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