The tariff classification of gold dore bars from Sierra Leone

N306423 October 24, 2019 CLA-2-71:OT:RR:NC:N1:126 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 7108.12.1020 Raj Ravulapalli Ibram Financial, LLC 660 Kenilworth Drive, Suite 204 Towson, MD 21204 RE: The tariff classification of gold dore bars from Sierra Leone Dear Mr. Ravulapalli: In your letter dated September 25, 2019, you requested a tariff classification ruling. A photograph was provided depicting what appears to be “Gold Dore Bars”. The information you provided states, that gold dust is mined at Kono Mines located in Sierra Leone, Africa, and smelted into “Gold Dore Bars” with a purity of 92% - 97%. The “Gold Dore Bars” are then shipped to the United States and sent to a refinery for upgrading into gold bullion with a purity of 99.99% under London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) standards and used to manufacture jewelry. Additional U.S. Note 1 (a) to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) states: the term “unwrought” refers to metals, whether or not refined, in the form of ingots, blocks, lumps, billets, cakes, slabs, pigs, cathodes, anodes, briquettes, cubes, sticks, grains, sponge, pellets, shot and similar manufactured forms, but does not cover rolled, forged, drawn or extruded products, tubular products, cast or sintered forms which have been machined or processed otherwise than by simple trimming, scalping or descaling. Based on the submitted information and the photo provided, we find the “Gold Dore Bars” appear to fall within the term for “unwrought” as defined by the above U.S. Note. The applicable subheading for the “Gold Dore Bars” will be 7108.12.1020, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, (HTSUS), which provides for “Gold (including gold plated with platinum) unwrought or in semimanufactured forms, or in powder form: Nonmonetary: Other unwrought forms: Bullion and dore: Dore”. The general rate of duty will be free. Articles classifiable under subheading 7108.12.1020, HTSUS, which are products of Sierra Leone are currently entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP, however, is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term “GSP”. Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the World Wide Web at https://hts.usitc.gov/current. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Elena Pietron at [email protected]. Sincerely, Steven A. Mack Director National Commodity Specialist Division