CLA-2-29:OT:RR:NC:2:235
Ms. Nodira Akhmedova
Naturex Inc.
375 Huyler Street
South Hackensack, New Jersey 07606
RE: The tariff classification of Resveratrol (98%)
Dear Ms. Akhmedova:
In your letter dated March 06, 2013 you requested a tariff classification ruling. Documentation received with you request was sent to our laboratory for review. That review is now complete and our decision is as follows.
The instant product is called Resveratrol 98 % (Code 1EAA9028). You indicate that the product is a natural extract obtained from certain parts of the Polygonum cuspidatum plant. It is indicated to have been extracted with Ethyl acetate and then spray dried. You state that it is a raw material which is intended to be used in dietary supplements.
In your request letter, you state your opinion that classification of the instant product should be in Heading 1302 as an extract. We disagree with that interpretation. Customs has indicated in numerous past rulings regarding extracts, that there is a “limit on the degree and extent of purification that can occur for products to remain in heading 1302”. In addition the Explanatory Notes to Heading 1302, explicitly exclude certain refined extracts of opium, quassia amare, papaw juice, and cashew nut shell liquid, once the refining process concentrates a certain group of chemical compounds to a particular point. Hence, poppy straw concentrates containing more than 50% alkaloids are excluded from heading 1302. Once a natural or a derived product is purified, or processed in such a way that its purity becomes akin to a pure chemical substance, it is no longer classified as an extract. In the instant scenario, where a single chemical compound or family of compounds have been obtained at the expense of the broad range of constituents found in the natural plant or vegetable compound, we no longer have an extract of 1302. The instant product is an almost pure polyphenolic compound. Product data sheets provided by you indicate that the imported product contains ninety-eight percent pure resveratrol.
The applicable subheading for the Resveratrol 98 % (Code 1EAA9028) will be 2907.29.9000 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for: Polyphenols; phenol-alcohols: Other. The rate of duty will be 5.5 percent 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/.
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177).
A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Paul Hodgkiss at (646) 733-3046.
Sincerely,
Thomas J. Russo
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division