CLA-2 R:C:F 956907 RC
District Director of Customs
#1 La Puntilla Street
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901
RE: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 4909-94-100064,
filed August 15, 1994, concerning the classification of pear
puree.
Dear Sir:
This is a decision on a protest filed against your decision
in the classification of goods entered January 28, 1994 and
February 24, 1994; and liquidated May 27, 1994.
FACTS:
You classified the all the purees in subheading
2008.40.0040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA), dutiable in 1993 at 18 percent ad valorem.
This represented a change from the protestant's entered
classifications under subheading 2007.99.4800, HTSUSA, eligible
for duty-free treatment under the Generalized System of
Preferences.
This product is described as "concentrado de peras [pear
concentrate], 30-32 Brix." The product has been prepared:
washed, crushed, sieved (using three sieves of differing
apertures), sterilized, refrigerated, and aseptically packed in
55-gallon drums.
ISSUE:
What is the proper tariff classification for pear puree that
is a cooked preparation?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs) taken in their
appropriate order provide a framework for classification of
merchandise under the HTSUS. Most imported goods are
classified by application of GRI 1, that is, according to the
terms of the headings of the tariff schedule and any relative
section or chapter notes. The Explanatory Notes (ENs) to the
Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which
represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the
international level, facilitate classification under the HTSUS by
offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and
GRIs.
The EN for heading 2008 (p. 152) refers to fruit "prepared
or preserved otherwise than by any of the processes specified in
... the preceding headings of this chapter." The articles in
question are various fruit purees. According to Webster's New
World Dictionary of the American Language, Second College
Edition, (The World Publishing Company 1972), the term "puree"
denotes a thick, moist, smooth-textured form of cooked
vegetables, fruits, etc., usually made by pressing the pulp
through a sieve or by whipping it in a blender. The puree, in
question, is pulp that has been pressed through a sieve. It is
more than mere pulp, it is puree. The word "puree" appears
specified in the heading immediately preceding 2008, HTSUS, that
is, 2007, HTSUS. Therefore, it is our opinion the puree is
properly classified in heading 2007 HTSUS, rather than heading
2008, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
We find the pear puree falls into subheading 2007.99.4800,
HTSUS, the provision for "Jams, fruit jellies, marmalades, fruit
or nut puree and fruit or nut pastes, being cooked preparations,
whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter:
Other: Other: Pastes and purees: Apple, quince and pear." The
applicable rate of duty, in 1993, was free.
You are instructed to allow the protest in full. A copy of
this decision should be attached to the Customs Form 19, Notice
of Action on the protest, to be returned to the protestant.
In accordance with Section 3 A (11)(b) of Customs Directive
099 3550-065, dated August 4, 1993, Subject: Revised Protest
Directive, this decision should be mailed by your office to the
protestant no later than 60 days from the date of this letter.
Any reliquidation of the entry in accordance with the decision
must be accomplished prior to mailing of the decision. Sixty
days
from the date of the decision the office of Regulations and
Rulings will take steps to make the decision available to Customs
personnel via the Customs Rulings Module in ACS and the public
via the Diskette Subscription Service, Freedom of Information Act
and other public access channels.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division