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HQ 955893


April 5, 1994

CLA-2 CO:R:C:F 955893 K

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF No.: 2202.90.90

Ms. Mary Anne Perry
Branch Manager
Wilson UTC, Inc.
651 Gateway Blvd., #600
South San Francisco, California 94080

RE: Classification of Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Juice

Dear Ms.Perry:

The following is our response to your request of January 21, 1994, for a tariff classification ruling for the product referenced above.

FACTS:

The sample consists of a dark green bottle with a crown cap and the label describes the contents as "Sparkling Apple Juice". The label indicates that the container has a capacity of 750 ml and that it contains no alcohol. The ingredients are listed as apple juice, carbon dioxide, and ascorbic acid. The label further describes the product as pressed from fresh apples, that contains no water or concentrates and contains 100 % of vitamin C per portion of 175 ml.

ISSUE:

The issue is whether the addition of carbon dioxide to apple juice to create a sparkling apple juice precludes classification of the product as apple juice under subheading 2009.70.0090, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

Subheading 2009.70.0090, HTSUS, provides for a free general rate of duty for apple juice not concentrated. The Explanatory Notes (EN) to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, which represents the official interpretation of the tariff at the international level, facilitate classification
under the HTSUS by offering guidance in understanding the scope of the headings and General Rules of Interpretation of the HTSUS. The EN for heading 2009, HTSUS, generally describes various manufacturing processes of the juices and the additions of constituents that would not preclude coverage under heading 2009. The manufacturing processes are generally those that help to prevent fermentation and to preserve the juices and the addition of standardising agents to restore the constituents destroyed or damaged during the manufacturing processes.

The EN specifically permit "products added to preserve fermentation (e.g., sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide, enzymes)." However, the EN further state that "fruit or vegetable juices containing a greater quantity of carbon dioxide than is normally present in juices treated with that product (aerated fruit juices), and also lemonades and aerated water flavoured with fruit juice are also excluded (heading 22.02)."

The product is describe as "Sparkling Apple Juice". The addition of carbon dioxide makes the juice sparkle, that is, to effervesce or bubble, as soda water and some wines. The addition of the carbon dioxide goes beyond preservation permitted by the EN. The "Sparkling Apple Juice" is precluded from coverage under headnote 2009 and is classified in heading 2202.

HOLDING:

A product known as "Sparkling Apple Juice" in which carbon dioxide is added to apple juice to cause the beverage to sparkle is classified in subheading 2202.90.90, HTSUS, as other nonalcoholic beverages, with duty at the general rate of 0.3 cents per liter.

Sincerely,

John Durant, Director

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