CLA-2-24:OT:RR:NC:N2:231
Ms. Karin Bauer-Dietrichstein
Logic Technology Development LLC
600 College Road East
Suite No. 1100
Princeton, NJ 08540
RE: The tariff classification of VapeLeaf™ Refill Kit.
Dear Ms. Bauer-Dietrichstein:
In your letter, you requested a tariff classification ruling. The sample you provided will be retained. You did not specify the country of origin.
The merchandise under consideration is VapeLeaf™ Refill Kit. You state that the product is designed for use exclusively with the VapeLeaf™ Tobacco Vapor System. Each kit is a single box consisting of five capsules containing granulated tobacco, a cartridge with an atomizer and non-nicotine carrier liquid and the end piece which consists of a rechargeable battery and the electronic control components.
You state that to assemble the device, the user will insert a capsule into the open end of the cartridge, and then turn the threaded end of the battery into the opposite end of the cartridge. Vapor is created inside the cartridge as a result of the cartomizer receiving electrical current from the end piece. As the vapor passes from the cartridge into the capsule, it infuses the granulated tobacco and absorbs the nicotine and flavoring.
VapeLeaf™ Refill Kit is a composite good made up of different components. The Explanatory Notes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), GRI 3 (b) (VIII), state “Mixtures, composite goods consisting of different materials or made up of different components, and goods put up in sets for retail sale, 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.” When the essential character of a composite good can be determined, the whole product is classified as if it consisted only of the material or component that imparts the essential character to the composite good. The essential character of the subject merchandise is imparted by the tobacco capsules because of the two components (tobacco capsules and cartridge), the tobacco capsules are indispensable with relation to the VapeLeaf™ Tobacco Vapor System. In the absence of the tobacco capsules which are the items to be consumed by the ultimate purchaser, the cartridge by itself could not be used for the purpose of smoking.
Accordingly, the applicable subheading for the VapeLeaf™ Refill Kit will be 2403.99.2090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for: “Other manufactured tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes; “homogenized” or “reconstituted” tobacco; tobacco extracts and essences: Other: Other: Other: Other:. The rate of duty will be 24.7 cents per kilogram.
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 https://hts.usitc.gov/current.
This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at 301-575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html.
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 Ekeng Manczuk at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Steven A. Mack
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division