CLA-2-04:RR:NC:2:231 K84995
Mr. Raffi Allaverdi
Best Cheese Corporation
40-4 Radio Circle Drive
Mount Kisco, NY 10549
RE: The tariff classification of Bola cheese from Austria.
Dear Mr. Allaverdi:
In your letter, dated March 25, 2004, you have requested a tariff classification ruling.
The merchandise is comprised of Bola cheese (“Queso de Bola”). The submitted sample is a ball-shaped cheese, flattened at top and bottom, and measuring about 6 inches in diameter. The cheese is encased in a red wax-like rind. The ingredients are pasteurized cow’s milk, cheese cultures, rennet, and coloring agent. The product is said to contain, by weight, 45 percent moisture and 45 percent fat in the dry matter.
During the manufacturing process, raw cow’s milk is heated to 166 degrees Fahrenheit and centrifuged. The milk is standardized until 45 percent fat in the dry matter is achieved. The milk is pasteurized at 178 degrees Fahrenheit. Flavor-producing bacterial culture, salt, and rennet are added. The product is placed in molds, pressed, demolded, brined, and waxed.
The applicable subheading for Bola cheese, if entered under quota, will be 0406.90.1600, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for cheese and curd, other cheese, Edam and Gouda cheeses, described in additional U.S. note 20 to chapter 4 and entered pursuant to its provisions. The rate of duty will be 15 percent ad valorem.
The applicable subheading for Bola cheese, if entered outside the quota, will be 0406.90.1800, HTS, which provides for cheese and curd, other cheese, Edam and Gouda cheeses: other. The rate of duty will be $1.803 per kilogram. In addition, products classified in subheading 0406.90.9700, HTS, may be subject to additional safeguard duties based on their value, as described in subheadings 9904.05.83 – 9904.05.94.
For goods classified in subheading 0406.90.1600, an import license, issued to the importer by the United States Department of Agriculture, will be required at the time that such merchandise is entered for consumption into the United States.
Questions regarding licensing procedures and applications for licenses to import cheese subject to quota should be addressed to:
Import Quota Manager for Dairy Products
STOP 1029/Room 5531-S
U.S. Department of Agriculture
1400 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20250-1029
Importations of this product are subject to import regulations administered by various U.S. agencies. Requests for information regarding applicable regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture may be addressed to that agency at the following location:
A.P.H.I.S., Veterinary Services
Federal Building, Room 756
6505 Belcrest Road
Hyattsville, MD 20782
This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 CFR 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 Thomas Brady at (646) 733-3030.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity
Specialist Division