CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H108019 TNA
Ms. Sandra L. Petersen
ConAgra Dried Fruit & Nut Company
1050 Sansome Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, California 94111-1334
RE: Revocation of HQ 954648, NY 885798, NY C81606, NY C80043, NY 856226, HQ 958495, HQ 955091, and HQ 954317; Classification of hulled pumpkin seeds
Dear Ms. Petersen:
This letter is in reference to Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) 954648, issued to ConAgra Dried Fruit and Nut Company on August 5, 1993, concerning the tariff classification of Chinese pumpkin seed kernels from China, as well as New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) 885798, dated May 25, 1993; NY C81606, dated November 14, 1997; NY C80043, dated October 2, 1997; NY 856226, dated September 19, 1990; HQ 958495, dated November 21, 1995; HQ 955091, dated February 9, 1994; and HQ 954317, dated August 5, 1993, all concerning the tariff classification of hulled pumpkin seeds. In these rulings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) classified the merchandise under subheading 1209.91.80, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”), as “Seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing: Other: Vegetable seeds: Other.” We have reviewed HQ 954648, NY 885798, NY C81606, NY C80043, NY 856226, HQ 958495, HQ 955091, and HQ 954317 and found them to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke HQ 954648, NY 885798, NY C81606, NY C80043, NY 856226, HQ 958495, HQ 955091, and HQ 954317.
Pursuant to section 625(c)(1), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. §1625(c)(1)), as amended by section 623 of Title VI, notice proposing to revoke HQ 954648, NY 885798, NY C81606, NY C80043, NY 856226, HQ 958495, HQ 955091, and HQ 954317 was published in the Customs Bulletin, Vol. 45, No. 35, on August 24, 2011. A revised notice of the proposed action was published in the Customs Bulletin, Vol. 45, No. 40, on September 28, 2011 to correct typographical errors in the original notice. No comments were received in response to either notice.
FACTS:
The merchandise at issue in HQ 954648 consisted of pumpkin seed kernels. The seeds are described as raw, shelled (hulled), pumpkin seed kernels that are not roasted, prepared or preserved. They are packed and sold at retail in bulk for human consumption and industrial processing. They are sold in differently sized containers, such as 10 kilogram, 25 kilogram, 40 kilogram, 50 kilogram, or other sized paper or plastic bags. They are sold in bulk at food stores and are also marketed to the bakery and milling industries, the vegetable oil industry, the nutritional supplements industry, and the pharmaceutical industry.
The merchandise at issue in NY 885798, NY C81606, NY C80043, NY 856226, HQ 958495, HQ 955091, and HQ 954317 was described similarly. NY 885798 classified Chinese pumpkin seed kernels described as raw, shelled pumpkin seed kernels that were not roasted, prepared or preserved. NY C81606 and NY C80043 classified pumpkin seeds that were described in the same terms as HQ 954648. NY 856226 classified seed kernels shelled or unshelled that are de-husked and imported ready for human consumption in raw, uncooked form with no salt, seasoning, flavoring, or additives. They are not roasted, prepared or preserved. HQ 958495 classified Chinese snow white pumpkin seeds in the shell. Both HQ 955091 and HQ 954317 classified hulled pumpkin seeds.
The “hull” of a seed is defined as “the shell, pod, or husk of peas and beans; the outer covering or rind of any fruit or seed,” and is used synonymously with the term “husk.” See www.oed.com (defining “husk” as “the dry outer integument of certain fruits and seeds; esp. the hard fibrous sheath of grain, nuts, etc.; a glume or rind.”) Thus, the term “hulled” means “stripped of the hull or husk.” See www.oed.com. Similarly, the term “shelled” means “deprived of the shell; from which the shell has been removed or shed.” See www.oed.com.
In HQ 954648, NY 885798, NY C81606, NY C80043, NY 856226, HQ 958495, HQ 955091, and HQ 954317, CBP classified the pumpkin seeds under subheading 1209.91.80, HTSUS, as: “Seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing: Other: Vegetable seeds: Other.”
ISSUE:
Whether pumpkin seed kernels should be classified in subheading 1209.91.80, HTSUS, as seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing: other vegetable seeds; or in subheading 1212.99.91, HTSUS, as other of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) is made in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that the classification of goods shall be determined according to the terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, and if the headings and legal notes do not otherwise require, the remaining GRI may then be applied.
The HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
1209 Seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing:
Other:
1209.91 Vegetable seeds:
1209.91.80 Other
* * * * * * * * * * * *
1212 Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included:
Other:
1212.99 Other:
1212.99.91 Other
Legal Note 3 to Chapter 12 provides that:
For the purposes of heading 1209, beet seeds, grass and other herbage seeds, seeds of ornamental flowers, vegetable seeds, seeds of forest trees, seeds of fruit trees, seeds of vetches (other than those of the species Vicia faba) or of lupines are to be regarded as “seeds of a kind used for sowing”.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes (ENs) constitute the official interpretation of the Harmonized System. While not legally binding nor dispositive, the ENs provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 1209, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part:
This heading covers all seeds, fruit and spores of a kind used for sowing. It includes such products even if they are no longer capable of germination. However, it does not include products such as those mentioned at the end of this Explanatory Note, which, although intended for sowing, are classified elsewhere in the Nomenclature because they are normally used other than for sowing.
The heading excludes:
(a) Mushroom spawn (heading 06.02).
(b) Leguminous vegetables and sweet corn (Chapter 7).
(c) Fruit of Chapter 8.
(d) Spices and other products of Chapter 9.
(e) Cereal grains (Chapter 10).
(f) Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits of headings 12.01 to 12.07.
(g) Seeds and fruit which are themselves of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy, or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes (heading 12.11).
(h) Locust beans (heading 12.12).
The EN to heading 1212, HTSUS, provides, in pertinent part:
(D) Fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included.
This group includes fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products of a kind mainly used, directly or indirectly, for human consumption, but not elsewhere specified or included in the Nomenclature.
It therefore includes kernels of peaches (including nectarines), apricots and plums (used mainly as substitutes for almonds). These products remain in the heading even though they may also be used for the extraction of oil.
Additional U.S. Rule of Interpretation 1(a) states that “a tariff classification controlled by use is determined in accordance with the principal use of the class or kind of goods to which the imported goods belong.” Courts have provided several factors to apply when determining whether merchandise falls within a particular class or kind of good. They include: (1) the general physical characteristics of the merchandise; (2) the expectation of the ultimate purchasers; (3) the channels of trade in which the merchandise moves; (4) the
environment of the sale (e.g. the manner in which the merchandise is advertised and displayed); (5) the usage of the merchandise; (6) the economic practicality of so using the import; and (7) the recognition in the trade of this use. See United States v. Carborundum Co., 63 CCPA 98, 102, 536 F.2d 373, 377 (1976), cert denied, 429 U.S. 979 (1976) (“Carborundum”).
By their terms, headings 1209 and 1212, HTSUS, are use provisions. Classification therein is therefore subject to an analysis of the Carborundum factors. First, we examine the packaging and marketing of the subject merchandise, which is packed and sold at retail in bulk at food stores. It is also marketed to the bakery and milling industries, the vegetable oil industry, the nutritional supplements industry, and the pharmaceutical industry. These are all industries and stores that cater to human consumption. The subject merchandise is also packaged in 10 kilogram, 25 kilogram, 40 kilogram, 50 kilogram, or other size paper or plastic bags. This, too, indicates the expectations of the ultimate consumer in that the merchandise is bought in relatively smaller packages by stores or individuals, rather than by farmers to sow a field.
In addition, the rulings under review contained a statement by the importer that the subject merchandise was incapable of germination, as it was fit for human consumption, was being imported for this purpose alone. This also speaks to these seeds’ use for human consumption rather than for sowing, as seeds for sowing, as a class or kind, generally are subject to different standards, and are sold in different channels of trade, than seeds for human consumption.
Furthermore, in terms of the merchandises’ general physical characteristics, these seeds are not only incapable of germination, they are unsuitable for sowing. They have been modified from their natural form to remove the hull so as to become edible. A hulled seed no longer has its protective shell, one of the characteristics of a seed used for sowing. Once a seed has been hulled, it is fit only to be eaten and would not be planted with the expectation of growing a crop. We therefore find that the subject merchandise is of the class or kind of goods principally used for human consumption rather than for sowing. As such, it is classified under heading 1212, HTSUS, and specifically under subheading 1212.99.91, HTSUS, which provides for: “Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included: other: other: other.”
We note that Legal Note 3 to Chapter 12 defines vegetable and fruit seeds as being of the kind used for sowing. Furthermore, EN 12.09 states that the heading covers all seeds of a kind used for sowing, including such products even if they are no longer capable of germination. We interpret this language to encompass the type of seeds normally of the kind used for sowing, even if the individual seeds that fall into this category cannot actually germinate. Seeds destined for sowing would not only be in the shell, but are typically produced in a way that ensures a certain race line with the required genetic code and may also be chemically treated to promote germination. The subject seeds, by contrast, are not treated this way; on the contrary, they are imported for use in human consumption and are classified in heading 1212, HTSUS.
Our determination is also consistent with a recent decision by the World Customs Organization (“WCO”) on pumpkin seeds fit for human consumption published in the Compendium of Classification Opinions on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System where the classification of pumpkin seeds fit for human consumption. See Opinion No. 1212.99/1 of the WCO’s Compendium of Classification Opinions (March 2008). As we stated in T.D. 89-80, decisions in the Compendium of Classification Opinions should be treated in the same manner as the EN’s, i.e., while neither legally binding nor dispositive, they provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS and are generally indicative of the proper interpretation of these headings. T.D. 89-80 further states that EN’s and decisions in the Compendium of Classification Opinions “should receive considerable weight. See T.D. 89-80.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRI 1, the subject pumpkin seeds are classified in subheading 1212.99.91, HTSUS, which provides for “Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included: Other: Other: Other.” The column one general rate of duty is duty free.
Duty rates are provided for your convenience and are subject to change. The text of the most recent HTSUS and the accompanying duty rates are provided on the internet at www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
HQ 954648, dated August 5, 1993; NY 885798, dated May 25, 1993; NY C81606, dated November 14; NY C80043, dated October 2, 1997; NY 856226, dated September 19, 1990; HQ 958495, dated November 21, 1995; HQ 955091, dated February 9, 1994; and HQ 954317, dated August 5, 1993, are REVOKED.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. §1625(c), this action will become effective 60 days after publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division