Agglomerated marble classification turns on composite manufacture: product falls under articles of stone, not natural marble.

Agglomerated marble made from crushed marble with cement, resin, pigments and other additives was held to be a composite article, not a natural mineral marble. Because the manufacturing process produced slabs and tiles materially different from marble as such, Heading 25.04 did not apply. The product was classified under the residual heading for articles of stone, Heading 68.07, on the basis that it was made mainly from marble chips bound with other materials.

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Issues: Whether agglomerated marble manufactured from crushed marble mixed with cement, resin and additives is classifiable under Heading 25.04 as marble or under Heading 68.07 as an article of stone.

Analysis: The manufacturing process showed that the product was not a natural mineral marble but a composite article made from marble chips or lumps with cement, resin, pigments and catalysts, poured into moulds, vacuum compacted, cured, and then cut into slabs and tiles. The product was therefore materially different from marble as a mineral product. Applying the earlier tribunal view on identical facts, the heading for marble could not cover such agglomerated marble, which was produced mainly from crushed marble and other binding materials and thus fell within the residual heading for articles of stone.

Conclusion: The product is classifiable under Heading 68.07 and not under Heading 25.04, against the assessee.

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