CLA-2-44:S:N:N8:230 890692
Mr. Lawrence R. Pilon
Hodes & Pilon
33 North Dearborn St., Suite 2204
Chicago, IL 60602-3109
RE: Tariff classification of melamine covered particle board
flooring from Sweden
Dear Mr. Pilon:
In your letter dated September 13, 1993, on behalf of your
client, Lehnen Mollan & Associates, you requested a tariff
classification ruling.
The ruling was requested on a product referred to in your letter as a
"laminate parquet flooring panel." A sample of a floor board which had been
cut into two pieces was submitted. It consists of a 1/4 inch thick wood
particle board face covered on the top with a layer of paper printed with a
wood strip design and impregnated with melamine and covered on the bottom
with a layer of dark colored paper. The board is tongued-and-grooved on the
edges and ends. In your second letter dated October 5, 1993, you confirmed
that the product to be imported will consist only of particle board laminated
on the top and bottom with paper. None of the particle boards will be
laminated with a layer of wood.
You believe that the product should be classified under subheading
4418.30.0000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated
(HTSUSA), which provides for builders' joinery and carpentry of wood,
including cellular wood panels and assembled parquet panels; . . . parquet
panels. However, the product being imported is not a parquet panel. Parquet
panels consist of wooden parquet strips assembled into panels. The product
being imported has the decorative appearance of parquet but it actually
consists of printed paper. The manufacturer's brochure submitted by you
refers to the product as a "laminate floor" and not as "parquet."
Although the face covered particle board may be designed for a
particular end use such as flooring, it is still essentially particle board
for tariff classification purposes. Particle board classifiable under
heading 4410, HTSUSA, according to the Explanatory Notes, may be:
(i) impregnated with one or more substances not
essential for the agglomeration of their
constituent materials but which confer on the
board an additional property, e.g.,
impermeability to water, resistance to rot, . .
(ii) face covered, e.g., with textile fabric,
plastics, paint, paper or metal, provided they
retain the essential character of particle boards.
The product being imported retains the essential character of particle
board. The applicable subheading for the melamine covered particle board
will be 4410.10.0020, HTSUSA, which provides for particle board and similar
board of wood or other ligneous materials, whether or not agglomerated with
resins or other organic binding substances; of wood; particle board. The
rate of duty will be 4 percent ad valorem.
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