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HQ 089275


August 7, 1991

CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 089275 KCC

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 7014.00.10; 7015.10.00; 9001.90.40

Mr. P.S. Brockington
Ohara Corporation
50 Columbia Road
Somerville, New Jersey 08876-3519

RE: Glass Lens Blanks; GRI 1; spectacles; other than spectacles; optically worked

Dear Mr. Brockington:

This is in response to your letter dated September 26, 1990, to Customs at Terminal Island, California, regarding the tariff classification of glass lens blanks under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSUSA). Your letter and samples were forwarded to this office for a response.

FACTS:

Ohara's products under consideration are optical glass lens blanks and optical glass in finished lens element form. The optical glass lens blanks are imported in rough molded blank form with no optical (light transmission) properties. They are made of optical quality glass called "clear" which has no striations, bubbles, or inclusions. In Ohara's catalog the optical glass lens blanks are cataloged as SFL6. These optical glass lens blanks can be used to produce lenses for optical instruments or spectacle lenses.

However, the optical glass lens blanks which are sold to the ophthalmic industry for spectacle lenses are marketed as, and called "INDEX 8". The name "INDEX 8" is molded into the glass surface of the lens blank. The Index 8 blanks are imported into the U.S. in four diameters and in 20 different thicknesses which cover the usual size of blanks needed by the ophthalmic industry to fill eyeglass prescriptions. The other optical glass lens blanks known as SFL6 blanks are used to make optical elements for photocopiers, microscopes, and other instruments. These glass lens blanks are imported into the U.S. in various forms, such as prism blanks, window blanks or lens blanks. The SFL6 blanks are not advertised or sold by Ohara to the ophthalmic trade and are distinguishable from the ophthalmic lens by not having the product name "INDEX 8" molded into the glass surface.

The optical glass in finished lens element form are made of optical quality glass and are flat ground and polished before importation into the U.S. These blanks are imported in the plano shape (flat) so that they can be tested by an interferometer for light transmission properties and then further ground and polished to the customer's specifications.

ISSUE:

What is the proper tariff classification of the optical glass lens blanks and the optical glass in finished lens element form under the HTSUSA?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

The classification of merchandise under the HTSUSA is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's). GRI 1, HTSUSA, states in part that "for legal purposes, classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes..." The headings in this case are headings 7014, 7015, and 9001, HTSUSA. The headings describe:

7014 Signaling glassware and optical elements of glass (other than those of heading 7015), not optically worked...

7014.00.10 Optical elements...Lens blanks (other than for spectacles)...

7015 Clock or watch glasses and similar glasses, glasses for noncorrective or corrective spectacles...

7015.10.00 Glasses for corrective spectacles...

9001 ...lenses (including contact lenses), prisms, mirrors and other optical elements, of any material, unmounted, other than such elements of glass not optically worked...

9001.90.40 Other...Lenses...

The Index 8 and SFL6 blanks are classified under different tariff provisions. The information discloses that the Index 8 and SFL6 blanks have different uses. The SFL6 blanks are not sold to the ophthalmic industry but are imported into the U.S. for various optical instruments in forms such as lenses, prisms and windows, not optically worked. "Optically worked" refers to glass of which the surface has been ground or polished in order to produce the required optical properties. See, Additional U.S. Note 1., Chapter 90, Section XVIII, HTSUSA. The SFL6 and Index 8 blanks are not optically worked as neither blank is ground or polished before importation into the U.S. Therefore, the SFL6 lens blanks are classified under subheading 7014.00.10, HTSUSA, as "...optical elements of glass (other than those of heading 7015), not optically worked...Optical elements...Lens blanks (other than for spectacles)."

Since the Index 8 is produced explicitly for the ophthalmic industry, it is classified under subheading 7015.10.00, HTSUSA, as "...glasses for noncorrective or corrective spectacles, curved, bent, hollowed or the like, not optically worked...Glasses for corrective spectacles."

The optical glass in finished lens element form as imported into the U.S. has been ground and polished, and, therefore, meets the definition of optical elements of glass, optically worked. The optical glass in finished lens element form is classified under subheading 9001.90.40, HTSUSA, as "...lenses (including contact lenses), prisms, mirrors and other optical elements, of any material, unmounted, other that such elements of glass not optically worked...Other...Lenses."

HOLDING:

The SFL6 lens blanks are classified under subheading 7014.00.10, HTSUSA, and are dutiable at the rate of 8.2% ad valorem.

The Index 8 blanks are classified under subheading 7015.10.00, HTSUSA, and are dutiable at the rate of 4% ad valorem.

The optical glass in finished lens element form is classified under subheading 9001.90.40, HTSUSA, and is dutiable at the rate of 5.6% ad valorem.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division

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