CLA-2 OT:RR:CTF:TCM H008157 IDL
Mr. Behroush Sharifi
Traders Link Group Limited
69 Heritage Hills, Unit D
Somers, New York 10589
Re: Chopped and Dried Dill Weed; Modification of NY I85579
Dear Mr. Sharifi:
This letter concerns New York Ruling Letter (NY) I85579, dated August 30, 2002, issued to your company, Traders Link Group, Ltd., by the National Commodity Specialist Division, U.S. Customs Service (now Customs and Border Protection (CBP)). We have reviewed NY I85579 and have found it to be incorrect with respect to the classification of “chopped and dried dill weed” under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).
Pursuant to section 625(c), Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. § 1625(c)), 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, 2186 (1993), notice of the proposed modification was published in the Customs Bulletin, Volume 43, No. 7, on February 5, 2009. No comments were received in response to the notice.
FACTS:
In NY I85579, the U.S. Customs Service classified several products, including one described as “dill weed, one hundred percent pure, chopped and dried.” It has now come to the attention of CBP that the product was classified incorrectly under heading 0910, HTSUS. Our analysis on this matter is set forth below.
ISSUE:
Whether the chopped and dried dill weed described above is properly classified under heading 0712, HTSUS, as a dried vegetable or under heading 0910, HTSUS, as a spice?
LAW AND ANALYSIS:
Merchandise is classifiable under the HTSUS in accordance with the General Rules of Interpretation (GRIs). GRI 1 provides that classification shall be determined according to the terms of the headings and any relative Section or Chapter Notes. In the event that the goods cannot be classified solely on the basis of GRI 1, HTSUS, and if the headings or notes do not require otherwise, the remaining GRIs 2 through 6 may be applied.
In NY I85579, the U.S. Customs Service classified the subject merchandise under heading 0910, HTSUS, as: “Ginger, saffron, turmeric (curcuma), thyme, bay leaves, curry and other spices.” It is now the position of CBP that the subject merchandise should have been classified under heading 0712, as: “Dried vegetables, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, but not further prepared.”
The 2009 HTSUS provisions under consideration are as follows:
0712 Dried vegetables, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, but not further prepared:
* * *
0712.90 Other vegetables; mixtures of vegetables:
* * *
0712.90.85 Other vegetables; mixtures of vegetables
* * *
0910 Ginger, saffron, turmeric (curcuma), thyme, bay leaves, curry and other spices:
* * *
Other spices:
* * *
0910.99 Other:
* * *
Other:
0910.99.50 Dill…..
Chapter Notes 2 and 3 to chapter 7, HTSUS, provide, in pertinent part, the following:
2. In headings 0709, 0710, 0711 and 0712 the word “vegetables” includes edible mushrooms, truffles, olives, capers, marrows, pumpkins, eggplants (aubergines), sweet corn (Zea mays var. saccharata), fruits of the genus Capsicum (peppers) or of the genus Pimenta (e.g., allspice), fennel, parsley, chervil, tarragon, cress and sweet marjoram (Marjorana hortensis or Origanum marjorana).
3. Heading 0712 covers all dried vegetables of the kinds falling in headings 0701 to 0711, other than:
(a) Dried leguminous vegetables, shelled (heading 0713);
(b) Sweet corn in the forms specified in headings 1102 to 1104;
(c) Flour, meal, powder, flakes, granules and pellets of potatoes
(heading 1105);
(d) Flour, meal and powder of the dried leguminous
vegetables of heading 0713 (heading 1106).
Heading 0712, HTSUS, provides for “dried vegetables”. Note 2 to Chapter 7, HTSUS, which does not specifically list “dill”, covers a wide variety of vegetables, including “fennel”, “parsley” and “chervil”, that fall within the scope of heading 0712, HTSUS.
“Dill weed”, also known by its Latin name, Anethum graveolens, is a branched, aromatic annual herb, scientifically classified in the same “Apiaceae” family as fennel, parsley, and chervil. Dill, R. Gupta, Handbook of Herbs and Spices, 173 (K.V. Peter ed., Woodhead Publishing Ltd., 2001). The leaf and stem portion of the plant can be distinguished from the seed (fruit of the plant) in color, shape, texture, chemical composition, taste, etc. Dill weed has a delicate flavor in comparison to the seed, which has a stronger flavor due to higher levels of carvone, a volatile oil. Donna R. Tainter & Anthony T. Grenis, Spices and Seasonings: A Food Technology Handbook, 86-87 (2001).
In issuing a decision in NY I85579, the U.S. Customs Service classified the subject merchandise under heading 0910, HTSUS, which provides, in pertinent part, for “other spices”, apparently due to the perception of the existence of an “eo nomine” provision for “dill” under subheading 0910.99.50, HTSUS. However, it is now the position of CBP that the component of “dill” falling within the provisions of heading 0910, HTSUS, pertains to the seed, rather than “dill weed.” Inasmuch as “fresh dill weed” is closely related to the examples cited in Note 2, above, of vegetables falling within the scope of heading 0709, HTSUS, it is classified under heading 0709, HTSUS. Therefore, under Note 3 to chapter 7, the dried form of such vegetables is classified under heading 0712. Hence, by the terms of heading 0712, HTSUS, and the chapter notes cited, the subject “chopped and dried dill weed” is classified there.
In understanding the language of the HTSUS, the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System Explanaotry Notes (ENs) may be utilized. The ENs, although not dispositive or legally binding, provide a commentary on the scope of each heading of the HTSUS, and are the official interpretation of the Harmonized System at the international level. See T.D. 89-80, 54 Fed. Reg. 35127, 35128 (August 23, 1989).
EN 07.09 provides the following:
The vegetables of this heading include:
* * *
(13) Parsley, chervil, tarragon, cress (e.g., watercress), savory (Satureia hortensis), coriander, dill, sweet marjoram (Majorana hortensis or Origanum majorana). [Emphasis added].
EN 07.12 provides the following:
This heading covers vegetables of headings 07.01 to 07.09 which have been dried (including dehydrated, evaporated or freeze-dried) i.e., with their natural water content removed by various processes….
EN 09.10 provides the following:
The heading includes:
* * *
(f) Dill seed (Anethum graveolens), and fenugreek seed (Trigonella foenum graecum). [Emphasis added]
The ENs provide examples of “dill weed” and “dill seed” as falling under headings 0712 and 0910, HTSUS. Therefore, the ENs support our position that, for classification purposes, “dill weed” is distinguishable from “dill seed”, and that the subject “chopped and dried dill weed” is classified in heading 0712, HTSUS. Accordingly, the “chopped and dried dill weed” is classified under heading
0712, HTSUS.
HOLDING:
By application of GRI 1, the chopped dill weed described above is classified in heading 0712, HTSUS, and specifically provided for under subheading 0712.90.85, HTSUS, as: “Dried vegetables, whole, cut, sliced, broken or in powder, but not further prepared: Other vegetables; mixtures of vegetables: Other vegetables; mixtures of vegetables.” The 2009 general, column one rate of duty is 8.3% 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 the World Wide Web at http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
EFFECT ON OTHER RULINGS:
NY I85579, dated August 30, 2002, is modified to reflect that the chopped dill weed is correctly classified under subheading 0712.90.85, HTSUS, as discussed above. In accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1625(c), this ruling will become effective 60 days after publication in the Customs Bulletin.
Sincerely,
Myles B. Harmon, Director
Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division