Sección: XIII ARTICLES OF STONE, PLASTER, CEMENT, ASBESTOS, MICA OR SIMILAR MATERIALS; CERAMIC PRODUCTS; GLASS AND GLASSWARE
Capítulo: 69 Ceramic products
Chapter 69


Ceramic products

Notes.

1.- This Chapter applies only to ceramic products which have been fired after shaping. Headings 69.04 to 69.14 apply only to such products other than those classifiable in headings 69.01 to 69.03.

2.- This Chapter does not cover :

(a) Products of heading 28.44;

(b) Articles of heading 68.04;

(c) Articles of Chapter 71 (for example, imitation jewellery);

(d) Cermets of heading 81.13;

(e) Articles of Chapter 82;

(f) Electrical insulators (heading 85.46) or fittings of insulating material of heading 85.47;

(g) Artificial teeth (heading 90.21);

(h) Articles of Chapter 91 (for example, clocks and clock cases);

(ij) Articles of Chapter 94 (for example, furniture, lamps and lighting fittings, prefabricated buildings);

(k) Articles of Chapter 95 (for example, toys, games and sports requisites);

(l) Articles of heading 96.06 (for example, buttons) or of heading 96.14 (for example, smoking pipes); or

(m) Articles of Chapter 97 (for example, works of art).


GENERAL
The term “ceramic products” applies to products obtained:

(A) By firing inorganic, non-metallic materials which have been prepared and shaped previously at, in general, room temperature. Raw materials comprise, inter alia, clays, siliceous materials, materials with a high melting point, such as oxides, carbides, nitrides, graphite or other carbon, and in some cases binders such as refractory clays or phosphates.

(B) From rock (e.g., steatite), fired after shaping.

The manufacturing process of the ceramic products referred to in paragraph (A) above (whatever their constituent material) comprises the following main stages:

(i) Preparation of the paste (or body).

(ii) Shaping.
(iii) Drying the resulting articles.

(iv) Firing.

(v) Finishing.

Ceramic products are also very often coloured (either in the body or superficially), decorated or glazed by using, as appropriate, specially prepared colours or opacifiers, vitrifiable enamels or glazes, slips, lustres, etc.

Firing, after shaping, is the essential distinction between the goods of this Chapter and the mineral or stone articles classified in Chapter 68 which are generally not fired, and the glass articles of Chapter 70 in which the vitrifiable compound has undergone complete fusion.

According to the composition and the firing process adopted, the following products are obtained :

I. Goods of siliceous fossil meals or of similar siliceous earths and refractory goods of sub-Chapter I (headings 69.01 to 69.03).

II. Other ceramic products, consisting essentially of common pottery, stoneware, earthenware, porcelain or china, etc. constituting sub-Chapter II (headings 69.04 to 69.14).

This Chapter excludes:

(a) Broken pottery and broken pieces of brick (heading 25.30).

(b) Products of heading 28.44.

(c) Blocks, plates, bars and similar semi-manufactures of graphite or of other carbon, or metallo-graphitic or other grades, used, e.g., for cutting into electrical brushes (heading 38.01) (see corresponding Explanatory Note).

(d) Unmounted cut elements of piezo-electric ceramic materials, e.g., of barium titanate or of lead zirconate titanate (heading 38.24).

(e) Articles of heading 68.04.

(f) Glass-ceramic products (Chapter 70).

(g) Sintered mixtures of base metal powders and heterogeneous intimate base metal mixtures obtained by melting (Section XV).

(h) Cermets of heading 81.13.

(ij) Plates, sticks, tips and the like for tools, unmounted, of cermets (heading 82.09) and other articles of Chapter 82.


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Sub-chapter I


GOODS OF SILICEOUS FOSSIL MEALS OR OF SIMILAR
SILICEOUS EARTHS, AND REFRACTORY GOODS


GENERAL
This sub-Chapter covers, whether or not they contain clay:

(A) In heading 69.01 ceramic goods obtained by the firing after shaping of siliceous fossil meals or similar siliceous earths such as kieselguhr, tripolite or diatomite (mostly falling in heading 25.12), or of silicaobtained by the incineration of certain vegetable products (e.g., rice boll ash). These materials are usually mixed with binders (such as clay or magnesia) and sometimes with other substances (e.g., asbestos, hair, sawdust, coal dust).

These articles are usually very light weight, and their porous structure makes them excellent heat-insulators for use in building, for the lagging of gas and steam piping. Some of these goods are also used as refractory products in the construction of ovens, industrial furnaces, steam generating boilers or other industrial plant and for other applications where lightness of the material, low thermal conductivity, as well as heat resistance, are desired. Others are used as heat-insulators for working temperatures of less than 1,000 °C.

(B) In headings 69.02 and 69.03 refractory goods, i.e., fired articles having the special property of resisting high temperatures as met in metallurgy, the glass industry, etc. (e.g., of the order of 1,500 °C and higher). According to the particular uses for which they are intended, refractory articles may also need to withstand rapid changes of temperature, be either good thermal insulators or conductors, have a low coefficient of thermal expansion, be porous or dense, resist the corrosive effects of products with which they come into contact, have a good mechanical strength and resistance to wear, etc.

However, to fall in heading 69.02 or 69.03 as refractory goods, articles must not only be capable of resisting high temperatures, they must also be designed for high temperature work. Heading 69.03 would therefore include crucibles of sintered alumina, but textile machine thread guides of the same material would fall in heading 69.09 since they are designed for clearly non-refractory uses.

The main types of refractory goods are:

(1) High alumina refractories based either upon bauxite, mullite or corundum (sometimes mixed with clays) or on kyanite, sillimanite or andalusite (aluminium silicates) mixed with clays, or on sintered alumina.

(2) Alumino-silicate refractories (e.g., based upon fire-clay with some chamotte or grog).

(3) Silica and semi-silica refractories (based upon sand, crushed quartz, flint, etc., and bonded with clay or lime).

(4) Magnesite refractories based upon magnesite (giobertite), sea-water magnesia or dolomite; refractories based upon chromite or chromium oxide; chrome-magnesite refractories.

(5) Refractories based upon silicon carbide.

(6) Zirconium oxide or zirconium silicate refractories, usually agglomerated with clay; refractories based upon beryllium oxide, thorium oxide, cerium oxide, etc.

(7) Refractories based upon graphite or other carbon, usually agglomerated with pitch, tar or clay. (Articles of graphite or other carbon of a kind used for electrical purposes fall in heading 85.45.)

(8) Refractories based upon other materials, e.g., silicon nitride, boron nitride, aluminium titanate and related compounds.

Refractory materials are used mainly to line blast furnaces, coke ovens, petroleum cracking plants, glass, ceramic and other industrial furnaces, and in the manufacture of pots, crucibles and other plant for the chemical, glass, cement and aluminium and other metallurgical industries.

But headings 69.02 and 69.03 do not cover articles which, though sometimes described as refractory or semi-refractory, are incapable of withstanding industrial temperatures of the type described above. Such articles fall in the appropriate heading of sub-Chapter II.


69.01 - Bricks, blocks, tiles and other ceramic goods of siliceous fossil meals (for example, kieselguhr, tripolite or diatomite) or of similar siliceous earths.

This heading covers all articles made of the materials listed in the heading text, whatever their shape (e.g., bricks, blocks, slabs, panels, tiles, hollow bricks, cylinder shells, pipes), whether or not refractory.

The heading excludes:

(a) Light non-refractory bricks not containing siliceous fossil meals or similar siliceous earths (e.g., those made from bodies containing chopped straw, sawdust, peat fibre, etc., the organic matter having been burnt away during the firing process to leave a porous structure) (heading 69.04).

(b) Filter plates made from a body containing kieselguhr and quartz (heading 69.09).

69.02 - Refractory bricks, blocks, tiles and similar refractory ceramic constructional goods, other than those of siliceous fossil meals or similar siliceous earths (+).



This heading covers a group of refractory products (other than those of heading 69.01) normally used in the construction of ovens, kilns, furnaces or other plant for the metallurgical, chemical, ceramic, glass and other industries.

It includes, inter alia:

(1) Bricks of all shapes (parallelepiped, wedge shaped, cylindrical, semi-cylindrical, etc.), including keystones and other specially shaped bricks (e.g., runner bricks, concave on one face and rectilinear on the others) even if they are clearly recognisable as being of the kind specially designed for the construction of plant or machinery of Section XVI.

(2) Refractory blocks and tiles for flooring, walls, hearths, etc.

The heading excludes tubing, piping (including runways in the form of half-cylinders) and angles, bends and similar tube or pipe fittings of refractory materials (heading 69.03).

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Subheading Explanatory Note.

Subheading 6902.10

What has to be determined for the purposes of this subheading is the content of MgO, CaO or Cr2O3. This is normally done by determining the contents of the elements present (i.e., Mg, Ca or Cr) and from these amounts the equivalent concentrations in terms of their oxides can be calculated. For example, 40 % Ca is equivalent to 56 % CaO and 24 % Mg is equivalent to 40 % MgO. Thus, a product based on calcium silicate containing 40 % Ca (equivalent to 56 % CaO) would be classified in this subheading

69.03 - Other refractory ceramic goods (for example, retorts, crucibles, muffles, nozzles, plugs, supports, cupels, tubes, pipes, sheaths and rods), other than those of siliceous fossil meals or of similar siliceous earths.



This heading covers all refractory goods not specified or included in the preceding headings.

These articles include:

(1) Articles which, unlike the refractory products of heading 69.02, are in many cases not permanent fixtures, such as retorts, reaction vessels, crucibles, cupels and similar articles for industrial or laboratory use, muffles, nozzles, plugs, burner jets and similar parts of furnaces; saggars, stands and other kiln furniture to support or separate pottery during firing; sheaths and rods; stands for crucibles; ingot moulds; etc.

(2) Tubing, piping (including runways in the form of half-cylinders) and angles, bends and similar tube or pipe fittings, even if intended for use as permanent fixtures in construction work.

The heading does not, however, include Seger cones (ceramic firing testers) (see Explanatory Note to heading 38.24); these are not fired after shaping


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Sub-chapter II


OTHER CERAMIC PRODUCTS


GENERAL
This sub-Chapter covers ceramic articles other than those of siliceous fossil meals or of similar siliceous earths and refractory goods of sub-Chapter I.

For the purpose of the Nomenclature, these articles are classified according to kind (bricks, tiles, sanitary ware, etc.), and classification is not affected by the nature of the ceramics used in their manufacture or by the presence of glazing, except in the case of :

(i) Ceramic tiles, flags and mosaic cubes and the like, classified in heading 69.07 when unglazed and in heading 69.08 when glazed.

(ii) Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, classified in heading 69.11 when of porcelain or china and in heading 69.12 if of other kinds of ceramics.

(I) PORCELAIN OR CHINA

Porcelain or china means hard porcelain, soft porcelain, biscuit porcelain (including parian) and bone china. All these ceramics are almost completely vitrified, hard, and are essentially impermeable (even if they are not glazed). They are white or artificially coloured, translucent (except when of considerable thickness), and resonant.

Hard porcelain is made from a body composed of kaolin (or kaolinic clays), quartz, feldspar (or feldspathoïds), and sometimes calcium carbonate. It is covered with a colourless transparent glaze fired at the same time as the body and thus fused together.

Soft porcelain contains less alumina but more silica and fluxes (e.g., feldspar). Bone china, which contains less alumina, contains calcium phosphate (e.g., in the form of bone ash); a translucent body is thus obtained at a lower firing temperature than with hard porcelain. The glaze is normally applied by further firing at a lower temperature, thus permitting a greater range of underglaze decoration.

Biscuit porcelain is unglazed porcelain, of which parian-ware (sometimes called Carrara porcelain) is a special, fine-grained, yellowish type containing more feldspar, and often resembling Paros marble in appearance, hence its name.

(II) OTHER CERAMIC PRODUCTS

Ceramic products other than of porcelain or china include :

(A) Ceramics with a porous body which, unlike porcelain, are opaque, permeable to liquids, easily scratched with iron and whose fracture sticks to the tongue. Such ceramics include:

(B) Stoneware which, though dense and hard enough to resist scratching by a steel point, differs from porcelain because it is opaque and normally only partially vitrified. Stoneware may be a vitreous (impermeable) or semi-vitreous ware. It is usually grey or brownish because of impurities contained in the clay used for its manufacture, and is normally glazed.

(C) Certain so-called “semi-porcelains” or “imitation porcelains”, sometimes prepared, decorated and glazed to give the commercial appearance of porcelain. Without being really opaque like earthenware, or truly translucent like porcelain, these products may be slightly translucent in the thinner parts such as the bottoms of cups. These materials can, however, be distinguished from real porcelain because their fracture is rough-grained, dull and non-vitrified. They are therefore porous beneath the glaze and the fracture clings to the tongue. Further, they are easily scratched with a steel knife, though it should be noted that certain soft chinas may also be scratched by steel. Products of these imitation “porcelains” are not considered as porcelain or china.

The sub-Chapter also includes certain goods made by shaping and firing powdered steatite, etc., generally mixed with clay (e.g., kaolins), feldspar, etc., but it should be noted that many articles of these materials are designed for electrical purposes and are therefore classified in Chapter 85. This sub-Chapter also covers articles made by firing steatite shaped by sawing.

Certain ceramic articles made of refractory materials (e.g., sintered alumina) may also fall in sub-Chapter II if not of a type designed for use as refractory goods (see Explanatory Note to heading 69.09).


69.04 - Ceramic building bricks, flooring blocks, support or filler tiles and the like.

This heading covers non-refractory ceramic bricks (i.e., bricks unable to withstand temperatures of 1,500 °C or higher) of the kinds commonly used for building walls, houses, industrial chimney-stacks, etc. Such bricks remain in the heading even if they can also be used for other purposes (e.g., vitrified bricks which can be used for paving or bridge piling, as well as for the construction of buildings).

Bricks are usually relatively porous (common pottery), but some are more or less vitrified (stoneware or engineering bricks) and are then used in constructional work calling for great mechanical strength or resistance to acids (e.g., in chemical plant).

The heading includes:

(1) Ordinary solid bricks of rectangular shape, with flat or indented surfaces.

(2) Curved bricks, sometimes perforated, for industrial chimney-stacks.

(3) Hollow bricks, perforated bricks; long hollow flooring blocks and constructional slabs used particularly for flooring, ceilings, etc., in combination with structural steelwork, and support or filler tiles (i.e., ceramic fittings designed to support the blocks while encasing the girders).

(4) Facing bricks (e.g., for facing houses or walls, the surrounds of doors or windows, including special bricks for column capitals, borders, friezes or other architectural decoration).

So-called “double” bricks specially perforated lengthwise, ready for splitting before use, remain in this heading provided that they retain the character of building bricks after separation.

All these bricks, especially those intended for facing, may be polished, sand-faced (by fusing sand on to the surface during firing), covered with a thin layer of white or coloured slip which hides the colour of the body, smoked or flamed, coloured in the body or on the surface (by adding metallic oxides, by using ferruginous clay, or by heating in a reducing atmosphere with hydrocarbons or carbon), impregnated with tar, or glazed, etc. They may also have moulded, embossed or indented designs on one or two faces.

The heading also includes light bricks made from mixtures containing sawdust, peat fibres, chopped straw, etc., which are burned away during firing, leaving a very porous structure.

The heading does not cover:

(a) Bricks of kieselguhr, etc. (heading 69.01) and refractory bricks (heading 69.02).

(b) Flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles (see Explanatory Notes to headings 69.07 and 69.08).

69.05 - Roofing tiles, chimney-pots, cowls, chimney liners, architectural ornaments and other ceramic constructional goods.



This heading covers a range of non-refractory goods, usually of common pottery but sometimes more or less vitrified, which, like bricks, are used in constructional or building work.

It includes:

(1) Roofing tiles (for roofs, for topping walls, etc.). These are usually provided with nibs, holed for nailing, or may be moulded to interlock, and in this respect differ from the tiles of headings 69.07 and 69.08. They may be flat, half cylinders or of special shapes for eaves, ridges, hips or valleys, etc.

(2) Chimney-pots, cowls, chimney liners, flue-blocks, etc.

(3) Architectural ornaments for use on buildings, walls, gates, etc. (e.g., cornices and friezes); gargoyles; pediments, rosettes, balustrades, corbels, capitals; gable-end, eave, ridging and roof ornaments, etc.

(4) Other ceramic constructional goods, e.g., ventilator grills; clay-lath used as support for plaster-work and formed of wire mesh with fired clay crosses or plates at the intersections, the fired clay forming the major constituent.

These articles fall in this heading whether plain, sand-faced, covered with slip, coloured in the mass, impregnated with other substances, glazed, ribbed, channelled, fluted or otherwise decorated by moulding.

The heading excludes, inter alia, pipes and guttering and the like, such as rain-water drain-pipes (heading 69.06), even if used for constructional purposes.

69.06 - Ceramic pipes, conduits, guttering and pipe fittings.



This heading applies to non-refractory piping, etc., designed, as a general rule, to interlock and to be used for draining or for the distribution of fluids. They may be of any shape or section (straight, curved, branched, of constant or varying diameter, etc.), and may be glazed.

The heading includes:

(1) Agricultural or horticultural drainage pipes, of porous common pottery, fired at only a low temperature and roughly finished.

(2) Other pipes, conduits and guttering (e.g., rain-water drain-pipes, sewer pipes, conduit tubing to protect electric cables but not designed to act as insulators, half tubes in the form of gutters or runways, wall drainage tubes).

These pipes, etc., may be of unglazed common pottery, but are often rendered impermeable by glazing or by vitrification (e.g., chemical piping).

(3) Pipe fittings for connecting or branching (collars, flanges, elbows, T-pieces, clean out traps, etc.).

The heading does not cover:

(a) Tubular chimney-parts (e.g., chimney-pots, cowls, chimney liners and flue-blocks) (heading 69.05).

(b) Small tubes and tubing (e.g., combustion tubes), usually of porcelain or china, specially designed for laboratories (heading 69.09).

(c) Insulating electric conduit tubing and joints, and all tubular fittings designed for electrical uses (headings 85.46 and 85.47 in particular).

69.07 - Unglazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; unglazed ceramic mosaic cubes and the like, whether or not on a backing.



This heading covers ceramic flags and tiles, including quarry tiles, commonly used for paving or for facing walls, hearths, etc., provided they are unglazed (see Explanatory Note to heading 69.08 regarding glazed goods).

Flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles are thinner in relation to their surface dimensions than are building bricks. Whereas bricks play an essential part in constructional work, forming the very framework of the building, flags and tiles are more especially intended for fixing by cement, adhesive or by other means to the surface of existing walls, etc. They also differ from roofing tiles in that they are usually flat and do not need to be pierced or provided with nibs or otherwise shaped for interlocking and that they are designed to be placed side by side without overlapping. Flags are larger than tiles and are usually rectangular; tiles may be of other geometric shapes (hexagonal, octagonal, etc.). Tiles are mainly used for facing walls, mantelpieces, hearths, floors and paths; flags are more especially used for paving or flooring, or as hearth slabs. Both categories may be of common pottery or earthenware, but types which have to withstand heavy wear are often vitrified, for example, tiles of stoneware, or porcelain (china) or of fired steatite (e.g., tiles for lining grinding mills, etc.).

Certain ceramic tiles are used solely for paving; unlike bricks, they are usually cubic or in the form of truncated pyramids. In practice, they are normally of stoneware or, exceptionally, of porcelain or china (e.g., flags for pedestrian crossings).

The classification of goods in this heading is therefore determined by their shape and size, rather than by their composition; thus bricks suitable for use both in building and for paving (e.g., vitrified bricks) are excluded (heading 69.04).

Goods of this heading may be coloured in the mass, marbled, ribbed, channelled, fluted, etc., but they must not be glazed.

Subject to the above conditions, the heading also includes:

(1) Bordering, capping, skirting, frieze, angle, corner or other fitting tile pieces employed for finishing off the facing, paving, etc., work.

(2) Double tiles intended for splitting before use.

(3) Mosaic cubes, whether or not on a paper or other backing.

On the other hand, in addition to glazed articles the heading excludes:

(a) Tiles specially adapted as table mats, etc. (heading 69.11 or 69.12).

(b) Ornaments and the like of heading 69.13.

(c) Ceramic tiles specially adapted for stoves (heading 69.14).


69.08 - Glazed ceramic flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles; glazed ceramic mosaic cubes and the like, whether or not on a backing.

This heading covers those articles of the previous heading which have been glazed, frequently after some form of decoration (see also the Explanatory Note to heading 69.07).

For the purposes of this heading, the term “glazing” includes methods using the enamels, glazes, etc., of heading 32.07, salt glazing (i.e., sodium chloride is introduced into the oven where it volatilises and the vapour reacts with the clay body to form a glaze), etc.

69.09 - Ceramic wares for laboratory, chemical or other technical uses; ceramic troughs, tubs and similar receptacles of a kind used in agriculture; ceramic pots, jars and similar articles of a kind used for the conveyance or packing of goods.



This heading covers a range of very varied articles usually made from vitrified ceramics (stoneware, porcelain or china, steatite ceramics, etc.), glazed or unglazed. It does not, however, cover refractory goods of a kind designed for resisting high temperatures as described in the General Explanatory Note to sub-Chapter I. But articles of a type not designed for high temperature work remain in this heading even if made of refractory materials (e.g., thread guides, grinding apparatus, etc., of sintered alumina).

The heading covers in particular:

(1) Laboratory wares (e.g., for research or industrial use) such as crucibles and crucible lids, evaporating dishes, combustion boats, cupels; mortars and pestles; spoons for acids, spatulas; supports for filters and catalysts; filter plates, tubes, candles, cones, funnels, etc.; water-baths; beakers, graduated vessels (other than graduated kitchen measures); laboratory dishes, mercury troughs; small tubes (e.g., combustion tubes, including analysis tubes for estimation of carbon, sulphur, etc.).

(2) Ceramic wares for other technical uses, such as pumps, valves; retorts, vats, chemical baths and other static containers with single or double walls (e.g., for electroplating, acid storage); taps for acids; coils, fractionating or distillation coils and columns, Raschig rings for petroleum fractionating apparatus; grinding apparatus and balls, etc., for grinding mills; thread guides for textile machinery and dies for extruding man-made textiles; plates, sticks, tips and the like, for tools.

(3) Containers of the kinds used for the commercial transport or packing of goods, e.g., large containers, carboys, etc., for the transport of acids and other chemical products; flagons, jars and pots, for foodstuffs (jam, condiments, meat pastes, liqueurs, etc.), for pharmaceutical products or cosmetics (pomades, ointments, creams, etc.), for inks, etc.

(4) Troughs, tubs and similar containers of the type used in agriculture.

The heading excludes:

(a) Articles of heading 68.04.

(b) Retorts, crucibles, muffles, cupels and other similar articles of refractory materials (heading 69.03).

(c) Kitchen or domestic containers (e.g., tea caddies, bread bins, biscuit barrels) (heading 69.11 or 69.12).

(d) General purpose jars and containers for laboratories and display jars for pharmacies, confectioners, etc. (heading 69.14).

(e) Articles of cermets (heading 81.13).

(f) Electrical apparatus (switches, junction boxes, fuses, etc.) of headings 85.33 to 85.38, and electrical insulators, insulating fittings, etc., of heading 85.46 or 85.47.

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Subheading Explanatory Note.

Subheading 6909.12

This subheading covers high-performance ceramic articles. These articles are composed of a crystalline ceramic matrix (e.g., of alumina, silicon carbide, zirconia, or nitrides of silicon, boron or aluminium, or of combinations thereof); whiskers or fibres of reinforcing material (e.g., of metal or graphite) may also be dispersed in the matrix to form a composite ceramic material.

These articles are characterized by a matrix which has a very low porosity and in which the grain size is very small; by high resistance to wear, corrosion, fatigue and thermal shock; by high-temperature strength; and by strength-to-weight ratios comparable to or better than those of steel.

They are often used in place of steel or other metal parts in mechanical applications requiring close dimensional tolerances (e.g., engine turbocharger rotors, rolling contact bearings and machine tools).

The Mohs scale mentioned in this subheading rates a material by its ability to scratch the surface of the material below it on the scale. Materials are rated from 1 (for talc) to 10 (for diamond). Most of the high-performance ceramic materials fall near the top of the scale. Silicon carbide and aluminium oxide, both of which are used in high-performance ceramics, fall at 9 or above on the Mohs scale. To distinguish among harder materials, the Mohs scale is sometimes expanded, with talc as 1 and diamond as 15. On the expanded Mohs scale, fused alumina has a hardness equivalent to 12, and silicon carbide has a hardness equivalent to 13.

69.10 - Ceramic sinks, wash basins, wash basin pedestals, baths, bidets, water closet pans, flushing cisterns, urinals and similar sanitary fixtures.

This heading covers fittings designed to be permanently fixed in place, in houses, etc., normally by connection to the water or sewage systems. They must therefore be made impervious to water by glazing or by prolonged firing (e.g., stoneware, earthenware, fire-clay sanitary ware, imitation porcelain, or vitreous china). In addition to the fittings specified, the heading includes such items as lavatory cisterns.

Ceramic flushing cisterns remain classified in this heading, whether or not equipped with their mechanisms.

The heading does not, however, include small accessory bathroom or sanitary fittings, such as soap dishes, sponge baskets, tooth-brush holders, towel hooks and toilet paper holders, even if of a kind designed for fixing to the wall, nor portable sanitary articles such as bed pans, urinals and chamber-pots; these goods fall in heading 69.11 or 69.12.

69.11 - Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of porcelain or china.



See the Explanatory Note to heading 69.12.

69.12 - Ceramic tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, other than of porcelain or china.



Tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles are classified in heading 69.11 if of porcelain or china, and in heading 69.12 if of other ceramics such as stoneware, earthenware, imitation porcelain (see General Explanatory Note to sub-Chapter II).

The headings therefore include:

(A) Tableware such as tea or coffee services, plates, soup tureens, salad bowls, dishes and trays of all kinds, coffee-pots, teapots, sugar bowls, beer mugs, cups, sauce-boats, fruit bowls, cruets, salt cellars, mustard pots, egg-cups, teapot stands, table mats, knife rests, spoons and serviette rings.

(B) Kitchenware such as stew-pans, casseroles of all shapes and sizes, baking or roasting dishes, basins, pastry or jelly moulds, kitchen jugs, preserving jars, storage jars and bins (tea caddies, bread bins, etc.), funnels, ladles, graduated kitchen capacity measures and rolling-pins.

(C) Other household articles such as ash trays, hot water bottles and matchbox holders.

(D) Toilet articles (whether for domestic or non-domestic use) such as toilet sets (ewers, bowls, etc.), sanitary pails, bed pans, urinals, chamber-pots, spittoons, douche cans, eye baths; soap dishes, towel rails, tooth-brush holders, toilet paper holders, towel hooks and similar articles for bathrooms, toilets or kitchens, whether or not designed for fixing to or setting in the wall.

The headings exclude:

(a) Carboys, jars, bottles, pots and similar articles of a kind used for the packing or transport of goods (heading 69.09).

(b) Baths, bidets, sinks and similar sanitary fittings (heading 69.10).

(c) Statuettes and other ornamental articles of heading 69.13.

(d) Ceramic ware having more than minor trimmings of precious metal or metal clad with precious metal (Chapter 71).

(e) Coffee or spice mills with containers of ceramics and working parts of metal (heading 82.10).

(f) Electro-thermic apparatus (for cooking, heating, etc.), including electric heating elements (cooking plates, heating resistors, etc.), of heading 85.16.

(g) Articles of Chapter 91, including clock cases.

(h) Lighters of heading 96.13 and scent sprays, etc. (heading 96.16).

69.13 - Statuettes and other ornamental ceramic articles.



This heading covers a wide range of ceramic articles of the type designed essentially for the interior decoration of homes, offices, assembly rooms, churches, etc., and outdoor ornaments (e.g., garden ornaments).

The heading does not include articles falling in more specific headings of the Nomenclature even if they are suited by reason of their nature or finish for decorative use, e.g. :

(a) Cornices, friezes and similar architectural ornaments (heading 69.05).

(b) Goods having more than mere minor fittings of precious metal or metal clad with precious metal (Chapter 71).

(c) Imitation jewellery (heading 71.17).

(d) Barometers, thermometers and other apparatus of Chapter 90.

(e) Clocks and cases therefor, even if the latter are decorated or consist, for example, of statuettes or similar objects clearly designed to act as clock cases (Chapter 91).

(f) Lamps and lighting fittings and parts thereof, of heading 94.05.

(g) Toys, games and sports requisites (Chapter 95).

(h) Buttons, smoking pipes, table lighters, scent sprays and other articles of Chapter 96.

(ij) Paintings, drawings and pastels executed entirely by hand, and original statuary, collectors’ pieces and antiques of an age exceeding 100 years (Chapter 97).

The heading covers:

(A) Articles which have no utility value but are wholly ornamental, and articles whose only usefulness is to support or contain other decorative articles or to add to their decorative effect, e.g.:

(B) Tableware and other domestic articles only if the usefulness of the articles is clearly subordinate to their ornamental character, for example, trays moulded in relief so that their usefulness is virtually nullified, ornaments incorporating a purely incidental tray or container usable as a trinket dish or ashtray, miniatures having no genuine utility value, etc. In general, however, tableware and domestic utensils are designed essentially to serve useful purposes, and any decoration is usually secondary so as not to impair the usefulness. If, therefore, such decorated articles serve a useful purpose no less efficiently than their plainer counterparts, they are classified in heading 69.11 or 69.12 rather than in this heading.

(C) Articles, other than tableware and domestic articles, of the kind used for ornamenting or decorating the household, office, etc. For example, smokers’ sets, jewel cases, cachou boxes, cigarette boxes, perfume burners, ink-stands, book-ends, paperweights and similar desk furnishings and picture frames.

69.14 - Other ceramic articles.

This heading covers all ceramic articles not covered by other headings of this Chapter or in other Chapters of the Nomenclature.

It includes, inter alia:

(1) Stoves and other heating apparatus, made essentially of ceramics (generally of earthenware, sometimes of common pottery, etc.); non-refractory firebrick cheeks; ceramic parts of stoves or fireplaces, ceramic linings for wood burning stoves, including tiles of a kind specially adapted for stoves. Electric heating apparatus is, however, classified in heading 85.16.

(2) Non-decorative flower-pots (e.g., for horticulture).

(3) Fittings for doors, windows, etc., such as handles and knobs, finger plates, etc.; knobs, etc., for lavatory chains.

(4) Letters, numbers, sign-plates and similar motifs for shop signs and shop windows, whether or not bearing a printed picture or text, except when illuminated (heading 94.05).

(5) Spring lever stoppers, etc., predominantly of ceramics (e.g., for lemonade bottles).

(6) General purpose jars and containers for laboratories and display jars for pharmacies, confectioners, etc.

(7) Various other articles such as knife handles, school inkwells, humidifiers for radiators and bird-cage accessories.

The heading excludes:

(a) Artificial teeth of ceramics (heading 90.21).

(b) Toys, games and sports requisites (Chapter 95).

(c) Buttons, smoking pipes and other articles of Chapter 96.

ULTIMO CAMBIO D.O.F.