CLA-2 CO:R:C:F 950483 LPF
Ms. Clara Du Bois, President
Multitrade S.A.
Apartado 1273
4050 Alajuela
Costa Rica
RE: Herb Infusions in 2106, HTSUSA; Food Preparation not
elsewhere specified or included
Dear Ms. Du Bois:
This is in response to your letter of September 17, 1991,
submitted on behalf of Multitrade S.A. of Costa Rica. Your
inquiry requests the proper classification of herb infusions
under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States
Annotated (HTSUSA). You did not submit a sample with your
request for a binding ruling.
FACTS:
The product, from Costa Rica, is natural (non drug) herb
infusions, packed in tea bags for human consumption. The
infusions are described as mixtures of assorted herbs, roots and
spices, such as linden (tilia) flowers, chamomile flowers,
cinnamon, lemon grass, peppermint, orange peel, alfalfa, catnip,
cocolmeca and boldo, among others.
ISSUE:
Whether the herb infusions are classifiable in heading 0902
as tea; or rather in heading 2106 as food preparations not
elsewhere specified or included.
-2-
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
The General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's) taken in their
appropriate order provide a framework for classification of
merchandise under the HTSUSA. The majority of imported goods are
classified by application of GRI 1, that is, 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 GRI's may
then be applied. The Explanatory Notes (EN's) to the Harmonized
Commodity Description and Coding System, which represent the
official interpretation of the tariff at the international level,
facilitate classification under the HTSUSA by offering guidance
in understanding the scope of the headings and GRI's.
The product at issue is classifiable by application of GRI
1, that is, according to the terms of the headings of the tariff
schedule. Heading 0902 provides for tea. However, the EN's to
0902 explain that:
The heading...excludes products not derived from the
shrubs of the botanical genus Thea but sometimes called
"teas", e.g.:...(b) Products for making herbal
infusions or herbal "teas" (other than medicinal
"teas"). These are classified, for example, in heading
08.13, 09.09, 12.11 or 21.06.
The product is not classifiable in heading 0813 as dried fruit;
mixtures of nuts or dried fruits, nor is it classifiable in
heading 0909 as seeds of anise, badian, fennel, coriander, cumin,
caraway or juniper. Although heading 1211 provides for plants
and parts of plants, the EN's explain that the heading excludes,
inter alia, "products consisting of plants or parts of
plants...of different species...or...of a single or of different
species mixed with other substances, such as one or more plant
extracts (heading 21.06)." Thus, it appears the herb infusions
must be classified elsewhere.
Heading 2106 provides for food preparations not elsewhere
specified or included. The EN's to 2106 explain that:
The heading includes,...[p]roducts consisting of a
mixture of plants or parts of plants (including seeds
or fruits) of different species or consisting of
plants or parts of plants (including seeds or fruits)
of a single or of different species mixed with other
substances such as one or more plant extracts, which
are not consumed as such, but which are of a kind used
for making herbal infusions or herbal "teas",....
-3-
The product consists of a combination of different plant
species and parts of plants mixed with other substances, such as
cinnamon and orange peel, in order to make herbal infusions.
Thus, the product is classifiable in heading 2106. The
applicable subheading is 2106.90.6087.
In addition, note that Costa Rica is a designated
beneficiary developing country (BDC) for purposes of the
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). Thus, if the
merchandise is the growth, product or manufacture of Costa Rica,
and is then imported directly from Costa Rica to the U.S., it may
meet the requirements under General Note 3(c)(ii), HTSUSA, and be
eligible for duty free treatment under the GSP. However, if the
product is composed of materials imported from other countries it
must meet the two-step substantial transformation test whereby
the cost or value of the materials produced in the BDC plus the
direct costs of processing operations performed in the BDC must
equal at least 35 percent of the appraised value of the product
upon entering the customs territory of the U.S.
HOLDING:
The herb infusions are classifiable in subheading
2106.90.6087, as "[F]ood preparations not elsewhere specified or
included: Other: Other: Other: Other: Other, Herbal teas and
herbal infusions comprising mixed herbs." The general column
one rate of duty is 10 percent ad valorem. However, if the herb
infusions qualify for tariff preferences under the GSP, the
special column one rate of duty provides that the product is duty
free.
Sincerely,
John Durant, Director
Commercial Rulings Division