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HQ 083662


April 10, 1989

CLA 2 CO:R:C:G 083662 JGH

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 2302.10.00, 2308.90.6080, 1102.20.00

Mr. T. L. Sam Irmen
Vice President
Grain Group Operations Manager
The Andersons Management Corp.
P.O. Box 119
Maumee, Ohio 43537

RE: Classification of Crushed or Broken Corncobs from Canada

Dear Mr. Irmen:

Your letter of February 3, 1989, concerns the dutiable status of whole, broken or crushed corncobs imported for industrial and agricultural purposes. A decision on this matter was issued in your behalf under the Tariff Schedules (TSUS) in HRL 078976, dated November 16, 1986.

FACTS:

In your latest submission you state that if the whole cobs are imported from Canada, the freight is prohibitive, and if the cobs are partially processed they are subject to duty. You add that the cob products are competing "with other products, i.e., clay, vermiculite, etc." You suggest that they might be classifiable as waste or in some other duty free provision.

In the 1986 decision the merchandise was described as discharged cobs that have been crushed to a particle size ranging from 3/8 to 3/4 inch in diameter. After importation it was stated that they would be further milled to make a variety of industrial products.

ISSUE:

Classification of corn cobs, whether whole, broken or crushed, under the Harmonized Tariff System of the United States (HTSUS).

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Chapter 11 of the HTSUS covers milled grain products. Note 2 of the Chapter Notes states that milled corn products classifiable in that chapter must have a starch content in excess of 45 percent and an ash content not exceeding 2 percent, and, in addition, 90 percent must pass through a sieve with an aperture of 500 microns. If the ground corn product meets these standards, it is classifiable as corn flour in subheading 1102.20.00, HTSUS.

Heading 2308, HTSUS, covers vegetable materials and vegetable waste, vegetable residues and byproducts, whether or not in the form of pellets, of a kind used in animal feeding not elsewhere specified or included. The explanatory notes to this heading state that the provision includes corncobs after the removal of the grain. Accordingly, whole cobs or cobs, with the grain removed, which are broken but not crushed or reduced to a specified particle size range would be classified under the provision for other vegetable waste or vegetable residue of a kind used in animal feeding, not elsewhere specified or included in subheading 2308.90.6080, HTSUS.

Heading 2302, HTSUS, covers bran, sharps, and other residues, whether or not in the form of pellets, derived from sifting, milling or other working of cereals or of leguminous plants. The explanatory notes to this heading state that it includes whole corn cobs ground with or without their husks, not fulfilling the criteria as to starch content and ash content provided for products from the milling of corn in Note 2 to Chapter 11, which concerns the starch and ash contents of products resulting from the milling of cereals. Corncobs with the grain removed would not fall under Note 2, since the explanatory notes state that Chapter 11 applies to the milling of the whole cob, distinquishing it from the residue in Heading 2302.

HOLDING:

A milled corn product meeting the requisite specifications set out above in Note 2 Chapter 11 for milled corn products would be classifiable as corn (maize) flour in subheading 1102.20.00, HTSUS. The rate of duty is 0.66 cent per kg. A copy of the specifications is enclosed.

Corncobs, whole or broken, with the grain removed, but not reduced to a uniform particle size range, are classifiable in subheading 2308.90.6080, HTSUS. The rate if duty is 3 percent ad valorem.

Corncobs, whether or not the grain is removed, which are crushed or ground to a specific particle size range and do not meet the chapter 11 specifications are classifiable in subheading 2302.10.00, HTSUS, and are free of duty.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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