HQ 083722: Classification of oat bran from Finland

Native CBP ruling rendition. Applicability is fact-specific; modification/revocation relationships and original publisher date are retained. Publisher sentinel year0001 means unknown date, not a historical legal adoption.

	HQ 083722

     	April 7 1989
  
CLA2 CO:R:C:G  083722 JGH

  CATEGORY:  Classification

  TARIFF No.: 1104.22.00

  Mr. Scott T. Brix
  Finnsugar Biochemicals, Inc.
  1400 North Meacham Road
  Schaumburg, Illinois  601734808

  RE:  Classification of oat bran from Finland

  Dear Mr. Brix:

       	Your letter of January 16, 1989, to the Area Director of Customs at New York City, concerning the tariff classification of oat bran, has been referred to this office for reply.

  FACTS:

       	The oat bran is said to have a starch content of 54  percent by weight, and an ash content of 2.6 percent by weight, with about 8 percent of the material passing through a sieve
  with an aperture of 315 micrometers, and about 57 percent is said to pass through a sieve with an aperture of 1.25  millimeters.

  ISSUE:

       	Classification of oat bran with the stated specifications under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS).

  LAW & ANALYSIS:

       	Oat bran is defined as the byproduct of the milling of oats.  It is essentially the small hulls left after the removal  of the endosperm.  In the flow chart submitted the processing
of the oats is shown to begin with the sorting, cleaning and drying of the oats, followed by the dehusking, cutting, steam heat treatment, drying and cooling.  The groats are then obtained, followed by grinding and the sieving of the  endosperm.  After all of these procedures, the only part  remaining is said to be the oat bran.

	 2 

       	In the Chapter Notes to Chapter 11, covering products of  the milling industry, Note 2 lists the starch, ash, and sieve sizes for various cereals.  If the cereals fall within the specifications listed, they are classified in that chapter.  For milled oats a starch content in excess of 45 percent and an  ash content not exceeding 5 percent are listed.  With a starch  content of 54 percent and an ash content of 2.6 percent, it  would appear that the "oat bran" in issue is a milled oat  product.  However, Note 2(B) requires that the milled products  fall within certain sieve specifications also.  The imported  product does not meet these standards; neither does it meet the  sieve sizes for "groats" and "meal" in Note 3.

       	It would appear that since the oat bran is usually considered a byproduct of the milling of cereals, it would be classifiable in Chapter 23.  Heading 2302 covers bran, sharps  and other residues of the milling of cereal grains.  However, the Explanatory Notes to heading 2302 state that this heading  would only apply if the byproducts did not meet the starch and  ash content of the milled cereals as stated in Note 2(A) of Chapter 11.  Therefore, the product is something more than a byproduct, and in view of the starch and ash contents, this  import would be considered a milled product.  Accordingly, oat  bran with starch and ash contents listed would be classifiable  in the provision for other worked cereal grains in subheading  1104.22.00, HTSUS.

  HOLDING:

       	Oat bran with a starch and ash content meeting the  specifications in Note 2(A) of Chapter 11, HTSUS, but not the  pertinent sieve sizes, is classifiable in subheading
1104.22.00, HTSUS.  The rate of duty is 2 percent ad valorem.

                              				Sincerely,

                              				John Durant, Director
                              				Commercial Rulings Division