CLA-2:CO:R:C:M 953377 MMC
6802.93.00; 6802.91.20; 6802.91.05
District Director
U.S.Customs Service
4430 E. Adamo Street, Suite 301
Tampa, Florida 33605
RE: Protest No. 1801-92-100012; Various stone articles; HRL's
085266, 085968, 087014, 087395, 086894; EN 25.15, 25.16
Dear District Director:
The following is our decision regarding the request for
further review of Protest No. 1801-92-100012 concerning your
action in classifying and assessing duty on various stone
products under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS).
FACTS:
The stones were entered under subheading 6802.91.05, HTSUS,
as marble. However, based on Customs lab tests, the merchandise
was liquidated under various other subheadings. A protest was
timely filed on March 18, 1992.
Protestant claims that all of the stones are polished
limestone, which meets the commercial definition of marble, and
as such should be classifiable as marble.
ISSUE:
Whether the various stones are classifiable as marble under
subheading 6802.91.05, HTSUS?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is in
accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's),
taken in order. 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.
Chapter 68, HTSUS, provides for articles of stone.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes may be
consulted. The Explanatory Notes (EN), although not dispositive,
are to be used to determine the proper interpretation of the
HTSUS. 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128, (August 23, 1989). In
consideration of the structure of the ENs for stone articles,
several prior Headquarters Ruling Letters (HRLs) hold that stone
is classified according to its geological composition.
The definitions of various stones are provided in the ENs to
chapter 25. EN 25.15, p. 191, defines marble, travertine,
serpentine, and other calcareous stone as follows:
Marble is a hard calcareous stone, homogeneous and fine-
grained, often crystalline and either opaque or translucent.
Marble is usually variously tinted by the presence of
mineral oxides (coloured veined marble, onyx marble, etc.),
but there are pure white varieties.
Travertines are varieties of calcareous stone containing
layers of open cells.
...[t]he heading covers other similar hard calcareous
monumental or building stones, provided their apparent
specific gravity is 2.5 or more... Calcareous monumental or
building stones of apparent specific gravity of less than
2.5 are classified in heading 25.16.
...[t]his heading also excludes:
(a) Serpentine or ophite (a magnesium silicate sometimes
called marble) (heading 25.16)
The EN 25.16, p. 192a, states in pertinent part:
Granite is a very hard, granular igneous rock formed by the
agglomeration of quartz crystals with feldspar and mica. It
varies in colour (grey, green, pink, red, etc.), according
to the relative proportions of these three substances and
the presence of iron oxide or manganese oxide.
If travertine, other calcareous stone, serpentine, and
granite were intended to be considered marble, they would not
have been separately defined. Moreover, none of these
definitions suggest that these stones are a type of marble, and
one stone, serpentine, is specifically excluded from the heading
that contains marble's definition.
In Headquarter's Ruling Letter (HRL) 085266, dated September
20, 1990, we held that under the HTSUS, stone products are
classified according to their geological nature. Under the TSUS,
stones were often classified by their trade names whether or not
they met the geological definition of the stone. However, under
the HTSUS, it is imperative that the United States, whenever
possible, define the various tariff terms in a manner consistent
with all nations using the HTS. (see HRL 086894 dated 11/23/90)
Because limestone, serpentine, travertine, and granite are
all distinct stones with different geological properties, and
because Custom's lab reports indicate that Travertine Sovina,
Verde Olimpo, Carrara White, Serpeggiante, Pink Fiorito, Cream
Fiorito, Perlino Rosato, Travertine Silver, Bianco Sardo, and
Etruscan Rose are not geological marble they are not classifiable
as marble. (see also HRLs 085968, dated 3/14/90, 087014 dated
6/12/90, and 087395 dated 9/4/90.) The stones are classifiable
in the subheadings which provide for their geological structure.
HOLDING:
The entries were liquidated correctly. We agree that the
Calacatta Marble and Verdello are classifiable as marble and a
rate reduction, as noted on the Custom's Form 6445A is
appropriate.
The protest should be treated in accordance with the
discussion above. A copy of this decision should be attached to
the Customs Form 19 and provided to protestant as part of the
notice of action on the protest.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings