CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 089567 NLP
District Director
United States Customs Service
555 Battery Street
San Francisco, CA 94126
RE: Protest No. 2809-91-100745; quartzite; tiles; Heading 2506;
Heading 2515; Heading 6802; Explanatory Note 25.05;
Subheading Explanatory Note 2515.12; Explanatory Note 68.02
Dear District Director:
The following is our decision regarding the Protest and
Request for Further Review No. 2809-91-100745, dated April 22,
1991. At issue is the classification of quartzite tiles under
the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA).
FACTS:
The merchandise is 30 cm x 30 cm tiles made of quartzite.
According to Customs laboratory report no. 8-90-21559-001, dated
October 2, 1990, the tiles were made of quartzite and they were
cut and unpolished. The tiles have one flat side and one rough
and uneven side.
Your office liquidated the quartzite under subheading
6802.99.00, HTSUSA, which provides for worked monumental or
building stone (except slate) and articles thereof, other than
goods of heading 6801...), other, other stone.
The importer contends that the quartzite is classified in
subheading 2506.29.00, HTSUSA, which provides for quartzite,
whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or
otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including
square) shape, quartzite, other. According to the importer,
quartzite is mined in slab form and only sawing is done to
process these long pieces into their present form. After the
sawing process they are placed directly in shipping crates. The
tiles are not further worked in any manner.
ISSUE:
Is the quartzite classified in subheading 6802.99.00,
HTSUSA, or in subheading 2506.29.00, HTSUSA.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is governed
by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1 provides
that classification is determined first in accordance with the
terms of the headings of the tariff and any relative section or
chapter notes, and unless otherwise required, according to the
remaining GRI's taken in order.
The first possible classification for the tiles is in
subheading 2506.29.00, HTSUSA, which provides for quartzite,
whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or
otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangluar (including
square) shape, quartzite, other.
Legal Note 1 to Chapter 25 states the following:
Except where their context or note 4 to this chapter
otherwise requires, the headings of this chapter cover only
products which are in the crude state or which have been
washed (even with chemical substances eliminating the
impurities without changing the structure of the product),
crushed, ground, powdered, levigated, sifted, screened,
concentrated by flotation, magnetic separation or other
mechanical or physical processes (except crystallization),
but not products which have been roasted, calcined, obtained
by mixing or subjected to processing beyond that mentioned
in each heading.
The Explanatory Notes of the Harmonized Commodity
Description and Coding System (HCDCS), although not dispositive,
are to be looked to for the proper interpretation of the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Explanatory Note 25.06 of the HCDCS
states at page 187 that:
Quartzite falls in this heading when in the crude state
or when it has not undergone any process beyond that
allowed by Note 1 to this Chapter or when it has been
roughly trimmed or merely cut, by sawing or otherwise,
into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including square)
shape.
In determining what the definition of "merely cut" is,
Subheading Explanatory Note 2515.12 to the HCDCS is informative.
Though Heading 2515, HTSUSA, covers different stones, (i.e,
marble or travertine) like Heading 2506, HTSUSA, it provides for
these stones "whether or not roughly trimmed or merely cut, by
sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular
(including square) shape. Subheading Explanatory Note for
subheading 2515.12, HTSUSA, at page 192 states the following:
The blocks and slabs which have been merely cut by
sawing must bear discernible traces of sawing ( by wire
strand or other saws) on their surfaces. If care was
taken with the sawing, these traces might be very
slight. In such cases, it is useful to apply a sheet
of thin paper to the stone and to rub it gently and
evenly with a pencil held as flat as possible. This
often reveals saw marks even on carefully sawn or
very granular surfaces.
Our examination of the instant merchandise reveals no
discernible traces of the sawing of the slabs. Moreover, the
tiles were precision cut to produce uniform tiles of 30 cm by 30
cm. Therefore, the quartzite has been subjected to processes
beyond that allowed by Note 1 to Chapter 25 as mentioned in
Heading 2506, HTSUSA. Accordingly, the quartzite tiles are not
classifiable in this heading.
The other possible classification for the tiles would be in
Heading 6802, HTSUSA, which provides for worked monumental or
building stone (except slate) and articles thereof, other than
goods of Heading 6801, etc.... Explanatory Note 68.02 to the
HCDCS provides at page 897 that "this heading covers natural or
monumental building stone (except slate) which has been worked
beyond the stage of normal quarry products of Chapter 25." The
Explanatory Notes further state that "[t]his heading therefore
covers stone which has been further processed than mere shaping
into blocks, sheets or slabs by splitting, roughly cutting or
squaring, or squaring by sawing." The instant tiles are more
than merely cut and shaped into a block, sheet or slab. They are
precision cut into 30 cm x by 30 cm tiles. Therefore, since the
quartzite has been otherwise worked beyond the point of normal
quarry products, it would be classifiable in Chapter 68.
HOLDING:
The quartzite is classified in subheading 6802.99.00,
HTSUSA, which provides for worked monumental or building stone
(except slate) and articles thereof, other than goods of Heading
6801, other, other stone.
The protest is denied in full. A copy of this decision
should be attached to the Customs Form 19 and mailed to the
protestant as part of the notice of action on the protest.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division