HQ 957695: Internal Advice 58/94; Aluminized Steel Sheet in Coils; Flat-Rolled Products of Iron or Nonalloy Steel Plated or Coated With Aluminum; Flat-Rolled products of Other Alloy Steel, Heading 7225; Chapter 72, Note 1(f) Dear District Director: Your memorandum to the Customs Information Exchange, dated September 20, 1994 (CLA-1-CL:DD:CO:TEB AW), initiated this request for internal advice, as requested by the importer in a letter to you, dated August 8, 1994. At issue is theclassification of certain aluminized steel sheet in coils, from Japan. FACTS: The merchandise is steel sheet in coils coated or platedwith aluminum to render it corrosion resistant. Four (4) entriesof this merchandise were made under the provision for other flat-rolled product

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

                                 

                           HQ 957695
                                
                                       AUGUST 1, 1995
                                
                    CLA-2 R:C:M  957695 JAS
                                
                  CATEGORY:    Classification
                                
                    TARIFF NO.:  7210.60.00
                                
                  District Director of Customs
                        6747 Engle Road
                  Middleburg Hts., Ohio 44130 
                                
RE:  Internal Advice 58/94; Aluminized Steel Sheet in Coils;      
     Flat-Rolled Products of Iron or Nonalloy Steel Plated or     
      Coated With Aluminum; Flat-Rolled products of Other Alloy
             Steel, Heading 7225; Chapter 72, Note 1(f)
                                 
                    Dear District Director:
                                
     Your memorandum to the Customs Information Exchange, dated
   September 20, 1994 (CLA-1-CL:DD:CO:TEB AW), initiated this
 request for internal advice, as requested by the importer in a
     letter to you, dated August 8, 1994.  At issue is the
classification of certain aluminized steel sheet in coils, from
                             Japan.
                                
                             FACTS:
                                
     The merchandise is steel sheet in coils coated or plated
with aluminum to render it corrosion resistant.  Four (4) entries
of this merchandise were made under the provision for other flat-
rolled products of iron or nonalloy steel, of a width of 600 mm
    or more, electrolytically plated or coated with zinc, in
subheading 7210.39.00, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States (HTSUS).  Your office noted that the goods were invoiced
as aluminized steel sheet in coils, a product that is customarily
 nonalloyed, inspection certificates submitted with two of the
entries indicated the merchandise to be nonalloyed, and shipping
documents state the steel sheet conforms to American Society for
 Testing and Materials (ASTM) specification A463/83, a standard
  specification for steel sheet, cold-rolled, aluminum coated,
      types 1 and 2.  The chemical requirements under this
 specification are not sufficient to make the steel alloyed for
tariff purposes.  Accordingly, you reliquidated the entries under
subheading 7210.60.00, HTSUS, as flat-rolled products plated or
                    coated with aluminum.  
                                                              - 2 -

     The internal advice applicant maintains the merchandise is
alloyed for tariff purposes and is classifiable under appropriate
subheadings of heading 7225, as flat-rolled products of other
alloy steel.  After release of the steel from Customs custody,
samples from a shipment covered by one of the entries was
subsequently recovered from the customer.  Chemical analysis both
by an independent laboratory and by the Chicago Customs
laboratory confirm that the sample contains the requisite
percent, by weight, of titanium, to qualify the steel as alloyed
for tariff purposes.  Revised inspection/mill certificates were
obtained from the Japanese supplier that purport to establish
that steel sheet from the remaining entries was also alloyed.
     
     The provisions under consideration are as follows:

     7210           Flat-rolled products of iron or nonalloy
                    steel, of a width of 600 mm or more, clad,
                    plated or coated:

                       Electrolytically plated or coated with
                       zinc:

     7210.39.00          Other...5.8 percent

     7210.60.00        Plated or coated with aluminum
                       ...5.8 percent      

                        *               *              *              *

     7225           Flat-rolled products of other alloy steel, of
                     a width of 600 mm or more:

     7225.90.00        Other...5.2 percent

ISSUE:

     Whether the aluminized steel sheet in coils is considered
alloyed for tariff purposes.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:
     
     Merchandise is classifiable under the Harmonized Tariff
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in accordance with the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs).  GRI 1 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, and provided the headings or notes do not
require otherwise, according to GRIs 2 through 6.  
                              - 3 -

     The term Other alloy steel includes, among others, steels
not complying with the definition of stainless steel and
containing by weight 0.05 percent or more of titanium.  Chapter
72, Note 1(f), HTSUS.

     While aluminized steel sheet in coils is customarily
nonalloyed, it is not uncommon for an importer to add an alloying
element or elements in sufficient amounts as to require
classification under a provision with a lower rate of duty, or
for other legitimate duty avoidance purposes.  The courts have
sanctioned an importer's right to fashion his merchandise in this
way provided it is in fact described by the claimed provision. 
This is a corollary to the established rule of construction that
merchandise is classified and assessed with duty in its condition
as imported, that is, when it is brought within the Customs
territory with intent to unlade.  Ordinarily, therefore, it is
the evidence of record at the time merchandise enters the Customs
territory that determines its tariff status.  

     This should not be interpreted as stating that no evidence
submitted after the merchandise is released from Customs custody
may be considered to establish its condition as imported.  In
administrative proceedings Customs has considerable latitude in
evaluating in a light most favorable to the importer or other
party seeking relief all credible evidence as to the condition of
the merchandise as imported.  

     In these circumstances, with respect to the three entries
for which there are no available samples, the only objective
evidence of the condition of the merchandise as imported is
reflected by the invoices, inspection certificates, and other
documents available to Customs officers which showed the steel to
be nonalloyed.  Revised mill certificates and post-importation
statements from the importer and others that contradict, rather
than corroborate, evidence already in the record, should be
accorded little or no probative value.  The one entry for which
samples were produced after release of the merchandise from
Customs custody should be treated similarly unless the concerned
import specialist determines there is sufficient evidence to
establish that the samples came from the shipment covered by that
entry. 

HOLDING:

     The aluminized steel sheet in issue is to be classified in
subheading 7210.60.00, HTSUS, or in subheading 7225.90.00, HTSUS,
as appropriate, in accordance with these guidelines.

     You should mail this decision to the internal advice
applicant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter.  On
that date the Office of Regulations and Rulings will take steps                              - 4 -

to make the decision available to Customs personnel via the
Customs Rulings Module in ACS and to the public via the Diskette
Subscription Service, the Freedom of Information Act, and other
public access channels.

                              
                              Sincerely,


                              John Durant, Director
                              Commercial Rulings Division