CLA-2 RR:CR:GC 962728K
Mr. Svein O. Stoknes
Market Adviser
Norwegian Trade Council
800 Third Avenue, 23rd Floor
New York, New York 10022
RE: Modification of New York Ruling Letter (NYRL) D85085; Frozen Salmon Fillets
Dear Sir:
In response to your letters of November 5, and 25, 1998, Customs issued NYRL D85085, dated December 17, 1998, concerning certain fish products. In a letter dated February 4, 1999, Steven Dillingham of your office asked for reconsideration of the classification of one of the products, frozen salmon fillets. This letter is to inform you that NYRL D85085 no longer reflects the views of the Customs Service concerning the classification of the salmon fillets. Pursuant to section 625(c), Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1625(c)), notice of proposed modification of NYRL D85085 was published in the Customs Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 31, dated August 4, 1999. No comments were received. The following reflects our position for this product.
FACTS:
In NYRL D85085, Customs held that frozen salmon fillets, backbone and belly bone off, skin on, were classified as other frozen fish fillets, other, other, ocean, in subheading 0304.90.9091, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), with a general rate of duty at 6 percent ad valorem. From the facts submitted in the request for a ruling, it was assumed that the fillets contained pin bones. It is your contention that the fillets are classified as frozen fillets, other, salmonidae, other, Atlantic (Salmo salar), in subheading 0304.20.6006, HTSUS, free of duty.
ISSUE:
What is the correct HTSUS classification for the frozen salmon fillets as described above?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The Explanatory Notes (EN's) 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 General Rules of Interpretation of the HTSUS. The EN’s state that heading 0304 covers the following.
(1) Fish fillets.
For the purposes of this heading the term fish fillets means the strips of meat cut parallel to the backbone of the fish and constituting the right or left side of a fish insofar as the head, guts, fins (dorsal, anal, caudal, ventral, pectoral) and bones (spinal column or main backbone, ventral or costal bones, branchial bone or stapes, etc.) have been removed and the two sides are not joined together, for example by the back or belly.
The classification of these products is not affected by the possible presence of the skin, sometimes left attached to the fillet to hold it together or to facilitate subsequent slicing. Classification is similarly unaffected by the presence of pin bones or other minor bones which may not have been completely removed.
Fillets cut in pieces are also classified as fillets in this heading.
Cooked fillets, and fillets merely covered with batter or bread crumbs, whether or not frozen, are classified in heading 16.04.
(2) Other fish meat (whether or not minced), i.e., fish meat from which the bones have been removed. As in the case of fish fillets, classification of fish meat is unaffected by the presence of minor bones which may not have been completely removed.
The classification as fish fillets in heading 0304 is not affected by the possible presence of the skin of the fish or of pin bones or other minor bones which may not have been completely removed.
HOLDING:
Frozen salmon fillets, backbone and belly bone off, skin on, and which may contain pin bones or other minor bones are classified as frozen fillets, other, salmonidae, other, Atlantic (Salmo salar), in subheading 0304.20.6006, HTSUS, free of duty.
Accordingly, NYRL D85085 is modified.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division