CLA-2-8:OT:RR:NC:2:228
Mr. Maninder Sawhney
AccentFusion
4620 Allistair Drive
Cumming, GA 30040
RE: The tariff classification and country of origin marking of mangoes from India
Dear Mr. Sawhney:
In your letter dated April 13, 2010 you requested a tariff classification ruling.
The product is described as mangoes, packed in boxes containing 6 fruit to a box, for purchasers at retail and wholesale.
The applicable subheading for the mangoes, when entered during the period from September to May 31, will be 0804.50.4040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for Dates, figs, pineapples, avocados, guavas, mangoes and mangosteens, fresh or dried…guavas, mangoes and mangosteens…fresh…if entered during the period from September 1, in any year, to the following May 31, inclusive…mangoes. If entered at any other time, the applicable subheading will be 0804.50.6040, HTSUS. In both cases, the duty rate will be 6.6 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 http://www.usitc.gov/tata/hts/.
Articles classifiable under subheadings 0804.50.4040 and 0804.50.6040, HTSUS, which are products of India, may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term “GSP”.
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.
These goods may be subject to regulations or restrictions administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Division (APHIS). You may contact this agency regarding possible applicable regulations at the following location:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
APHIS
Plant Protection and Quarantine Permit Unit
4700 River Road, Unit 136
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236
Telephone number: 877-770-5990
The marking statute, section 304, Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (19 U.S.C. 1304), provides that, unless excepted, every article of foreign origin (or its container) imported into the U.S. shall be marked in a conspicuous place as legibly, indelibly and permanently as the nature of the article (or its container) will permit, in such a manner as to indicate to the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. the English name of the country of origin of the article. Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304.
Part 134, Customs Regulations (19 CFR Part 134), implements the country of origin marking requirements and exceptions of 19 U.S.C. 1304. Section 134.41(b), Customs Regulations (19 CFR 134.41(b)), mandates that the ultimate purchaser in the U.S. must be able to find the marking easily and read it without strain. Section 134.1(d), defines the ultimate purchaser as generally the last person in the U.S. who will receive the article in the form in which it was imported. If an imported article is to be sold at retail in its imported form, the purchaser at retail is the ultimate purchaser.
Under the authority provided in 19 U.S.C. 1304(a)(3)(J), the Secretary of the Treasury has excepted from country of origin marking the articles listed in section 134.33, CBP Regulations (19 CFR 134.33). This list, known as the "J-List," includes "natural products, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, berries...in their natural state or not advanced in any matter further than is necessary for their safe transportation." However, in the case of any article described in the J-List that is imported in a container, the outermost container in which the article ordinarily reaches the ultimate purchaser is required to be marked to indicate the origin of its contents.
Therefore, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1304(b) and 19 CFR 134.33, the outermost container of the mangoes, the box containing 6 fruit, must be marked to state the fruit is a product of India.
If the mangoes will be repacked in new containers for sale to the ultimate purchaser after release from CBP custody, or if the port director, having custody of the article, has reason to believe that such article will be repacked after its release, 19 CFR 134.25 provides that the importer shall certify to the port director that: 1) if the importer does the repacking, the new container shall be marked to indicate the origin of its contents; or that 2) if the article is intended to be sold or transferred to a subsequent purchaser or repacker, the importer shall notify the purchaser or transferee, in writing, at the time of sale or transfer, that any repacking of the article must conform to these requirements.
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 Stanley Hopard at (646) 733-3029.
Sincerely,
Robert B. Swierupski
Director
National Commodity Specialist Division