MAR-2-05 CO:R:C:V 734625 KR
Mr. James R. Neville
General Manager
Dura-Loc Roofing Systems Limited
P.O. Box 272
Courtland, Ontario
Canada N0J 1E0
RE: Country of origin marking of metal roof tiles; marking the
container not the individual tile.
Dear Mr. Neville:
This is in response to your letter dated May 4, 1992,
requesting a country of origin ruling on behalf of Dura-Loc Roofing
Systems Limited, of Courtland, Ontario (hereinafter Dura-Loc),
regarding metal roof tiles which you intend to import from Canada.
A sample of the finished tiles was submitted for examination with
a previous ruling request designated upon issuance as HQ 734451
(April 13, 1992). The instant ruling will apply only to the Dura-
Loc roof tile described infra.
FACTS:
You state that Dura-Loc manufactures decorative roof tiles in
Canada. It intends to import the roof tiles into the U.S. for sale
to Dura-Loc USA. Dura-Loc USA will sell the tiles only to six
specified installers: All Seasons Roofing, Anderson Roofing,
Armstrong Roofing, California Cedar Roof Care, Curtis Roofing, and
Homestar Enterprises, Inc. The roof tiles may be used on sloped
roofs to vertical wall framing in retro-fit or new construction on
residential, commercial, industrial and institutional structures.
You state that the roof tiles will be imported on skids and shrink
wrapped and banded in cardboard. Each skid will hold two piles of
150 tiles each. You state that Dura-Loc USA will sell the tiles
only banded and wrapped to the six installers. You submitted a
letter which is sent to each of the installers which states:
As has always been our policy, due to the exclusivity of
our program, and the nature of our dealing with you, the
end user of our product, please be advised that all
shipments shall be in minimum (16 square) full pallet
quantities.
You request a ruling allowing the country of origin marking
to appear on the packaging (i.e., the banded cardboard or shrink
wrap) instead of marking each individual tile.
ISSUE:
Whether the roof tiles may be marked by banding them in
cardboard and shrink wrapping them and placing the country of
origin marking on the packaging.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Section 304 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C.
1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign
origin imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous
place as legibly, indelibly, and permanently as the nature of the
article (or container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate
to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the
country of origin of the article. The Court of International Trade
stated in Koru North America v. United States, 701 F. Supp. 229,
12 CIT 1120 (CIT 1988), that "in ascertaining what constitutes the
country of origin under the marking statute, a court must look at
the sense in which the term is used in the statute, giving
reference to the purpose of the particular legislation involved."
The purpose of the marking statute is outlined in United States v.
Frielaender & Co., 27 CCPA 297 at 302, C.A.D. 104 (1940), where the
court stated that: "Congress intended that the ultimate purchaser
should be able to know by an inspection of the marking on the
imported goods the country of which the goods is the product. The
evident purpose is to mark the goods so that at the time of
purchase the ultimate purchaser may, by knowing where the goods
were produced, be able to buy or refuse to buy them, if such
marking should influence his will."
Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements
the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19
U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR
134.41(b), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must
be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain.
An article is excepted from marking under 19 U.S.C. 1304
(a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR 134.32(d), if the marking of a container of
such article will reasonably indicate the origin of such article.
This exception is applicable if Customs is satisfied that the
marked container in which the article is imported will reach the
ultimate purchaser in all reasonably foreseeable circumstances.
Accordingly, if Customs is satisfied that the ultimate purchaser
will receive the article in a marked container and that the
ultimate purchaser can tell the country of origin of the roof tiles
by viewing the country of origin marking on the container in which
they are imported, the individual roof tiles would be excepted from
marking under this provision. Therefore, it is necessary to
ascertain who is the ultimate purchaser of the roof tiles.
Section 134.1(d), Customs Regulations, (19 CFR 134.1(d)),
defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the
U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was
imported. In C.S.D. 89-47, December 8, 1988, Customs held that
the construction company that installed the imported steel roofing
structural components was the ultimate purchaser. Similarly, in
this case, we find that the actual installer of the roof tiles is
the ultimate purchaser.
The marking of the packaging in lieu of the tiles themselves
is acceptable only if Customs is satisfied that the installers of
the roof tiles will receive them in their marked containers. In
HQ 731555, July 18, 1988, Customs ruled that metal straps with
plastic shrink wrap used to secure refractory bricks were
containers for purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D) and 19 CFR
134.32(d). See also, HQ 734119, July 15, 1991. In this case we
find that banding the roof tiles in cardboard or shrink wrapping
the tiles constitutes containers for purposes of these provisions.
Pursuant to the additional material submitted, Dura-Loc sells only
to six installers of the tiles through exclusive contracts. The
six installers receive the tiles in the shrink wrapped and banded
form with the marking intact. Therefore, since the six installers
are the ultimate purchasers and will receive the tiles in the form
in which they were imported, as long as it is marked in a legible,
permanent and conspicuous manner, marking the country of origin on
the packaging is acceptable pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(D);
19 CFR 134.32(d).
HOLDING:
The ultimate purchasers of the roofing tiles are the actual
installers of the tiles. The roofing tiles may be marked with the
country of origin, Canada, on the shrink wrapped and banded skids
in a legible, permanent and conspicuous manner.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director