CLA-2-24:OT:RR:NC:N2:231
Mr. Munford Page Hall, II
Mr. Beau A. Jackson
Adduci Mastriani & Schaumberg LLP
1133 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
RE: The tariff classification of tobacco imported for nicotine extraction, from the Philippines or other countries.
Dear Messrs. Hall and Jackson:
In your letter dated February 24, 2014, you requested a tariff classification ruling on behalf of Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Inc. (Richmond, Virginia). In response to our request for additional information, you submitted supplemental letters dated March 18 and March 20, 2014.
The merchandise in question is leaf tobacco that will be imported into the United States for the purpose of producing liquid nicotine. Following importation, the tobacco will first be ground to reduce the particle size to less than 3/32 of an inch. The ground tobacco will then be subjected to a solvent extraction process in which the particles are washed with hexane to remove nicotine. The nicotine extract will be further processed through a distillation line to purify the nicotine to the U.S. Pharmacopeia standard. The resulting nicotine will subsequently be used as an ingredient in solutions that are vaporized or atomized in “electronic cigarettes.” Such solutions, which are sold in bottles or in pre-filled cartridges, typically are mixtures of nicotine, propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, and/or flavorings.
You have provided the following explanation of what will happen to the residual tobacco material in the United States after the nicotine has been extracted:
The ground tobacco residue will be burned in a bio-mass boiler or disposed as waste material at a landfill. Longer term, Universal may use the residue in non-tobacco products. The residue is not suitable for use in cigarette manufacturing because the particle size is too small and because the residue may contain trace amounts of the hexane solvent.
This ruling will deal with the subject leaf tobacco imported in two different forms, both of which, after importation, will be processed and disposed of in the same manner as discussed above. The first form will consist of whole leaves, not stemmed/stripped. It is assumed that this form will not contain wrapper tobacco, will not be of the Oriental or Turkish type, and will not be cigar binder or filler.
The second form will consist of threshed, re-dried lamina, most likely dark air-cured, not otherwise processed. It is assumed that this form will not be from cigar leaf, and will not be of the Oriental or Turkish type.
The applicable subheading for the whole leaves (the first form described above), if flue-cured, burley or other light air-cured, will be 2401.10.61, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), which provides for unmanufactured tobacco…not stemmed/stripped: not containing wrapper tobacco, or not containing over 35 percent wrapper tobacco: other: flue-cured, burley and other light air-cured leaf: to be used in products other than cigarettes. The general rate of duty will be 23.9 cents per kilogram.
The applicable subheading for the whole leaves, if other than flue-cured, burley or other light air-cured, will be 2401.10.95, HTSUS, which provides for unmanufactured tobacco…not stemmed/stripped: not containing wrapper tobacco, or not containing over 35 percent wrapper tobacco: other: other. The general rate of duty will be 32.7 cents per kilogram.
The applicable subheading for the threshed lamina (the second form described above) will be 2401.20.83, HTSUS, which provides for unmanufactured tobacco…partly or wholly stemmed/stripped: threshed or similarly processed: other: other: to be used in products other than cigarettes. The general rate of duty will be 37.5 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/.
Tobacco entered under subheadings 2401.10.61 and 2401.20.83, HTSUS, is subject to the actual-use requirements set forth in sections 10.131 through 10.139 of Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations (19 CFR §10.131-139). In particular, sections 10.137 and 10.138 describe, respectively, the records of use that are required to be maintained and the proof of use that must be furnished to Customs and Border Protection within 3 years of the date of entry or withdrawal from warehouse for consumption.
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 Nathan Rosenstein at (646) 733-3030.
Sincerely,
Gwenn Klein Kirschner
Acting Director
National Commodity Specialist Division