This heading covers moulded, pressed or centrifuged articles (e.g., certain pipes) of cement (including slag cement), of concrete or of artificial stone, other than those of heading 68.06 or 68.08 (in which cement is merely a binder), or heading 68.11 (articles of asbestos-cement).
This heading also covers prefabricated structural components for building or civil engineering. Artificial stone is an imitation of natural stone obtained by agglomerating pieces of natural stone or crushed or powdered natural stone (limestone, marble, granite, porphyry, serpentine, etc.) with lime or cement or other binders (e.g., plastics). Articles of artificial stone include those of "terrazzo", "granito", etc. This heading also covers articles of slag cement. The heading includes, inter alia, blocks, bricks, tiles; ceiling or wall mesh or lath (consisting of a wire framework combined with a predominating proportion of concrete); flagstones; beams; hollow flooring slabs and other constructional goods; pillars, posts, boundary stones; curbstones; piping; stair treads; railings; baths, sinks, water closet pans (bowls), troughs, vats, reservoirs; fountain basins; tombstones; standards, poles; railway sleepers; hovertrain guide-track sections; door or window frames; mantelpieces, window sills, door steps; friezes, cornices; vases, flower-pots, architectural or garden ornaments; statues, statuettes, animal figures; ornamental goods. The heading also covers bricks, tiles, and other sandlime articles made from a pasty mixture of sand, lime and water; after pressure-moulding, these articles are steam-treated for several hours under high pressure in horizontal autoclaves, at a temperature of around 140 ¡ÆC. These products, which may be white or artificially coloured, are used for much the same purposes as ordinary bricks, tiles, etc. When lumps of quartz of various sizes are introduced into the mixture, artificial stone type products are obtained. Lightweight and porous sand-lime sheets for insulating purposes are also made by adding a metallic powder to the mixture, so that gases are given off; such sheets, however, are not pressure-moulded, but cast before insertion in the autoclave.The articles of this heading may be bushed, ground, polished, varnished, bronzed, enamelled, made to imitate slate, moulded or otherwise ornamented, coloured in the mass, reinforced with metal, etc. (e.g., reinforced or pre-stressed concrete), or fitted with accessories of other materials (e.g., hinges, etc.). The heading does not include : (a) Broken pieces of concrete (heading 25.30). (b) Articles made of agglomerated slate (heading 68.03). Subheading Explanatory Note. Subheading 6810.91 This subheading covers prefabricated structural components for building or for civil engineering, such as facing panels, interior walls, floor or ceiling sections, foundation components, pilings, tunnel sections, components for lock-gates or dams, gangways, cornices. These components, generally of concrete, usually have devices for facilitating their assembly.
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