CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 956574 KCC
District Director
U.S. Customs Service
4430 E. Adamo Drive
Room: Suite 301
Tampa, Florida 33605
RE: Protest 1801-93-100059; white carrara marble sills;
Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68; processing necessary
to facilitate installation; slabs; HRL 950125; HRL 951047;
HRL 952678; beveling
Dear District Director:
This is in response to Protest 1801-93-100059, which
pertains to the tariff classification of white carrara marble
sills under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
(HTSUS).
FACTS:
The articles under consideration are white carrara marble
sills. The entries of the marble sills were liquidated on
September 3, 1993, under subheading 6802.91.15, HTSUS, as other
marble. In a protest timely filed on October 19, 1993, the
protestant contends that the marble sills are properly classified
as slabs under subheading 6802.91.05, HTSUS.
The competing subheadings are as follows:
6802.91 Worked monumental or building stone (except slate)
and articles thereof, other than goods of heading
6801; mosaic cubes and the like, of natural stone
(including slate), whether or not on a backing;
artificially colored granules, chippings and
powder, of natural stone (including slate)...
Other...Marble, travertine and alabaster...
Marble...
6802.91.05 Slabs.
6802.91.15 Other.
ISSUE:
Are the marble sills classified under subheading 6802.91.15,
HTSUS, as other marble, or under subheading 6802.91.05, as marble
slabs?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The classification of merchandise under the HTSUS is
governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1,
HTSUS, states, in part, that "for legal purposes, classification
shall be determined according to terms of the headings and any
relative section or chapter notes...."
The marble sills in this case are properly classified under
Chapter 68, HTSUS, making the Chapter 68 notes applicable.
Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68, HTSUS, states:
For purposes of heading 6802, the term "slabs" embraces flat
stone pieces, not over 5.1 cm in thickness, having a facial
area of 25.8 cm2 or more, the edges of which have not been
beveled, rounded or otherwise processed except such
processing as may be needed to facilitate installation as
tiling or veneering in building construction.
Thus, edge working such as beveling would preclude classification
of merchandise as "slabs" in subheading 6802.91.05, HTSUS, unless
this processing is necessary to facilitate installation.
Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68, HTSUS, does not provide a
specific measurement for a process which would be acceptable to
facilitate installation.
To determine the extent of the processing which would be
acceptable for a slab, Customs in New York sought information
from the marble and limestone industry. Based on this
information, Customs determined that the edges, sides or corners
of a piece of marble need only be cut or processed to 1/32 of an
inch to facilitate installation. Customs further determined that
any cut which is greater, either deeper or wider, than 1/32 of an
inch is not made merely to facilitate installation, but rather is
made in part for appearance or beauty. Therefore, Customs
determined that the cut of 1/32 of an inch is a reasonable
standard for distinguishing "slabs" from marble which is a
product worked beyond the definition of "slabs" found in
Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68, HTSUS. See, Headquarters
Ruling Letter (HRL) 950125 dated January 7, 1992, which held that
the subject marble was classified under subheading 6802.91.15,
HTSUS, as other marble because the edges were cut more than 1/32
of an inch in spite of the protestant's contention that the edges
were only "eased."
"Easing" is a minimal operation performed to remove rough
cut edges from marble. The edge finishing operation is not a
high precision process. Therefore, the amount of material
removed from the edges is dependent upon the pressure applied and
can vary from article to article or even along an edge.
Therefore, it is difficult, if not impossible, to establish an
exact figure, such as 1/32 of an inch, as a standard to determine
the limit on the amount of processing which is needed to
facilitate installation.
Simply examining whether more than 1/32 of an inch of edge
is removed is too rigid and does not allow for the non-precision
edge finishing operation found in the industry. However, to
facilitate the proper classification of articles as slabs or
other marble pursuant to Additional U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68,
HTSUS, it is necessary to have an established standard. After
gathering further information from the marble and limestone
industry, we conclude that certain types of marble may have to be
eased as much as 3/32 of an inch in order to facilitate
installations. This 3/32 of an inch standard will allow for
varying degrees of hardness of different stones and will allow
for the industry's non-precision edge finishing operation found
in "easing" the articles for handling purposes. See, HRL 951047
dated September 17, 1992, and HRL 952678 dated December 30, 1992.
Therefore, if the edge is eased not wider or deeper than
3/32 of an inch, then the stone articles will be determined to
have been processed to facilitate installation and classified as
slabs under subheading 6802.91.05, HTSUS, pursuant to Additional
U.S. Note 1 to Chapter 68, HTSUS.
Information before Customs indicates that the beveling found
on many of the marble sills is greater than 3/32 of an inch.
Therefore, the marble sills under consideration are classified
under subheading 6802.91.15, HTSUS, as other marble. We note
that the protestant has submitted a letter from Carrara Granite
Marble & Stone srl. in Italy stating that their "easing" machines
are set at 1/16 of an inch and that the protestant states that
any bevel beyond the 3/32 of an inch standard is due to varying
degrees of stone hardness, or wear of the abrasive material on
the "easing" machines. Protestant has also submitted a letter
from the Marble Institute of America, Inc., which details the
need for edge beveling, but states that a standard for edge
treatment sizing has not been developed. In increasing the
standard from 1/32 of an inch to 3/32 of an inch standard,
Customs has already allowed for varying degrees of hardness of
different stones and has allowed for the industry's non-precision
edge finishing operation found in "easing" the articles for
handling purposes. Therefore, any article beveled greater than
3/32 of an inch will be determined to have been processed beyond
that necessary to facilitate installation.
We note that future entries of the protestant's marble sills
may meet the standards set out above. The only method available
to verify that the edges of the marble sills are processed to
facilitate installation pursuant to Additional U.S. Note 1 to
Chapter 68, HTSUS, is through a consistent sampling and testing
process. As long as the protestant maintains that its marble
sills are classifiable as slabs under subheading 6802.91.05,
HTSUS, and/or until you are satisfied that the marble sills are
classifiable as slabs, sampling and testing of the protestant's
articles should be conducted.
HOLDING:
The white carrara marble sills are classified under
subheading 6802.91.15, HTSUS, as other marble.
The protest should be DENIED. In accordance with Section
3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4,
1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision should
be mailed by your office to the protestant no later than 60 days
from the date of this letter. Any reliquidation of the entry in
accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to
mailing the decision. Sixty days from the date of the decision
the Office of Regulations and Rulings will take steps to make the
decision available to customs personnel via the Customs Rulings
Module in ACS and the public via the Diskette Subscription
Service, Freedom of Information Act and other public access
channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division