Fortune Brands achieved a successful result for their Moen brand wall-mounted toilet paper holders in tariff classification litigation at the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT). Our firm represented Moen in the litigation.
Moen challenged U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) long-held belief that wall-mounted toilet paper holders are “sanitary ware” that should be classified based on their constituent material. CBP had issued numerous customs rulings affirming this position, although the agency classified other wall-mounted bathroom accessories (e.g., towel bars and robe hooks) in a different tariff provision.
The CIT granted summary judgment for Moen, finding that the toilet paper holders should be classified as base metal “hat-racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures” under Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) subheading 8302.50.00 (duty free).
