Where Indian tiles come from: the Morbi cluster and its gateway ports
Morbi is a district of Gujarat formed in 2013, with Morbi town on the Machchhu River about 35 km from the sea and 60 km from Rajkot; the district administration's own website carries the title "Tiles Manufacturing Hub of India".[5] A Government of India briefing of October 6, 2025 describes the Morbi ceramics cluster as the second-largest ceramic production cluster in the world, with over 1,100 manufacturing units and over 90% of India's ceramic production.[6] If you make or trade wall tiles, floor tiles, vitrified or porcelain slabs, mosaics or trims, you are almost certainly in or buying from this cluster.
Saurashtra and Kutch give Morbi four container gateways. Mundra (INMUN) is India's largest commercial port, a deep-draft, all-weather port with four container terminals and a rail link to the national network.[7] Pipavav (INPAV) is an all-weather port 152 nautical miles from Nhava Sheva, connected to northwest India by rail and road.[8] Hazira (INHZA) is a deep-water port at Surat, positioned as the gateway for South Gujarat.[9] Kandla, now Deendayal Port (INIXY), is near Gandhidham. Which one your box uses is a sailing decision, not a geography rule: compare the US services on the port-pair pages, for example Mundra to New York and Mundra to Savannah, then check the transit time tool and the vessel schedule.
Tile plants load at the factory: the empty container is trucked to Morbi, stuffed, sealed and driven to the port. Airlift's Gandhidham branch, which covers Mundra and Kandla, and its Ahmedabad branch arrange the factory pickup, the container stuffing, the carrier booking and the Indian export clearance, including the Shipping Bill filed on ICEGATE, and Airlift issues its own house bill of lading. The factory stuffing, CFS and ICD guide covers the customs side of loading at your own premises.
Are ceramic tiles free to export from India? DGFT policy, CAPEXIL and the RCMC
India's export policy is Schedule 2 of the ITC (HS). Goods listed as Free may be exported without a restricted export authorization but are subject to any conditions printed against the entry; Restricted goods need a restricted export authorization; Prohibited goods cannot be exported.[2] In the 8-digit Schedule 2 that DGFT publishes, every tariff item of heading 6907 is listed Free with no policy condition: 6907 21 00, 6907 22 00 and 6907 23 00 (flags and paving, hearth or wall tiles, by water absorption), 6907 30 00 (mosaic cubes and the like) and 6907 40 00 (finishing ceramics).[1] As of October 15, 2026, we found no DGFT notification adding a condition for ceramic tiles. Check your 8-digit code in DGFT's ITC (HS) export policy lookup before each new product, because the schedule is amended by notification.
To apply for an authorization under the Foreign Trade Policy (other than for items listed as Restricted), or for any other benefit or concession under it, such as RoDTEP, you must provide a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC) granted by the competent authority (paragraph 2.57 of FTP 2023); Export Promotion Councils, each responsible for a group of products, are eligible to act as the registering authorities that issue RCMCs to their members (paragraph 2.56).[3] For ceramics the council is CAPEXIL, set up by the Ministry of Commerce in March 1958, whose product panels include Ceramics and Allied Products; its RCMC application runs through the DGFT e-RCMC portal.[4] The IEC, AD code, LUT and RCMC guide takes the registrations in order, and the RoDTEP, drawback and IGST refund guide covers what the RCMC unlocks.
HS codes for ceramic and vitrified tiles: heading 6907 in India and in the US HTS
Both countries classify tiles in heading 6907 by water absorption, so the first six digits on your Shipping Bill and on your buyer's US entry match. India stops at 8 digits with one line per subheading: 6907 21 00 for a water absorption coefficient by weight not exceeding 0.5%, 6907 22 00 for more than 0.5% up to 10%, 6907 23 00 for more than 10%, 6907 30 00 for mosaic cubes and 6907 40 00 for finishing ceramics.[1] The subheading follows the tested water absorption, not a trade name such as "vitrified" or "porcelain". The US HTS, 2026 Revision 21, splits each subheading further: unglazed tiles pay 10%; among glazed tiles whose largest surface fits in a square with sides under 7 cm, those with not over 3,229 tiles per square meter and straight-edged faces, and those whose largest surface is under 38.7 cm², pay 10% and the rest pay 8.5%; larger glazed tiles pay 8.5%; statistical suffixes separate tiles that fit in a 30 cm square from larger formats; and the unit of quantity on every line is the square meter, which is why your packing list must carry area as well as weight.[10]
Classification is your customs broker's call in India and your buyer's licensed customs broker's call in the United States. The table gives the US Column 1 rate so you can read it with your buyer; the Section 301 and countervailing duty layers in the next section come on top. Browse the US import statistics for heading 6907, look up a line in the HTS code finder, and use the import duty pages for the duty stack by line.
| Tile | US HTS lines | US Column 1 duty |
|---|---|---|
| Water absorption not over 0.5% (vitrified, porcelain) | 6907.21.10 unglazed; 6907.21.20 and 6907.21.30 small glazed at 10%; 6907.21.40 (other small glazed) and 6907.21.90 (larger glazed) at 8.5%[10] | 10% unglazed and small glazed; 8.5% other glazed[10] |
| Water absorption over 0.5% to 10% (glazed ceramic floor tiles) | 6907.22.10 to 6907.22.90, same pattern[10] | 10% unglazed and small glazed; 8.5% other glazed[10] |
| Water absorption over 10% (wall tiles) | 6907.23.10 to 6907.23.90, same pattern[10] | 10% unglazed and small glazed; 8.5% other glazed[10] |
| Mosaic cubes and the like, whether or not on a backing | 6907.30.10 to 6907.30.90[10] | 10% unglazed and small glazed; 8.5% other glazed[10] |
| Finishing ceramics (trims, bullnose, skirting) | 6907.40.10 to 6907.40.90[10] | 10% unglazed and small glazed; 8.5% other glazed[10] |
What your US buyer pays: Section 301, the countervailing duty order, and the antidumping case that closed
US duties are the importer's bill, but they decide whether your quote lands. As of October 15, 2026, products of India pay a 10% Section 301 duty on top of the Column 1 rate, on goods entered for consumption on or after July 24, 2026, with exceptions listed in the annexes to the USTR notice.[11] Our US tariffs on India guide tracks the whole stack and its dates, and the tariff simulator gives your buyer a line-by-line estimate to check with its broker.
Ceramic tile from India carries one more layer. Commerce published a countervailing duty order on ceramic tile from India on June 16, 2025 (90 FR 25234, case C-533-929), after the US International Trade Commission notified Commerce on June 9, 2025 of its final determination that a US industry is threatened with material injury by subsidized imports.[12] Because the finding was threat rather than present injury, countervailing duties apply to entries made on or after the date the ITC published that determination, June 13, 2025; for earlier entries the suspension of liquidation ends and cash deposits are refunded.[12][13] As of October 15, 2026, we found no administrative review or changed-circumstances review of the order initiated in the Federal Register.[15] CBP collects a cash deposit on each entry at the rate the order assigns: named Indian producers and exporters have their own rates and an all-others rate covers everyone else.[12] We do not quote the rates. Your buyer's licensed customs broker reads the rate for your producer and exporter combination off the order and any later administrative review, so give your buyer the exact legal names of the manufacturer and the exporter before the first shipment.
The companion antidumping investigation ended differently. Commerce published a final negative determination on April 23, 2025 (90 FR 17030, case A-533-928): ceramic tile from India was found not to be sold in the United States at less than fair value, the proceeding was terminated, and CBP was not directed to suspend liquidation or collect antidumping deposits.[14] So, as of October 15, 2026, there is a countervailing duty order and no antidumping order; when a buyer says "there is anti-dumping on Indian tiles", the countervailing duty is what they mean.
The scope is wide and written to defeat labeling. It covers ceramic flooring, wall, paving, hearth, porcelain, mosaic, decorative and finishing tile that is fired and less than 3.2 cm thick, regardless of end use, surface area, weight, glazing, water absorption, vitrification or backing, including slabs and panels larger than one square meter and tile given minor processing such as cutting or polishing in a third country or after import.[12] It lists every 10-digit line of 6907.21 through 6907.40, notes that merchandise may also enter under lines of 6905, 6913 and 6914, and says the written description controls.[12] Calling a product "vitrified" or "porcelain slab" does not take it outside the order. Send your buyer the ceramics and tiles commodity guide, written for the importer's side.
How to pack and load tiles: cartons, pallets, ISPM-15 and 20-foot versus 40-foot
Tiles travel in cartons stacked on pallets, with corner protectors on the vertical edges, stretch film around the stack and strapping over the top, so a forklift handles the pallet and no one touches a carton until the buyer's warehouse. The reference for loading is the IMO/ILO/UNECE Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (CTU Code), a non-mandatory global code for loading and securing cargo in containers; your forwarder and the carrier will expect your stuffing to follow it.[18] In practice: pallets built to a height that clears the door, the heaviest vitrified pallets on the floor with the weight spread along the length and centered side to side, and the gap at the doors filled with dunnage or airbags so the last row cannot fall when the doors open in the United States.
Every timber pallet is regulated. The General Notes to Export Policy allow export of goods packed with wood packaging material such as pallets, dunnage, crating, cases and skids only subject to compliance with the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM).[2] A 2014 public notice of the Nhava Sheva customs house, reiterating DGFT and CBEC instructions, says export goods packed in wood packaging are cleared only if the wood conforms to ISPM-15, that the treatment (methyl bromide or forced hot air) is given by agencies accredited by the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, and that consignments without the mark or with doubtful marking are reported to the plant quarantine officer.[20] On the US side, APHIS requires regulated wood packaging material to be treated and certified under ISPM 15, and lists plastic pallets, plywood, oriented strand board and metal frames among the products not subject to its regulation.[19] If you use timber, buy from an accredited treatment provider, keep the certificate in the shipment file and photograph the marks; see ISPM-15.
Tiles are dense, so a container fills by weight long before it fills by volume. The container's own maximum gross mass is the first cap; the container dimensions tool lists the usual values. The road at destination is usually the binding one: federal law limits a commercial vehicle on the US Interstate System to 80,000 lb gross vehicle weight, 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem axle, with the Bridge Formula lowering the allowance for some axle spacings, and the tractor, chassis and container tare all count toward the 80,000 lb.[16] With dense tile, the road limit can be reached well before the container is full, so a bigger box does not always carry more. Agree the target cargo weight per container with your forwarder for the US destination city before you plan pallets, and use the container load calculator for the volume check.
Once stuffed, the container needs a verified gross mass (VGM). SOLAS regulation VI/2, as amended by resolution MSC.380(94), has required since July 1, 2016 that the shipper state the verified gross mass of a packed container and give it to the carrier and the terminal in time for the stowage plan; you may weigh the packed container (method 1) or weigh every pallet and all securing material and add the container tare (method 2), using a certified method approved where the packing is done.[17] For tiles, a weighbridge ticket on the way to the port is the simplest proof; see verified gross mass.
- Build pallets to one footprint and height so rows interlock; heaviest vitrified pallets on the floor row, weight spread along the length.
- Corner protectors on all four edges, stretch film, two or more straps, and the pallet label (size, shade, batch, caliber, square meters) facing the aisle.
- ISPM-15 marked timber pallets, or plastic or plywood pallets, which APHIS does not regulate.[19]
- Photograph the empty box with its number, the loaded rows, the dunnage at the doors and the closed doors with the seal and container number in one frame; record the seal number on the packing list, and keep the VGM ticket.[17]
The Shipping Bill, the packing list by square meter and the test reports buyers ask for
The export declaration is the Shipping Bill, filed on ICEGATE by you or your customs broker (CHA) before the goods are let export; the Shipping Bill and ICEGATE guide walks through the filing and the export documents checklist lists every paper on an India to USA shipment. What changes for tiles is the detail the invoice and packing list must carry for the US entry.
Tiles are sold by area and shipped by weight, so the packing list must show both. For each pallet, list the carton count, pieces per carton, tile size and thickness, shade and caliber or batch, square meters per carton and per pallet, and net and gross weight; total the square meters by invoice line, because the US entry reports quantity for every 6907 line in square meters.[10] Describe each line so the broker can classify it: body type and tested water absorption class (not exceeding 0.5%, over 0.5% to 10%, over 10%), glazed or unglazed, and nominal size, since the US lines split by exactly those three things.[10] Name the manufacturer on the invoice when you are a merchant exporter: the countervailing duty deposit rate attaches to the producer and exporter, so the US broker needs both legal names.[12]
Test reports are a buyer requirement, not an export condition: Schedule 2 attaches no condition to heading 6907,[1] but many US buyers specify the properties they want certified (water absorption, breaking strength, abrasion, slip and frost resistance) and the standard and laboratory they will accept. Agree the standard, the lab and the sampling in the purchase order and keep the reports in the shipment file. A certificate of origin is likewise buyer-driven: provide one when the buyer, its bank or a letter of credit calls for it, and show India as the country of origin on the invoice and the packing list; how the tiles and cartons must be marked for the US is a question for your buyer's customs broker.
Your buyer's importer security filing needs the shipper, consignee, manufacturer, country of origin and HS codes before the vessel loads, and the US entry runs off the same data. AIRLIFT (U.S.A.), INC., an FMC-licensed NVOCC (FMC No. 016162), files the ISF as the NVOCC and arranges the US customs entry through licensed customs brokers, and the US trucking as a non-asset FMCSA property broker.
| Product | HS heading | Typical container | Packaging | Key document |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vitrified and porcelain floor tiles and slabs, water absorption not over 0.5% | 6907.21[1] | Set by the cargo weight that fits US road limits[16] | Cartons on ISPM-15 or plastic pallets, corner protectors, stretch film, strapping[2] | Packing list by pallet and carton with square meters; invoice naming the manufacturer[12] |
| Glazed ceramic floor tiles, water absorption over 0.5% to 10% | 6907.22[1] | 20-foot or 40-foot, by the agreed cargo weight | As above | Packing list with water absorption class, glazed, size; buyer's test reports if the PO asks |
| Glazed ceramic wall tiles, water absorption over 10% | 6907.23[1] | 20-foot or 40-foot, by the agreed cargo weight | As above | Packing list with water absorption class, glazed, size; shade and caliber per pallet |
| Mosaic cubes and sheets, on mesh or paper backing | 6907.30[1] | With the main lot, or LCL for small orders | Cartons with interleaved sheets, palletized | Packing list by sheet count and square meters |
| Finishing ceramics: bullnose, trims, skirting | 6907.40[1] | With the main lot, or LCL | Cartons, palletized with the matching tile | Own invoice and packing-list line, separate from the tiles they match |
Samples and small tile orders: LCL or a part-filled container?
A first order of a few pallets, a sample set or a top-up of trims does not fill a box. LCL consolidation is available on the India to USA lane and suits palletized cartons well. For several pallets of heavy vitrified tile, a part-filled 20-foot container is often simpler, because LCL is typically charged on the greater of volume and weight, which counts against dense cargo. Compare the two in the LCL vs FCL from India guide and the lane guide's LCL section; Airlift arranges both FCL ocean freight and LCL consolidation from its Indian branches, and air freight for sample boards when the buyer's deadline demands it.
Whichever you choose, the documents, the ISPM-15 rule and the countervailing duty treatment are the same. Ask for both FCL and LCL in your quote request and let the numbers decide.
Breakage and claims: the records that protect you
Tile claims are chipped corners, cracked pieces inside intact cartons and, worst of all, a pallet that fell when the doors opened. Liability for a sealed container turns on what can be proved about the condition at stuffing and at opening, so the photographs listed above, the ISPM-15 certificate, the weighbridge ticket and the packing list with the seal number are the evidence that decides the claim; keep them in one file.
Ask your buyer to photograph the seal before it is cut and the load before anything is moved, note shortages or damage on the delivery receipt and tell Airlift's US office at once so a survey can be arranged before the pallets are broken down. Notice periods under the bill of lading are short and carrier liability is limited by its terms, so a marine cargo insurance policy for the shipment is the realistic protection; your insurer sets its terms. Nothing here replaces the advice of your insurer or lawyer on a specific loss.