WCO Explanatory Notes reproduced for reference. © World Customs Organization. Verify against official WCO publication.
44.12 - Plywood, veneered panels and similar laminated wood (+). 4412.10 - Ofbamboo - Other lywood, consisting solely of sheets of wood (other than bamboo), each p y not exceeding 6 nam thickness : f 4412.3 1 - - With at least one outer ply of tropical wood specified in Subheading Note 2 to this Chapter - - Other, with at least one outer ply of non-coniferous wood 4412.39 - - Other 4412.32 - Other : - - Blockboard, laminboard and battenboard 4412.99 - - Other 4412.94 This heading covers : (1) Plywood consisting of three or more sheets of wood lued and pressed one on the other and enerally disposed so that the grains of successive ayers are at an angle; this gives the pane s greater strength and, by compensating shrinka e, reduces warping. Each component sheet is known as a " 1 " and plywood is usually ormed of an odd number of plies, the middle ply belug calle t e " core . Y f tlE f (2) Veneered panels, which are anels consisting of a thin veneer of wood affixed to a base, usually of inferior wood, by g ueing under pressure. P Wood veneered on to a base other than wood (e.g., panels of plastics) is also classified here provided it is the veneer which gives the panel its essential character. (3) Similar laminated wood. This group can be divided into two categories : - Blockboard, laminboard and battenboard, in which the core is thick and composed of blocks, laths or battens of wood glued together and surfaced with the outer plies. Panels of this kind are very rigid and strong and can be used without framing or backing. - Panels in which the wooden core is replaced by other materials such as a layer or layers of particle board, fibreboard, wood waste glued together, asbestos or cork. However, the heading does not cover massive products such as laminated beams and arches (so-called " glulam " products) (generally heading 44.18). The products of this headin remain classified herein whether or not they have been worked to form the shapes provided or in respect of the goods of heading 44.09, curved, corrugated, rforated, cut or formed to shapes other than square or rectan lar and whether or not they E v e been worked at the surface, the edge or the end, or coate or covered (e.g., with textile fabric, plastics, paint, paper or metal) or submitted to any other operation, provided these operations do not thereby give such products the essential character of articles of other headings. f r' The heading also covers plywood panels, veneered anels and panels of similar laminated wood, used as flooring panels, some of which are re erred to as parquet flooring ". These panels have a thin veneer of wood affixed to the surface, so as to imitate an assembled flooring panel. P " The heading also excludes : (a) Thin sheets of wood fox veneering, obtained by slicing laminated wood (heading 44.08). (b) Panels of laminated densified wood (heading 44.13). (c) Cellular wood panels and assembled flooring panels, including parquet flooring panels, or tiles including those consistin of wooden blocks, stnps, f?iezes, etc., assembled on a sup ort of one or more layers of wood and k o w n as " multilayer " parquet flooring panels (herding 14.h). (d) Wood marquetry and inlaid wood (heading 44.20). (e) Panels clearly identifiable as parts of furniture (generally Chapter 94).
Notes. 1.- This Chapter does not cover : (a) Wood, in chips, in shavings, crushed, ground or powdered, of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy, or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes (heading 12.11); (b) Bamboos or other materials of a woody nature of a kind used primarily for plaiting, in the rough, whether or not split, sawn lengthwise or cut to length (heading 14.01); (c) Wood, in chips, in shavings, ground or powdered, of a kind used primarily in dyeing or in tanning (heading 14.04); (d) Activated charcoal (heading 38.02); (e) Articles of heading 42.02; (f) Goods of Chapter 46; (g) Footwear or parts thereof of Chapter 64; (h) Goods of Chapter 66 (for example, umbrellas and walking-sticks and parts thereof); (ij) Goods of heading 68.08; (k) Imitation jewellery of heading 71.17; (l) Goods of Section XVI or Section XVII (for example, machine parts, cases, covers, cabinets for machines and apparatus and wheelwrights' wares); (m) Goods of Section XVIII (for example, clock cases and musical instruments and parts thereof); (n) Parts of firearms (heading 93.05); (o) Articles of Chapter 94 (for example, furniture, luminaires and lighting fittings, prefabricated buildings); (p) Articles of Chapter 95 (for example, toys, games, sports requisites); (q) Articles of Chapter 96 (for example, smoking pipes and parts thereof, buttons, pencils, and monopods, bipods, tripods and similar articles) excluding bodies and handles, of wood, for articles of heading 96.03; or (r) Articles of Chapter 97 (for example, works of art). 2.- In this Chapter, the expression “densified wood” means wood which has been subjected to chemical or physical treatment (being, in the case of layers bonded together, treatment in excess of that needed to ensure a good bond), and which has thereby acquired increased density or hardness together with improved mechanical strength or resistance to chemical or electrical agencies. 3.- Headings 44.14 to 44.21 apply to articles of the respective descriptions of particle board or similar board, fibreboard, laminated wood or densified wood as they apply to such articles of wood. 4.- Products of heading 44.10, 44.11 or 44.12 may be worked to form the shapes provided for in respect of the goods of heading 44.09, curved, corrugated, perforated, cut or formed to shapes other than square or rectangular or submitted to any other operation provided it does not give them the character of articles of other headings. 5.- Heading 44.17 does not apply to tools in which the blade, working edge, working surface or other working part is formed by any of the materials specified in Note 1 to Chapter 82. 6.- Subject to Note 1 above and except where the context otherwise requires, any reference to “wood” in a heading of this Chapter applies also to bamboos and other materials of a woody nature. Subheading Notes. 1.- For the purposes of subheading 4401.31, the expression “wood pellets” means by-products such as cutter shavings, sawdust or chips, of the mechanical wood processing industry, furniture-making industry or other wood transformation activities, which have been agglomerated either directly by compression or by the addition of a binder in a proportion not exceeding 3 % by weight. Such pellets are cylindrical, with a diameter not exceeding 25 mm and a length not exceeding 100 mm. 2.- For the purposes of subheading 4401.32, the expression “wood briquettes” means by-products such as cutter shavings, sawdust or chips, of the mechanical wood processing industry, furniture making or other wood transformation activities, which have been agglomerated either directly by compression or by addition of a binder in a proportion not exceeding 3 % by weight. Such briquettes are in the form of cubiform, polyhedral or cylindrical units with the minimum cross-sectional dimension greater than 25 mm. 3.- For the purposes of subheading 4407.13, “S-P-F” refers to wood sourced from mixed stands of spruce, pine and fir where the proportion of each species varies and is unknown. 4.- For the purposes of subheading 4407.14, “Hem-fir” refers to wood sourced from mixed stands of Western hemlock and fir where the proportion of each species varies and is unknown.