CLA-2-84:S:N:N1:103 850440
8428.33.0000; 8428.39.0000; 8474.80.0010
Mr. John M. Poole
John A. Steer Co.
28 South Second Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19106
RE: The tariff classification of tile manufacturing equipment
from Italy
Dear Mr. Poole:
In your letter dated March 3, 1990 on behalf of American
Olean Tile Co. you requested a tariff classification ruling.
With your inquiry you provided a written description of the
tile manufacturing process, as well as descriptive literature on
some of the individual articles. The tile manufacturing process
begins with clay being transported from large non-mechanical
steel storage silos to a tile press by means of a belt conveyor.
The clay falls into a hopper which is incorporated in the press.
The clay is fed from the hopper into the powder distributor of
the press, which distributes the clay evenly into the press die
cavity. The tile press then compresses the clay into tiles. A
control panel controls the amount of pressure, thickness, and
sequence of movement in the press.
After the tile is pressed into shape, a roller conveyor
turns the tiles face side up and transports them into a dryer.
The drier utilizes heat and air circulation to remove moisture
from the tiles. Another transport conveyor then carries the
tiles either directly to a kiln or to a temporary emergency
storage accumulator. The storage accumulator can hold up to a
three hour supply of tiles which move through the accumulator on
storage cars.
The tiles next go to a roller conveyor which incorporates a
grouping station to group the tiles into rows containing five
tiles. The tiles are then fed into the kiln, where the tiles are
baked and a glaze coating (applied by a coating machine which is
not the subject of this inquiry) may be fused to the tile body.
The kiln incorporates drive motors, ceramic rollers, and a
microprocessor control panel. Finally, the tiles exit the kiln
via another conveyor. We understand that the equipment described
above will be imported in several shipments.
The applicable subheadings for the tile manufacturing
equipment, under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTS), will be as follows:
ITEM HTS NO. DUTY RATE
1. Storage silos 7308.90.9090 5.7% ad val.
2. Belt conveyor 8428.33.0000 2.0% ad val.
3. Tile press 8474.80.0010 2.9% ad val.
4. Roller conveyors 8428.39.0000 2.0% ad val.
5. Dryer 8419.39.0080 4.2% ad val.
6. Emergency accumulator conveyor8428.39.0000 2.0% ad val.
7. Kiln 8417.80.0000 5.7% ad val.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Section
177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry
documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If the
documents have been filed without a copy, this ruling should be
brought to the attention of the Customs officer handling the
transaction.
Sincerely,
Jean F. Maguire
Area Director
New York Seaport