1.-This Chapter does not cover :

(a) Parings or similar waste of raw hides or skins (heading No. 05.11);

(b) Birdskins or parts of birdskins with their feathers or down of heading No. 05.05 or 67.01; or

(c) Hides or skins with the hair or wool on raw tanned or dressed (CHAPTER43); the following are however to be classified in CHAPTER41 namely raw hides and skins with the hair or wool on of bovine animals (including buffalo) of equine animals of sheep or lambs (except Astrakhan Broadtail Caracul Persian or similar lambs Indian Chinese Mongolian or Tibetan lambs) of goats or kids (except Yemen Mongolian or Tibetan goats and kids) of swine (including peccary) of chamois of gazelle of reindeer of elk of deer of roebucks or of dogs.

2.-Throughout the Nomenclature the expression " composition leather " means only substances of the kind referred to in heading No. 41.11.

GENERAL

This Chapter covers :

(I) Raw hides (the term applied to the skins of the larger quadrupeds) and skins (other than birdskins with their feathers or down and furskins). All raw hides and skins without hair or wool or dehaired are covered in this Chapter. The Chapter also includes raw hides and skins with the hair or wool on of animals mentioned in Note 1

(c) and also referred to in the Explanatory Notes to headings 41.01 to 41.03.

(II) Such hides and skins pre-tanned tanned (including chamois-dressed) further prepared after tanning or parchment-dressed but excluding those pre-tanned tanned or further prepared with the hair or wool on.

(A) PRE-TANNED OR TANNED (INCLUDING CHAMOIS TANNED OR DRESSED) HIDES AND SKINS

Tanning renders the hides and skins resistant to decay and increases their physical strength and impermeability to water. Before undergoing tanning proper hides and skins are first subjected to a series of preparatory processes which consist of soaking them in alkaline solutions (to soften them and remove the salt used for preservation) dehairing and fleshing then removing the lime and other substances used in dehairing and finally rinsing.

They are then either " vegetable tanned " (in baths containing certain woods barks leaves etc. or their extracts) " mineral tanned " (with mineral salts e.g. chrome salts iron salts or alums) or " chemically tanned " (with formaldehyde or certain synthetic chemicals). Sometimes combinations of these processes are used. Tanning of heavy leather by a mixture of alum and salt is known as Hungarian dressing while in alum tanning a mixture of salt alum egg yolk and flour is used. Alum tanned hides and skins are used mainly for glove-making or in the manufacture of high quality footwear.

Leather which has been lightly tanned and which requires further tanning before finishing is called " pretanned leather ".

Hides and skins may be oil-tanned and dressed to produce chamois (including combination chamois) leather.

(B) LEATHER FURTHER PREPARED AFTER TANNING

After tanning the " crust " leather requires further treatment (" currying ") to remove irregularities of the surface and render it ready for use by making it more supple waterproof etc. These processes consist of further working by softening stretching thinning beating rolling to harden the surface and feeding (" stuffing ") with oils.

The leather may then be further dressed or finished by dyeing graining or stamping to imitate skins of other kinds sizing polishing grinding (or buffing) of the flesh side (or occasionally the grain side) to give a suŠde or velveted finish waxing blacking smoothing (glazing) satin finishing printing etc.

Leather may be coated or covered with a varnish or lacquer or with a pre-formed sheet of plastics (patent leather or patent laminated leather) or may be coated with metal powder or metal leaf (metallised leather).

(C) PARCHMENT-DRESSED LEATHER

Parchment-dressed leather is prepared from raw hides or skins not by a process of tanning but by treating the raw hides and skins to ensure their preservation. These are softened dehaired defleshed washed and then stretched on a frame coated with a paste containing whiting and soda or slaked lime shaved to reduce them to the desired thickness and ground with pumice. Finally they may be dressed with gelatin and starch.

The finer qualities called " vellum " are prepared from the skins of new-born calves.

These materials are used for fine bookbinding for important documents for drum-skins etc.

Thicker hides and skins (i.e. usually of larger bovine animals) are sometimes similarly treated (the coarser products being known as " rawhide ") and are used for the manufacture of machinery parts tools travel goods etc.

(III)Parings and other waste of leather or of composition leather but excluding parings and similar waste of raw hides or skins or of furskins.

(IV)Composition leather with a basis of leather or leather fibre.

Hides skins and leather fall in this Chapter whether in whole hides (which may have the skin of the head and legs removed) or in portions (e.g. sides shoulders butts bends bellies cheeks) strips or sheets; pieces of leather cut to special shapes are however regarded as articles of other Chapters particularly CHAPTER42 or 64.

Split hides and skins and split leathers are classified in the same headings as the corresponding whole hides and skins and whole leathers respectively. Splitting may be carried out either before or after tanning.

11 HEADINGS

41.01 - RAW HIDES AND SKINS OF BOVINE OR EQUINE ANIMALS (FRESH OR SALTED DRIED LIMED PICKLED OR OTHERWISE PRESERVED BUT NOT TANNED PARCHMENT-DRESSED OR FURTHER PREPARED) WHETHER OR NOT DEHAIRED OR SPLIT (+) .

41.02 - RAW SKINS OF SHEEP OR LAMBS (FRESH OR SALTED DRIED LIMED PICKLED OR OTHERWISE PRESERVED BUT NOT TANNED PARCHMENT-DRESSED OR FURTHER PREPARED) WHETHER OR NOT WITH WOOL ON OR SPLIT OTHER THAN THOSE EXCLUDED BY NOTE 1 (c) TO THIS CHAPTER.

41.03 - OTHER RAW HIDES AND SKINS (FRESH OR SALTED DRIED LIMED PICKLED OR OTHERWISE PRESERVED BUT NOT TANNED PARCHMENT-DRESSED OR FURTHER PREPARED) WHETHER OR NOT DEHAIRED OR SPLIT OTHER THAN THOSE EXCLUDED BY NOTE 1 (b) OR 1 (c) TO THIS CHAPTER.

41.04 - LEATHER OF BOVINE OR EQUINE ANIMALS WITHOUT HAIR ON OTHER THAN LEATHER OF HEADING No. 41.08 OR 41.09 (+) .

41.05 - SHEEP OR LAMB SKIN LEATHER WITHOUT WOOL ON OTHER THAN LEATHER OF HEADING No. 41.08 OR 41.09 (+) .

41.06 - GOAT OR KID SKIN LEATHER WITHOUT HAIR ON OTHER THAN LEATHER OF HEADING No. 41.08 OR 41.09 (+) .

41.07 - LEATHER OF OTHER ANIMALS WITHOUT HAIR ON OTHER THAN LEATHER OF HEADING No. 41.08 OR 41.09 (+) .

41.08 - CHAMOIS (INCLUDING COMBINATION CHAMOIS) LEATHER.

41.09 - PATENT LEATHER AND PATENT LAMINATED LEATHER; METALLISED LEATHER.

41.10 - PARINGS AND OTHER WASTE OF LEATHER OR OF COMPOSITION LEATHER NOT SUITABLE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF LEATHER ARTICLES; LEATHER DUST POWDER AND FLOUR.

41.11 - COMPOSITION LEATHER WITH A BASIS OF LEATHER OR LEATHER FIBRE IN SLABS SHEETS OR STRIP WHETHER OR NOT IN ROLLS.