United States International Trade Commision Rulings And Harmonized Tariff Schedule
faqs.org  Rulings By Number  Rulings By Category  Tariff Numbers
faqs.org > Rulings and Tariffs Home > Rulings By Number > 1994 HQ Rulings > HQ 0954856 - HQ 0954937 > HQ 0954857

Previous Ruling Next Ruling


HQ 954857

December 8, 1993
CLA-2 CO:R:C:M 954857 KCC

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 6805.30.10

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
610 South Canal Street
Chicago, Illinois 60607

RE: Protest No. 3901-93-101074; Scotchbrite Flap Brush and Combi Wheels; 6804.22.10; EN 68.04; EN 68.05; HRL 951607

Dear District Director:

This is in response to the Application for Further Review of Protest No. 3901-93-101074, which pertains to the tariff classification of Scotchbrite Flap Brush and Combi Wheels under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS). Samples were submitted for examination.

FACTS:

The Scotchbrite Flap Brush and Combi Wheels ("wheels") are surface conditioning abrasive products which are designed to clean and condition a surface for painting or plating operations, deburr drilled, punched or machined parts and/or provide a decorative scratch pattern on a workpiece.

The wheels are composed of abrasive coated nonwoven fibers. The abrasive coated nonwoven fibers are manufactured by coating a loosely formed nonwoven nylon fiber web with a slurry consisting of a phenolic resin and particles of either aluminum oxide or silicon carbide. The abrasive web is oven dried and then slit into narrow strips. The abrasive strips are put through a machine which cuts them to a specified length and inserts them into and around a circular fixture containing a spindle. Liquid epoxy resin is then poured into the center of the wheel forming the hub. As the epoxy resin solidifies, it binds the web to the spindle. The Combi wheel is different only in the fact that it contains strips of abrasive coated cloth. The abrasive coated cloth is alternated with the abrasive web when inserted into and around the circular fixture.

The entry of the wheels was liquidated March 26, 1993, under subheading 6804.22.60, HTSUS, as other millstones, grindstones, grinding wheels and the like, of other agglomerated natural abrasives. In a protest timely filed on June 10, 1993, the protestant contends that the wheels are classified under subheading 6805.30.10, HTSUS, as natural or artificial abrasive powder or grain, on a base of other materials. The protestant states that the wheels are flexible abrasive products designed for surface conditioning and cleaning. They are not rigid products for grinding, sharpening, cutting, etc. as found in heading 6804, HTSUS.

The competing subheadings are:

6804.22.60 Millstones, grindstones, grinding wheels and the like, without frameworks, for grinding, sharpening, polishing, trueing or cutting, hand sharpening or polishing stones, and parts thereof of natural stone, of agglomerated natural or artificial abrasives, or of ceramics, with or without parts of other materials...Other millstones, grindstones, grinding wheels and the like...Of other agglomerated abrasives or of ceramics...Other...Other.

6805.30.10 Natural or artificial abrasive powder or grains, on a base of textile material, of paper, of paperboard or of other materials, whether or not cut to shape or sewn or otherwise made up...On a base of other materials...Articles of wholly or partly coated with abrasives, in the form of sheets, strips, disks, belts, sleeves or similar forms.
ISSUE:

Are the Scotchbrite Flap Brush and Combi Wheels classified under subheading 6804.22.60, HTSUS, as other millstones, grindstones, grinding wheels and the like, of other agglomerated natural abrasives, or under subheading 6805.30.10, HTSUS, as natural or artificial abrasive powder or grain, on a base of other materials?

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 the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes...."

In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs), may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive, are to be used to determine the proper interpretation of the HTSUS. 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989). EN 68.04 (pgs. 899-900) states, in part, that:

(3) Grinding wheels, heads, discs, points, etc., as used on machine-tools, electro-mechanical or pneumatic hand tools, for the trimming, polishing, sharpening, trueing or sometimes for the cutting of metals, stone, glass, plastics, ceramics, rubber, leather, mother of pearl, ivory, etc....

The heading covers such tools not only when they are predominantly of abrasive materials, but also when they consist...of a centre or core of rigid material (metal, wood, plastics, cork, etc.) on to which compact layers of agglomerated abrasive have been permanently bonded....

Agglomerated grinding wheels, etc., are made by mixing ground abrasive or stone with binders such as ceramic materials (for example, powdered clay or kaolin, sometimes with added felspar), sodium silicate, cement (especially magnesian cement) or less rigid cementing materials (such as rubber, shellac or plastics). Textile fibres such as cotton, nylon or flax are sometimes incorporated in the mixtures. The mixtures are moulded to shape, dried, and then heated (if necessary to the stage of vitrification in the case of ceramic binders) or cured (in the case of the rubber, plastics, etc., binders). The articles are then trimmed to size and shape...

The heading does not include:...

(b) Natural or artificial abrasive powder or grain coated on to textile material, paper, paperboard or other materials (heading 68.05), whether or not the textile material, paper, etc., is subsequently glued on to supports such as discs or strips of wood (buff-sticks for use in the clock and watch industry, mechanical engineering, etc.).

EN 68.05 (pg. 901) states that:

This heading covers textile material, paper, paperboard, vulcanised fibre, leather or other materials, in rolls or cut to shape (sheets, bands, strips, discs, segments, etc.), or in threads or cords, on to which crushed natural or artificial abrasives have been coated, usually by means of glue or plastics. The heading also covers similar products of nonwovens, in which abrasives are uniformly dispersed throughout the mass and fixed on to textile fibres by the binding substance. The abrasives used include emery, corundum, silicon carbide, garnet, pumice, flint, quartz, sand and glass powder. The bands, discs, etc., may be sewn, stapled, glued or otherwise made up;....But the heading excludes grinding wheels composed of a rigid support (e.g., of paperboard, wood, metal) fitted with a compact agglomerated layer, rather than powder or grain, of abrasive, and similarly constituted hand tools (heading 68.04).

The goods of this heading are mainly used (by hand or mechanically) for smoothing or cleaning up metal, wood, cork, glass, leather, rubber (hardened or not) or plastics; also for smoothing or polishing varnished or lacquered surfaces, or for sharpening card clothing.

It is our opinion that the wheels are provided for under heading 6805, HTSUS. EN 68.05 specifically describes the wheels at issue. The wheels consist of woven cloth which is coated on one side with a slurry composed of abrasives such as silicon carbide or aluminum oxide (corundum) and a binding agent of phenolic resin, and nonwoven fibre which is also uniformly coated on both sides with the slurry mixture. The wheels are mainly used for surface conditioning such as cleaning for painting or plating, deburring, and/or providing a decorative scratch pattern to a surface. The wheels are specifically provided for under subheading 6805.30.10, HTSUS, as natural or artificial abrasive powder or grain, on a base of other materials. See, Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 951607 dated July 13, 1992, in which similar abrasive wheels were classified under subheading 6805.30.10, HTSUS.

The wheels are not provided for under heading 6804, HTSUS. EN 68.04 states that heading 6804, HTSUS, covers actual agglomerated material which has been molded to shape and heated or cured. As previously stated, the material at issue is the woven cloth and nonwoven fibre which is coated with abrasives and allowed to dry; it is not molded to shape and heated or cured. Moreover, the wheels are not designed to trim, polish, sharpen, true or cut various material. Additionally, EN 68.04 states that abrasive powder or grain coated on to textile material or other material which is subsequently glued on to supports such as a discs is excluded from classification under heading 6804, HTSUS. The wheels are not of the class or kind of grindstones classifiable under heading 6804, HTSUS.

HOLDING:

The Scotchbrite Flap Brush and Combi Wheels are classified under subheading 6805.30.10, HTSUS, as natural or artificial abrasive powder or grain, on a base of other materials. The protest should be granted.

In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive 099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest Directive, this decision, together with the Customs Form 19, 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 of 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, Lexis, Freedom of Information Act and other public access channels.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

Previous Ruling Next Ruling

See also: