OT:RR:CTF:FTM H312829 MD
Ms. Carla Graca
All-Ways Forwarding Intl Inc.
701 Newark Avenue
Elizabeth, New Jersey 07208
RE: Revocation of NY N307283; Tariff Classification of “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” or Date Syrup
Dear Ms. Graca:
On November 22, 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) issued New York Ruling Letter (“NY”) N307283 to you, which you filed on behalf of your client Soleil Foods LLC. The ruling letter pertained to the tariff classification of “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” from Belgium under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). In NY N307283, CBP classified the product at issue under subheading 2009.89.7091, HTSUSA, which provides for “Fruit juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, not fortified with vitamins or minerals, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter: Juice of any other single fruit or vegetable: Other: Other.” The general rate of duty is 0.5 cents per liter.
We have since reviewed NY N307283 at the request of our National Commodity Specialist Division (“NCSD”) and determined it to be in error. For the reasons set forth below, we hereby revoke NY N307283. It is now CBP’s position that the product described as “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” in NY N307283 is classified under subheading 1702.40.4000, HTSUSA. The general rate of duty is 5.1% ad valorem.
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 (Customs Modernization) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act (Pub. L. 103-182, 107 Stat. 2057), a notice was published in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 55, No. 9, on March 10, 2021, proposing to revoke NY N307283, and revoke any treatment accorded to substantially identical transactions. No comments were received in response to the notice.
FACTS:
In NY N307283, the organic date juice concentrate was described as follows:
The product consist[s] of 72 percent dates and 28 percent water. The Organic Date Juice Concentrate will be used in the food industry for energy preparations such as cereal bars. The product will be imported in 25 kg bags.
The product information was also submitted with the original request for a ruling, which indicated the presence of fructose, glucose, and sucrose in the product, but this fact was not addressed in NY N307283. Additionally, in requesting a binding ruling on the classification of the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate,” you stated that to your knowledge, there were no issues or requests for advice, concerning this commodity. However, in 2018, this product, imported by Soleil Foods LLC, was subject to CBP’s verification concerning its tariff classification. In CBP New York Laboratory (“CBP Laboratory”) Report no. NY20181570, dated January 2, 2018, the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” was analyzed and described as:
The sample is [a] dark brown viscous liquid described as date syrup in a glass jar. The jar is labeled “Concentré de dates BIO; Organic Date Juice Concentrate; LOT: M 18 01 00047; Brix: 75°; Batch: 16.01.2018; Made by Siroperic Meurens SA” and contains 18.4% fructose, 20.2% glucose, and 38.1% sucrose, all on a dry basis, and 21.1% of water. No lactose or maltose was observed.
In light of the fact that NY N307283 failed to account for the presence of fructose, glucose, and sucrose, the analysis provided by CBP Laboratory Report No. NY20181570, and other precedential rulings, it is now CBP’s position that the product described as “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” was incorrectly classified in NY N307283. While previously classified under subheading 2009.89.7091, HTSUSA, CBP now believes that the proper classification of the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” is under subheading 1702.40.4000, HTSUSA.
ISSUE:
Whether the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” at issue is classified under subheading 2009.89.7091, HTSUSA, or subheading 1702.40.4000, HTSUSA.
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”) is determined 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 GRIs 2 through 6 may then be applied in order. GRI 6 requires that the classification of goods in the subheadings of headings shall be determined according to the terms of those subheadings, any related subheading notes and, mutatis mutandis, to GRIs 1 through 5.
The 2020 HTSUS provisions under review are as follows:
1702 Other sugars, including chemically pure lactose, maltose, glucose and fructose, in solid form; sugar syrups not containing added flavoring or coloring matter; artificial honey, whether or not mixed with honey; caramel:
* * *
1702.40 Glucose and glucose syrup, containing in the dry state at least 20 percent but less than 50 percent by weight of fructose, excluding invert sugar:
1702.40.4000 Other
* * *
2009 Fruit juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, not fortified with vitamins or minerals, unfermented and not containing added spirit, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter:
Juice of any other single fruit or vegetable:
* * *
2009.89 Other:
Fruit Juice:
* * *
Other:
2009.80.70 Berry Juice:
2009.80.7091 Other
* * *
In addition, the Explanatory Notes (“EN”) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System represent the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level. While neither 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, 35128 (Aug. 23, 1989).
The EN to heading 1702, states, in pertinent part, the following:
This heading covers other sugars in solid form, sugar syrups and also artificial honey and caramel.
* * *
(B) SUGAR SYRUPS
This part covers syrups of all sugars (including lactose syrups and aqueous solutions other than aqueous solutions of chemically pure sugars of heading 29.40), provided they do not contain added flavouring or colouring matter (see Explanatory Note to heading 21.06).
In addition to the syrups referred to in Part (A) above (i.e., glucose (starch) syrup, fructose syrup, syrup of malto dextrins, inverted sugar syrup as well as sucrose syrup), this heading includes:
(1) Simple syrups obtained by dissolving sugars of this Chapter in water.
(2) Juices and syrups obtained during the extraction of sugars from sugar beet, sugar cane, etc. These may contain pectin, albuminoidal substances, mineral salts, etc., as impurities.
(3) Golden syrup, a table or culinary syrup containing sucrose and invert sugar. Golden syrup is made from the syrup remaining during sugar refining after crystallisation and separation of refined sugar, or from cane or beet sugar, by inverting part of the sucrose or by the addition of invert sugar.
* * *
Classification under heading 1702 is proper for all sugars, other than chemically pure sugars of heading 2902, given that these sugars contain neither added flavoring nor coloring materials. Visual and laboratory analysis confirms that the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” meets both requirements. The CBP Laboratory report conspicuously identified that the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” consists of three component sugars – fructose, glucose, and sucrose – each of which is among those sugars individually excluded from classification under heading 2902. The same report neither indicates nor identifies the presence of any added flavoring or coloring materials within the product.
Subheading 1702.40, HTSUS, specifically refers to “[g]lucose and glucose syrup, containing in the dry state at least 20 percent but less than 50 percent by weight of fructose.” Turning to the CBP Laboratory analysis, we find that the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” satisfies this criteria. CBP Laboratory Report no. NY20181570 supports classification of the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” under subheading 1702.40, HTSUS, by conspicuously identifying the product’s component ingredients in a percentile format. Namely, the laboratory report identified that the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” consists of “18.4% fructose, 20.2% glucose, and 38.1% sucrose, all on a dry basis, and 21.1% of water.” For a product to be considered a “[g]lucose or glucose sugar” classifiable under subheading 1702.40, HTSUS, it must consist of at least 20% glucose. Here, the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” consists of 20.2% glucose, satisfying the classification threshold. Classification under 1702.40, HTSUS, also requires that the product also consist of less than 50% fructose. The “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” consists of 18.4% fructose, satisfying the second necessary prong for classification under the subheading. With specific identification of the component ingredients of the product, and their necessity in determining its classification, CBP Laboratory Report no. NY20181570 supports the classification of the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” under subheading1702.40, HTSUS; specifically, 1702.40.4000, HTSUSA.
Classification of the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” under subheading 1702.40, HTSUS, is further supported by NY N287187, dated January 4, 2018, concerning the classification of “Date Syrup from the United Arab Emirates.” The date syrup in NY N287187 was manufactured via a heat process and was intended to be used as “a sweetening alternative” in the industrial food service production of “bakery and confectionary products, juice bars, etc.” alongside retail sale. CBP classified the date syrup under subheading 1702.40.4000, HTSUSA. The basis for this classification were the results of CBP Laboratory Report no. 20170925, dated December 21, 2017. Analysis of the date syrup found that it was “a brown paste packaged in a [labelled] plastic bottle” and that “[t]he product contain[ed] 32.1 percent fructose (41.4% on a dry basis), 17.4 percent glucose (22.5% on a dry basis) and 22.5 percent water.”
The “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” (NY N307283) and the “Date Syrup” (NY N287187) both meet the percentile requirements for classification under 1702.40, HTSUS. Additionally, both the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” and “Date Syrup” were intended to be used in the food industry. While the former was intended to be used for “energy preparations such as cereal bars”, the latter was to be used for “bakery and confectionary products, juice bars, etc.” Implicitly and explicitly, both products serve as a “sweetening alternative” within the food industry. Accordingly, it is now CBP’s position that the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” is properly classified in heading 1702, HTSUS, and specifically in subheading 1702.40.4000, HTSUSA.
HOLDING:
Under the authority of GRIs 1 and 6, the “Organic Date Juice Concentrate” is classified under subheading 1702.40.4000, HTSUSA, which provides for “Other sugars, including chemically pure lactose, maltose, glucose and fructose, in solid form; sugar syrups not containing added flavoring or coloring matter; artificial honey, whether or not mixed with natural honey; caramel: Glucose and glucose syrup, containing in the dry state at least 20 percent but less than 50 percent by weight of fructose, excluding invert sugar: Other.” The 2020 general rate of duty is 5.1 percent ad valorem.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY N307283, dated November 22, 2019, is hereby REVOKED.
In accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after its publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
For Craig T. Clark, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division