CLA-2 CO:R:C:G 085886 WAW
Mr. Gary Brunell
A. N. Deringer, Inc.
30 West Service Road
Champlain, N.Y. 12919-9703
RE: Pumice-like Stone
Dear Mr. Brunell:
This letter is in response to your request, on behalf of
your client Crabtree & Evelyn, for a reconsideration of New York
Ruling Letter 834656, dated January 17, 1989, concerning the
tariff classification of a pumice-like stone under the Harmonized
Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). A
sample of the merchandise at issue was included along with your
request.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is described as a pink, heart-shaped
pumice-like stone. Based on a U.S. Customs Service laboratory
report, we have determined that the subject merchandise consists
of foamed glass. Moreover, the importer has stated in his
submissions that the sample article is not agglomerated. The
sample is packaged for sale in a plastic wrapper which is
slightly scented to give the product a perfume-like odor. The
pumice-like stone is designed to buff off rough or stained skin
on the hands or feet. The subject merchandise will be imported
from France.
In New York Ruling Letter 834656, dated January 17, 1989,
the pumice-like stone was classified under subheading
3307.90.0000, HTSUSA, which provides for other pre-shave, shaving
or after-shave preparations, personal deodorants, bath
preparations, depilatories and other perfumery, cosmetic or
toilet preparations, not elsewhere specified or included. Items
classified under this subheading are subject to a rate of duty of
5.4 percent ad valorem. The importer maintains that
classification of the subject merchandise under subheading
3307.90.0000, HTSUSA, is improper and suggests that the product
is more properly classified under subheading 2513.19.0000,
HTSUSA.
ISSUE:
Whether the sample merchandise is classifiable under
subheading 3307.90.0000, HTSUSA, or under some other provision of
the tariff?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) set forth the
manner in which merchandise is to be classified under the HTSUSA.
GRI 1 requires that classification be determined first according
to 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.
Subheading 2513.19.0000, HTSUSA, provides for pumice; emery;
natural corundum, natural garnet and other natural abrasives,
whether or not heat-treated. Legal Note 1 to Chapter 25 states
that:
. . .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 crystallisation), but not products which have
been roasted, calcined, obtained by mixing or subjected
to processing beyond that mentioned in each heading.
(emphasis added)
Since the sample merchandise consists of foamed glass and
is not a crude or natural pumice, it is precluded from
classification under Chapter 25 pursuant to the above-stated
Legal Note. Thus, subheading 2513.19.0000, HTSUSA, is not
intended to cover this type of merchandise.
It is the position of this office that New York Ruling
Letter 834656 properly classified the sample article under
subheading 3307.90.0000, HTSUSA. Subheading 3307.90.0000,
HTSUSA, provides for pre-shave, shaving or after-shave
preparations, inter alia, cosmetic or toilet preparations, not
elsewhere specified or included; prepared room deodorizers,
whether or not perfumed or having disinfectant properties. The
rule of ejusdem generis is applicable in this case. The rule
states in pertinent part that where particular words of
description are followed by general terms, the latter will be
regarded as referring to things of a like class with those
particularly described. In determining whether an item is
embraced within a class, courts look to the enumerated articles
to ascertain the characteristic which they possess in common, and
if there is such, whether the article involved has this
characteristic. Kotake Co., Ltd. v. United States, 58 Cust. Ct.
196, C.D. 2934, 266 F. Supp. 385 (1967). In the instant case,
the pumice-like stone falls within the same class, or nature as
cosmetic or toilet preparations. It is a toilet article intended
to be used in the bath for grooming purposes. Moreover, the
article is not more specifically covered elsewhere in the
nomenclature. It is clear from the language of the tariff that
Congress did not intend to limit the scope of subheading
3307.90.0000, HTSUSA, to include only those articles
specifically enumerated in the subheading. Accordingly, based on
the foregoing analysis, it is the position of this office that
the pumice-like stone is classifiable under subheading
3307.90.0000, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
The sample article is classifiable under subheading
3307.90.0000, HTSUSA. The applicable rate of duty is 5.4 percent
ad valorem.
New York Ruling Letter 834656, dated January 17, 1989, is
hereby affirmed.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division