The tariff classification of "Ultracast" casting, or release, paper

NY K84416 March 29, 2004 CLA-2-48:RR:NC:2:234 K84416 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 4811.51.4000 Mr. Paul G. Giguere Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A. 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20004-3002 RE: The tariff classification of “Ultracast” casting, or release, paper Dear Mr. Giguere: In your letters dated December 4, 2003 and March 17, 2004, on behalf of your client S.D. Warren Company d/b/a Sappi Fine Paper North America of Boston, Massachusetts, subsidiary of Sappi Limited, you requested a tariff classification ruling for the referenced paper, designated “Castillian Grade - 56/547/15 [JR04-0083, AM04-0345]. A sample was submitted, along with a photographic cross section of the product taken through an electron microscope. The class of merchandise to which “Ultracast” paper belongs is casting release paper used in a casting process in which a plastic film is formed against the surface of the release paper. After curing of the plastic film, it is separated from the release paper. The surface effect of the release paper is imparted to the plastic film, so that , for example, a top grain leather pattern is formed on what has become a cast synthetic leather. The release paper can be re-used a number of times. “Ultracast” paper consists of a base paper of bleached pulp, with a latex coating on its surface. The base paper then receives a coating of polymer, overlying the latex coating, and is pressed against an engraved roll containing the desired pattern while the polymer coating is cured by means of an electron beam. The result is a textured polymer coating that is securely attached to the base paper. This coating is of a thickness less than that of the base paper. “Ultracast” paper is supplied in rolls exceeding 15 cm in width, and its final coated weight is more than 150 g/m2. The sample “Castillian Grade” has a thickness of less than 0.3 mm. The applicable subheading for the “Ultracast” paper, “Castillian Grade” as described, will be 4811.51.4000, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for: Paper and paperboard, coated, impregnated or covered with plastics (excluding adhesives): Bleached, weighing more than 150 g/m2: In strips or rolls of a width exceeding 15 cm or in rectangular (including square) sheets with one side exceeding 36 cm and the other side exceeding 15 cm in the unfolded state: Other (than 0.3 mm or more in thickness). The general rate of duty will be Free. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Carl Abramowitz at 646-733-3037. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division