CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 089007 NLP

District Director of Customs
511 N.W. Broadway
Federal Building, Room 198
Portland, Oregon 97209

RE: Protest No. 2904-90-000132; ceramic minibeads; item 535.41, TSUS; subheading 6909.11.20, HTSUSA

Dear District Director:

The following is our decision regarding the Protest and Request for Further Review No. 2904-90-000132, dated October 23, 1990. At issue is the classification of ceramic minibeads.

FACTS:

The product at issue is called ceramic minibeads. The importer's letter describes the minibeads as grinding media which are used in machinery that grind calcium carbonate in a water solution to produce a very fine particle size grade used in the production of paper.

Your office liquidated two entries of the minibeads under item 536.11, Tariff Schedules of the United States (TSUS), which provides for ceramic wares, and articles of such wares, not specially provided for, of porcelain or subporcelain. Three entries were liquidated under subheading 6914.90.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for other ceramic articles, other.

The importer contends that the ceramic minibeads are classifiable in item 535.41, TSUS, which provides for machinery parts, of porcelain or subporcelain, and subheading 6909.11.20, HTSUSA, which provides for ceramic wares for laboratory, chemical or other technical uses, machinery parts, of porcelain or china. The importer argues that these are the appropriate classifications on the basis that the beads are made of porcelain and are necessary components of grinding machinery.

ISSUE:

Are the minibeads classifiable in item 535.41, TSUS, and in subheading 6909.11.20, HTSUSA.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of minibeads under the Tariff Schedules of the United States

New York Ruling Letter 806962, dated October 3, 1983, dealt with the classification of ceramic minibeads, which were used as grinding media in ball mills. The ceramic beads were classified in item 535.41, TSUS, which provides for machinery parts, of porcelain or subporcelain. In addition, T.D. 56413(38) classified ceramic grinding balls used in grinding machinery in item 535.41, TSUS. Therefore, as the instant product is a ceramic bead used as grinding media, it is also classifiable in item 535.41, TSUS.

Classification of the minibeads under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States

Heading 6909, HTSUSA, provides for, inter alia, ceramic ware for laboratory, chemical or other technical uses. The Explanatory Notes for the HTS, although not dispositive, are to be looked to for the proper interpretation of the HTS. The Explanatory Notes to Heading 6909, HTSUSA, provide, in pertinent part, the following:

This heading covers a range of very varied articles usually made from vitrified ceramics (stoneware, porcelain or china, steatite ceramics etc.) glazed or unglazed. It does not, however, cover refractory goods of a kind designed for resisting high temperatures as described in the General Explanatory Note to sub- Chapter 1. But articles of a type not designed for high temperature work remain in this heading even if made of refractory materials (e.g., thread guides, grinding apparatus, etc., of sintered alumina)

The heading covers in particular:

(2) Ceramic wares for other technical uses, such as...grinding apparatus and balls, etc., for grinding materials...

The previous tariff law, the TSUS, though not binding on the present tariff laws, provides guidance for the classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA, absent an explicit change in the new laws over the previous. As evidenced by the language of item 535.41, TSUS, and subheading 6909.11.20, there has not been an explicit change in the new law over the previous. As a result, the fact that ceramic beads used in grinding machinery were classifiable as machinery parts, of porcelain or subporcelain in the TSUS provides guidance for the classification of the same product under the HTSUSA.

The instant ceramic minibeads are not designed for high temperature work and are grinding media used in grinding machinery. Based on these facts and the classification of ceramic minibeads under the TSUS, the subject ceramic minibeads are classifiable in subheading 6909.11.20, HTSUSA, which provides for ceramic wares for laboratory, chemical or other technical uses, machinery parts, of porcelain or china.

HOLDING:

The minibeads are classifiable in item 535.41, TSUS, and subheading 6909.11.20, HTSUSA.

The protest should be allowed in full. A copy of this decision should be attached to the Form 19 Notice of Action to be sent to the protestant.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division