CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 952678 KCC
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
101 East Main Street
Norfolk, Virginia 23510
RE: Protest No. 1401-92-100098; marble; Additional U.S. Note 1
to Chapter 69; processing necessary to facilitate
installation; slabs; HRL 950125; HRL 951047; beveling
Dear Sir:
This is in response to the Application for Further Review of
Protest No. 1401-92-100098 dated July 7, 1992, which pertains to
the tariff classification of marble products under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The articles under consideration are described on the
invoice as "Arabescato Marble DIMS. 12"x12"x3/8" - Polished,
Calibrated, Beveled." Upon importation into the U.S., the
arabescato marble entry was liquidated under subheading
6802.91.15, HTSUS, which provides for "Worked monumental or
building stone (except slate) and articles thereof, other than
goods of heading 6801; mosaic cubes and the like, of natural
stone (including slate), whether or not on a backing;
artificially colored granules, chippings and powder, of natural
stone (including slate)...Other...Marble, travertine and
alabaster...Marble...Other."
The protestant, Dernis International Marketing, contends
that the arabescato marble, is properly classified under
subheading 6802.91.05, HTSUS, which provides for "...Marble...
Slabs."
ISSUE:
Is the arabescato marble classified under subheading
6802.91.15, HTSUS, as other marble, or under subheading
6802.91.05, HTSUS, as marble slabs?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is
governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1,
HTSUS, states in part that "for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and
any relative section or chapter notes...."
The marble in this case is properly classified within
Chapter 68, making the Chapter 68 notes applicable to this
classification. Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68 states:
For purposes of heading 6802, the term "slabs" embraces
flat stone pieces, not over 5.1 cm in thickness, having
a facial area of 25.8 cm2 or more, the edges of which
have not been beveled, rounded or otherwise processed
except such processing as may be needed to facilitate
installation as tiling or veneering in building
construction.
Thus, edge working such as beveling would preclude classification
of merchandise as "slabs" in subheading 6802.91.05, HTSUS, unless
this processing is merely necessary to facilitate installation.
Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68, does not provide a specific
measurement for a process which would be acceptable to facilitate
installation.
In order to determine the extent of the processing which
would be acceptable for a slab, Customs in New York sought
information from the marble and limestone industry. Based on
this information, Customs determined that the edges, sides or
corners of a piece of marble need only be cut or processed to
1/32 of an inch to facilitate installation. Customs further
determined that any cut which is greater, either deeper or wider,
than 1/32 of an inch is not made merely to facilitate
installation, but rather is made in part for appearance or
beauty. Therefore, Customs determined that the cut of 1/32 of an
inch is a reasonable standard for distinguishing "slabs" from
marble which is a product worked beyond the definition of "slabs"
found in Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68. See, Headquarters
Ruling Letter (HRL) 950125 dated January 7, 1992, which held that
the marble was classified under subheading 6802.91.15, HTSUS, as
other marble because the edges were cut more than 1/32 of an inch
in spite of the protestant's contention that the edges were only
"eased."
"Easing" is a minimal operation performed to remove rough
cut edges from the marble. The tile edge finishing operation is
not a high precision process. Therefore, the amount of material
removed from the edges is dependent upon the pressure applied and
can vary from tile to tile or even along an edge. Therefore, it
is difficult, if not impossible, to establish an exact figure,
such as 1/32 of an inch, as a standard for determining the limit
on the amount of processing which is needed to facilitate
installation.
Simply examining whether more than 1/32 of an inch of edge
is removed is too rigid and does not allow for the non-precision
edge finishing operation found in the tile industry. However, to
facilitate the proper classification of articles as slabs or
other marble pursuant to Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68, it
is necessary to have an established standard. After gathering
further information from the marble and limestone industry, we
conclude that certain types of marble may have to be eased as
much as 3/32 of an inch in order to facilitate installation.
This 3/32 of an inch standard will allow for varying degrees of
hardness of different stones and will allow for the industry's
non-precision edge finishing operation found in "easing" the
articles for handling purposes. See, HRL 951047 dated September
17, 1992.
Therefore, if the edge is eased not wider or deeper than
3/32 of an inch, then the stone articles will be determined to
have been processed to facilitate installation and classified as
slabs under subheading 6802.91.05, HTSUS, pursuant to Additional
U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68.
Laboratory Report No. 4-93-20182-001, dated December 9,
1992, which examined the arabescato marble found that the white
stone sample measuring 30 x 30 x 1 cm is of marble and is not
agglomerated stone. The edges of the sample were found to be
beveled to 0.0310 to 0.0495 of an inch which is less than 3/32 of
an inch (3/32 = 0.09375). Based on the laboratory report, the
arabescato marble is properly classified under subheading
6802.91.05, HTSUS, as "...Other...Marble, travertine and
alabaster...Marble...Slabs."
HOLDING:
The marble is properly classified under subheading
6802.91.05, HTSUS, as "Worked monumental or building stone
(except slate) and articles thereof, other than goods of heading
6801...Other...Marble, travertine and alabaster...Marble...
Slabs."
This protest should be granted. A copy of this decision
should be attached to the Customs Form 19 and provided to the
protestant as part of the notice of action on the protest.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director