HQ 085775

February, 27, 1990

CLA-2:CO:R:C:G 085775 SER

Mr. John Harner
Traxx International
P.O. Box 107
Pine Brook, NJ 07058

RE: Reconsideration of New York Ruling Letter 845155; Quercetin Dihydrate

Dear Mr. Harner:

This is in reference to your request for reconsideration of the New York Ruling Letter (NYRL) 845155, which classified quercetin dihydrate under subheading 2932.90.4100 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUSA), which provides for other aromatic heterocyclic compounds with oxygen hetero-atom(s) only.

FACTS:

The product at issue is Quercetin dihydrate, produced by Alps Pharmaceutical Ind. Co. Ltd of Japan. Quercetin is a yellow, odorless powder, that is stated to be primarily used in health foods and therapeutically to decrease capillary fragility.

ISSUE:

Whether the classification in the NYRL 845155 of Quercetin dihydrate is the correct classification.

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the General Rules of Interpretation (GRI), taken in order. GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative section or chapter notes. To aid in the interpretation of the headings, the Explanatory Notes are utilized. The Explanatory Notes constitute the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level.

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In your initial request, you state that since quercetin is derived from the glycoside rutin, it is provided for under subheading 2938.10.00, HTSUSA, as rutoside (rutin) and its derivatives.

Based on the structure of the HTSUSA, the Chapter notes and the Explanatory Notes, it is our interpretation that a derivative of a compound results from the modification of that compound by adding to the moiety or basic structure of the compound without loss of that basic structure.

Heading 2938, HTSUSA, reads "glycosides, natural or reproduced by synthesis, and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives." Glycoside is defined in the Condensed Chemical Dictionary, 11th ed., page 571, as "one of a group of organic compounds, of abundant occurrence in plants which can be resolved by hydrolysis into sugars and other organic substances known as aglycones." Glycosides are acetals which contain an aglycone (such as alcohols, phenols and heterocyclics) and sugars (such as glucose).

Rutin, also known as quercetinrutinoside is a glycoside found in many plants. Upon hydrolysis it yields quercetin (aglycone) and rutinose (sugar).

Again, Heading 2938, HTSUSA, provides for glycosides, natural or reproduced by synthesis, and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives. Salts, ethers and esters are all functional groups which are added onto the glycoside moiety. The basic glycoside structure (aglycone and sugar) remains intact. Therefore, more specifically to the article at issue, we interpret the term derivative to refer to a glycoside in which a chemical group has been added to the basic glycosidic moiety. To fall within 2938, HTSUSA, a compound must contain the basic glycosidic structure.

Tannates and tannins are the only examples of glycoside derivatives provided for in the Explanatory Notes. Tannates and tannin derivatives are products in which tannic acid is added to the glycosidic structure.

Quercetin is not a glycoside or a salt, ether, ester or other derivative of a glycoside. It is a hydrolysis product, the aglycone of rutin and therefore is not provided for in Heading 2938, HTSUSA.

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HOLDING:

The product at issue, quercetin dihydrate, is properly classified in subheading 2932.90.4100, HTSUSA, which provides for other aromatic heterocyclic compounds with oxygen hetero-atom(s) only. The rate of duty is 13.5 percent ad valorem.

New York Ruling Letter 845155 is hereby affirmed.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division