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NY 890692




October 22, 1993

CLA-2-44:S:N:N8:230 890692

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 4410.10.0020

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,


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