HQ 955813: Application for further review of Protest No. 0401-93-100603 under 19 U.S.C., section 1514(c)(2); classification of perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) resin scrap-lathe turnings.

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 955813

                          April 26, 1994

CLA-2 CO:R:C:T 955813 ch

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.:  3915.90.0000

District Director
U.S. Customs Service
10 Causeway Street
Room 603
Boston, Massachusetts  02222-1059

RE:  Application for further review of Protest No. 0401-93-100603 under 19 U.S.C., section 1514(c)(2);
     classification of perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) resin scrap-lathe turnings.

Dear Sir:

     This is a decision on application for further review of a
protest timely filed by C.H. Powell Company on behalf of Civiera
and Silver International, Incorporated against your notice of
action, dated September 10, 1993.  We have considered the protest
and our decision follows.

FACTS:

     The subject merchandise consists of lathe turnings of
perfluoroalkoxy (PFA) resin.  As a result, they are twisted
spiral or helical in shape.  The protestant states that the lathe
turnings are sold to reprocessors who sort, granulate and turn
them into pellets to be used in the manufacture of wire coatings. 

     The PFA lathe turnings were entered under subheading
3915.90.000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for waste, parings and scrap,
of other plastics.  They were classified in subheading
5404.90.0000, HTSUSA, which provides in pertinent part for strip
and the like of synthetic textile materials of an apparent width
not exceeding 5 mm.

ISSUE:

     What is the tariff classification for the PFA lathe
turnings?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

     Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRI).  GRI 1 provides that
classification is determined first in accordance with the terms
of the headings of the tariff and any relative section or chapter
notes.  Where goods cannot be classified on the basis of GRI 1,
the remaining GRI will be applied in order.

     The PFA lathe turnings were classified in subheading
5404.90.0000, HTSUSA, as strip and the like of synthetic textile
materials of an apparent width not exceeding 5 mm.  The
Explanatory Note to heading 5404 states in part that the heading
covers:

     Strip and the like, of synthetic textile materials. 
     The strips of this heading are flat, of a width not
     exceeding 5 mm, either produced as such by extrusion or
     cut from wider strips or from sheets.  

     Provided their apparent width (i.e., in the folded,
     flattened, compressed or twisted state) does not exceed
     5 mm, this heading also covers:

     (i)  Strip folded along the length.

     (ii)  Flattened tubes, whether or not folded along the
     length.

     (iii)  Strip, and articles referred to in (i) and (ii)
     above, compressed or twisted. 

     If the width (or apparent width) is not uniform,
     classification is to be decided by reference to the
     average width.

     This heading also includes multiple (folded) or cabled
     strip and the like.

     All these products are generally in long lengths, but
     remain classified here even if cut into short lengths
     and whether or not put up for retail sale.

     The Explanatory Note provides that strips of heading 5404,
HTSUSA, are flat.  The PFA turnings are flat in the sense that
they are thin slices that have been pared from a solid plastic
material.  However, they possess random twisting, spherical and
helical shapes.  We conclude that parings in this form are not
"flat" as that term is used in the Explanatory Note.  Therefore,
the lathe turnings are not classifiable as strip of heading 5404,
HTSUSA.

     Heading 3915, HTSUSA, provides for waste, parings and scrap,
of plastics.  In Headquarters Ruling Letter (HRL) 952836, dated
February 19, 1993, Customs ruled that PTFE scrap shavings were
classifiable in heading 3915, HTSUSA.  In HRL 951875, dated
September 12, 1992, Customs ruled that articles of PTFE that had
not been transformed into primary form(s) were classifiable in
heading 3915.  The instant lathe turnings appear to be
manufacturing waste and meet the description of trimmings or
shavings that have not been transformed into primary forms. 
Consequently, they are properly classified in heading 3915,
HTSUSA.

HOLDING:

     Therefore, based on the foregoing discussion, this protest
should be granted in full.  The subject merchandise is
classifiable in subheading 3915.90.0000, HTSUSA, which provides
for waste, parings and scrap, of plastics.  The applicable rate
of duty is Free.  A copy of this decision should be attached to
the CF 19 Notice of Action to satisfy the notice requirement of
section 174.30(a), Customs Regulations.

     In accordance with Section 3A(11)(b) of Customs Directive
099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject:  Revised Protest
Directive, this decision 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 A. Durant, Director
                         Commercial Rulings Division