Ruling of the Week 2015.21: Coconut Wraps

Is there still a trend surrounding eating raw to allegedly preserve nutrients and avoid bad karma? I never understood it, nor do I believe there is any science behind it. I remember seeing a woman on a news show talking about how the enzymes in fruit dissolve unhealthy body fat, but she could not identify the enzymes or explain the mechanism. If you tell me you are on a juice cleanse, I will do my best not to scoff.

If, however, you are looking for a raw alternative to an otherwise delicious tortilla, you might try a "Pure Wrap," which is composed mainly of coconut meat that has been pulverized into a slurry and dehydrated into flat wraps. According to the folks at the company:

Pure Wraps believes that food is medicine and illness begins with nutritional deficiencies. In order to support wellness and fight disease we need clean food from a clean environment. Therefore, we are committed to unlocking the value of food by combining the ancient wisdom about nourishment with nutrient-rich ingredients and safe preparation techniques.

So much for the germ theory. Ancient wisdom also said that we get sick when our vital humors are out of whack. I'm not interesting in getting my bile and phlegm adjusted next time I get the flu.


But, what I am interested in the tariff classification of these sheets of coconut. There are two flavors at issue: plain and curry.

The first issue is whether the additional of salt at about 33 mg per gram of product is sufficient to kick it out of HTSUS Heading 0801, which is the eo nomine heading for coconuts. Note 3 to Chapter 8 permits the additional of materials for preservation or stabilization, provided the product retains its character as dried coconut. 

According to Customs' laboratory, the amount of salt added to the coconut was above the amount necessary for preservation and stabilization. Consequently, it is a flavoring. That is sufficient to push the product into Heading 2008 ("fruits, nuts, and other edible parts of plants, otherwise prepared or preserved . . . .).

The plain wraps are classifiable in 2008.19.15 as coconuts not elsewhere specified or included.

That leaves the curry wraps. The added spices include products of seeds or nuts. If they matter, then the product can't be coconuts. It would be "Other, including mixtures" in HTSUS item 2008.19.85. This is the interesting part.

It occasionally happens that a product is mixed or adulterated with other material in a way that might change its tariff classification. The question is whether there is some lower limit at which the additional material does not impact classification. Yes, there is. It is the de minimis level. 

Here, Customs found that the curry spices were merely incidental or immaterial to the overall product. While they do impart flavor, the nature and use of the product remains the same. Also, the value is not changed. As such, Customs treated the additional materials as de minimis and applied the same classification.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CAFC Decision in Double Invoicing Case

The Federal Circuit has issued a decision on the merits in United States v. Inn Foods, Inc.  There had been a previous decision on jurisdiction, which was followed by a trial at the Court of International Trade and then this appeal on the substance. The initial issue is whether Inn Foods' invoicing practice amounts to fraud.  Inn Foods had been receiving an invoice from growers in Mexico that had a relatively low sales prices on it.  Subsequent to entry, Inn Foods created a second invoice at something more similar to market value, retaining the original invoice number, and paid at that higher amount.   Superficially, this looks like a standard-issue double-invoicing scheme.  But, in the age of reconciliation, is it really more like a provisional pricing mechanism?  It might have been possible to make that argument had Inn Foods adjusted its entries accordingly.  It didn't and the loss of revenue was approximately $624,000.  Based on testimony and evidence indicating both knowl
Read more

Ninestar and UFLPA Exhaustion

Image
Exhaustion is a key doctrine in administrative law. When applicable, it requires that a party unhappy with an agency’s determination complete the administrative appeal process before turning to the courts for judicial review. Requiring exhaustion typically promotes judicial efficiency by ensuring that disputes are resolved at the agency and, if they are not, that there is a complete record of the agency process. Exhaustion also ensures that the judiciary respects the executive agencies and their expertise.  There are, on the other hand, times when the courts will find that exhaustion is not necessary or appropriate. Such is the case in  Ninestar Corporation et al. v. United States  et al., a decision of the U.S. Court of International Trade.  Ninestar is also interesting because it is one of the first cases in the CIT involving the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, known as UFLPA. In my hiatus from active blogging, I missed the rise of UFLPA as a major compliance topic. So, let's
Read more

Precious Tritium

Image
One thing I have learned as a customs lawyer who does a lot of classification work is that there are millions of odd items moving in international trade the existence of which I am completely ignorant. Such is the case of the gaseous tritium light sources used in, among other things, firearm sights. These things use tritium sealed in a glass that has been coated in phosphor. The radioactive tritium decays, releasing beta particles, which interact with the phosphor causing it to emit light. In other words, it creates light with no external power source. Pretty cool.  Tritium is, of course, a real thing. It is an isotope of hydrogen. We know this from the excellent documentary "Spider-Man." This comes up in relation to the Court of International Trade decision in Trijicon, Inc. v. United States  in which the importer challenged the tariff classification of several versions of the gaseous tritium light sources ("GTLS"). The plaintiff uses them to make gun sights. The
Read more