CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 950668 KCC
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
150 North Royal
Mobile, Alabama 36602
RE: Protest No. 1901-90-000028; tile; Additional U.S. Note 1 to
Chapter 69; ceramic
Dear Sir:
This is in response to the Application for Further Review of
Protest No. 1901-90-000028 dated September 6, 1990, which
pertains to the tariff classification of tile under the
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The articles under consideration are Terra Paver Products,
Mirage tiles. The protestant, American Olean Tile Co., entered
the tile under subheading 6907.90.00, HTSUS, which provides for
"Unglazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles;
unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes and the like, whether or not on a
backing...Other." The protestant states that the Mirage tiles
are made from top quality clays, feldspars and quartz. These
materials are combined, ground and then spray dried to produce a
well blended powder for pressing. The spray dried material is
then transferred to a large tonnage press where it is pressed
into tile shape. The tiles are then fired at 1250 degrees
Celsius (2280 degrees Fahrenheit) where the quartz melts and
fuses the product into an impervious porcelain ceramic tile.
However, the tiles were liquidated under subheading
6810.19.14, HTSUS, which provides for "Articles of cement, of
concrete or of artificial stone, whether or not reinforced...
Tiles, flagstones, bricks and similar articles...Other...Floor
and wall tiles...Other." This classification was based on
Laboratory Report No. 5-90-30642-001 dated January 11, 1990,
which examined a red-brown unglazed tile measuring approximately
19.7 x 8.1 cm on its face and 0.8 cm in thickness. The lab
report found that the tile was a man-made article of
predominantly silicon dioxide and appeared to be made using some
ground rock material. The lab report concluded that the tile did
not meet the requirements of a ceramic according to Additional
U.S. Notes 1 and 5 to Chapter 69. However, the lab report did
not state which requirements were not meet.
To determine which requirements of Additional U.S. Notes 1
and 5 to Chapter 69 were not met, samples of the Mirage tiles,
two unglazed tiles with a 0.7 cm thickness, one having gray body
and the other a red body, were once more examined in Laboratory
Report No. 5-92-30373-002 dated April 14, 1992. This lab report
found that the tiles are ceramic articles and fulfill the
requirements of Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 69. The lab
report further stated that when the samples were reheated to
pyrometric cone 020 they did not become less porous or more dense
and that they have a water absorption value of 0.3 percent.
ISSUE:
Are the Mirage tiles properly classified under subheading
6907.90.00, HTSUS, as other unglazed ceramic articles, or under
subheading 6810.19.15, HTSUS, as articles of artificial stone?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is
governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). 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...."
Ceramic tiles are classified in subheading 6907.90.00,
HTSUS, as other unglazed ceramic articles, making the Chapter 69
notes applicable to this tariff classification. Additional U.S.
Note 1 to Chapter 69 states that:
For the purposes of this chapter, a "ceramic article" is a
shaped article having a glazed or unglazed body of
crystalline or substantially crystalline structure, the body
of which is composed essentially of inorganic nonmetallic
substances and is formed and subsequently hardened by such
heat treatment that the body, if reheated to pyrometric cone
020, would not become more dense, harder, or less porous,
but does not include any glass articles.
Based on the Laboratory Report #5-92-30373-002, we are of
the opinion that the tile at issue is a ceramic article which is
properly classified in Chapter 69. Specifically, the proper
tariff classification of the ceramic tiles is under subheading
6907.90.00, HTSUS, which provides for "Unglazed ceramic flags and
paving, hearth or wall tiles; unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes and
the like, whether or not on a backing...Other."
HOLDING:
The ceramic tiles are properly classified under subheading
6907.90.00, HTSUS, which provides for "Unglazed ceramic flags and
paving, hearth or wall tiles; unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes and
the like, whether or not on a backing...Other."
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
Commercial Rulings Division