CBP Says Square Bars of Precious Metal Classifiable as Rectangles

Imported gold and silver square bars can be classified in the same heading as such bars in rectangular form, CBP said in a Jan. 5 ruling (here). Geiger Edelmetalle, the manufacturer of the bars, sought a CBP binding ruling through the company's lawyers at McDermott Will on the classification of square-shaped bars. While the company previously made rectangular bars, it also now offers square bars, it told CBP. "Its new square-shaped gold and silver bars will be identical in all respects to its existing rectangular-shaped gold and silver bars except that the sides will all be equal in length," it said.

Geiger asked CBP for its input on "whether the squared-shaped gold and silver bars are articles of precious metal in rectangular or near rectangular shapes of subheadings 7115.90.0530/0560," CBP said. The company made geometric arguments for classifying the squares in the same heading as the rectangles. "Geiger claims that since a square is geometrically a type of rectangle, its square-shaped gold and silver bars are classified in the same subheading as rectangular-shaped gold and silver bars," CBP said.

CBP found Geiger's claims compelling. "Dictionaries, mathematics texts, and geometry texts define a square to be a specific kind of rectangle," CBP said. Therefore, "we agree that the mathematical definition of a square is that it is a form of a rectangle," the agency said. The correct classification of the gold square bars is in subheading 7115.90.0530 and the silver bars in subheading 7115.90.0560. The duty rates for both subheadings is free.