CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H076733 CkG
TARIFF NO: 1515.21.00
Donna L. Bade, Esq.
Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.
225 W. Washington St., St. 1550
Chicago, IL 60606
Re: Request for Binding Ruling for blended corn oil
Dear Ms. Bade:
This is in response to your request of January 9, 2009, on behalf of your client, Archer Daniels Midland Co., concerning the classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) of blended corn oil.
FACTS:
The subject merchandise is a 51%/49% mixture of crude and refined corn oil. The crude oil contains phospholipids and other natural impurities which make it unsuitable for consumption. The refined corn oil is produced by neutralizing, winterizing, bleaching and deodorizing crude oil in order to render it fit for consumption. The subject mixture, however, requires refining (by adding water, phosphoric or citric acid and heating) in order to be fit for consumption. The mixture will be marketed and sold as being commercially interchangeable with crude corn oil.
ISSUE:
Whether the instant blended corn oil mixture is classified in subheading 1515.21.00, as crude corn oil, or as “other” corn oil of subheading 1515.29.00, HTSUS.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification of goods under the HTSUS is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI). GRI 1 provides that classification 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 GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. GRI 3 provides, in pertinent part, that:
When by application of rule 2(b) or for any other reason, goods are, prima facie, classifiable under two or more headings, classification shall be effected as follows:
The heading which provides the most specific description shall be preferred to headings providing a more specific description. However, when two or more headings each refer to part only of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods or to part only of the items in a set put up for retail sale, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods.
Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components … which cannot be classified by reference to 3(a), shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character, insofar as this criterion is applicable.
The HTSUS provisions at issue are as follows:
1515: Other fixed vegetable fats and oils (including jojoba oil) and their fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified:
Corn (maize) oil and its fractions:
1515.21.00: Crude oil . . . .
1515.29.00: Other . . . .
* * * * * *
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanatory Notes
(“ENs”) constitute the official interpretation of the HTSUS. While not legally binding or
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 at the
international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127 (August 23, 1989).
General EN(B) to Chapter 15 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
Headings 15.07 to 15.15 of this Chapter cover the single (i.e., not mixed with fats or oils of another nature), fixed vegetable fats and oils mentioned in the headings, together with their fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified.
Vegetable fats and oils occur widely in nature and are found in the cells of certain parts of plants (e.g., seeds and fruit), from which they are extracted by pressure or by means of solvents.
EN 15.15 provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
This heading covers single, fixed vegetable fats and oils and their fractions (see the General Explanatory Note, Part (B)) other than those specified in headings 15.07 to 15.14. The following are of particular commercial importance:
…
Maize (corn) oil, obtained from the kernels of maize or Indian corn. The crude oil has many industrial uses, e.g., in making soap, lubricants, leather dressing, etc. The refined oil is edible and is used for cooking, in bakeries, for mixing with other oils, etc. Maize oil is a semi drying oil.
* * * * * *
At GRI 1, there is no dispute that the instant merchandise is described by
and is thus classifiable in heading 1515, HTSUS, as a vegetable oil because corn is a vegetable. At issue is the proper eight-digit classification, which requires the application of GRI 6. GRI 6 requires that the GRI's be applied at the subheading level on the understanding that only subheadings at the same level are comparable.
At the eight-digit subheading level, you request classification of the instant merchandise as crude corn oil of subheading 1515.21.00, HTSUS, by application of GRI 3(a), because blended corn oil is not provided for in the HTSUS. We agree that there is no subheading that provides for blended corn oil at GRI 1 and that classification should be based on GRI 3.
Of the two subheadings that cover the components of the mixture (1515.21, HTSUS, which provides for crude corn oil, and 1515.29, HTSUS, which provides for “other” corn oil), you believe that subheading 1515.21, HTSUS, is more specific. However, GRI 3(a) provides that when different headings each refer only to part of the materials or substances contained in mixed or composite goods, those headings are to be regarded as equally specific in relation to those goods, even if one of them gives a more complete or precise description of the goods. The two subheadings at issue are thus equally specific in their description of the instant mixture. GRI 3(a) therefore does not apply.
GRI 3(b) provides that composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, shall be classified as if they consisted of the material or component which gives them their essential character. The “essential character” of an article is “that which is indispensable to the structure, core or condition of the article, i.e., what it is.” Structural Industries v. United States, 360 F. Supp. 2d 1330, 1336 (Ct. Int’l Trade 2005). EN VIII to GRI 3(b) explains that "[t]he factor which determines essential character will vary as between different kinds of goods. It may, for example, be determined by the nature of the material or component, its bulk, quantity, weight or value, or by the role of the constituent material in relation to the use of the goods."
In the instant case, the crude oil forms the majority of the mixture’s composition, and the product must be refined to be rendered suitable for human consumption. Thus, we find that the crude corn oil imparts the mixture with its essential character, and that the mixture is provided for in subheading 1515.21.00, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 3(b), the instant mixture of crude and refined corn oil
is classified in heading 1515, HTSUS, and is specifically provided for in subheading
1515.21.00, HTSUS, which provides for “Other fixed vegetable fats and oils (including
jojoba oil) and their fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically modified: Corn
(maize) oil and its fractions: Crude oil.” The 2009, column one, general rate of duty is
3.4% ad valorem.
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 World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
A copy of this ruling letter should be attached to the entry documents filed
at the time the goods are entered. If the documents have been filed without a copy, this
ruling should be brought to the attention of the CBP officer handling the transaction.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director,
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division