product that is really a game belongs with games, even if it has a sports theme.
A board game is classified by its function as a game, and the components travel with it. The board, the pieces, the cards, and the dice are one product when they are sold together as a game, and the classification follows the game, not the material of the pieces. A wooden board and plastic pieces do not become a wooden article and a plastic article. They are a game, and the game is the heading.
The edge cases are where the money is. A construction toy that builds a model is a toy, but a construction set that builds a working machine can argue itself into another heading. An electronic game with a screen is a game, but a device whose principal function is something else, like a radio with a game built in, is classified by its principal function. Smartwatches ran into the same question: the function that defines the product is the one that decides the heading, and the secondary features do not move it. CBP's ruling on the clock radio with an iPod dock made the same point: the principal function was the radio with a clock, despite the docking capability.
The first is classifying by material. A plush toy is not a textile article, a wooden puzzle is not a wood article, and a metal construction set is not a metal article. Chapter 95 exists precisely because these products are defined by use, and GRI 1 sends you to the heading that describes the use, not the material. The second is classifying a set by its most expensive component. A board game with a metal playing piece is still a board game, and the metal piece does not carry the essential character just because it cost the most to make.
When the product sits on a line, the same tools apply as everywhere else in the schedule. Search the CROSS database for how CBP classified a similar game or toy, and if the stakes are high, request a binding ruling through eRulings before the goods ship. Pet food ran the same analysis in a different chapter: the heading follows the purpose, and the purpose is written in the product's design, not its marketing. A toy that is really sports equipment will be classified as sports equipment, whatever the box says.
Chapter 95 covers toys, games, and sports requisites. The heading inside the chapter depends on the product's function: a board game is a game, a construction toy is a toy, and sports equipment belongs with sports requisites.
No. The board, pieces, cards, and dice sold together as a game are classified as a game, not as wood or plastic articles. Chapter 95 is organized by use, and GRI 1 sends you to the heading that describes the use.
Principal function is the test for multifunction products: the classification follows the function that defines the product. A clock radio with an iPod dock was classified as a radio with a clock, because that was its principal function.
When the product sits on a line between two headings, when the duty difference is material, or when the product will ship repeatedly. Search the CROSS database first, then request a ruling through eRulings for high-stakes products.