HQ 086319: Modification of New York Ruling Letter 826155; Sugar pellets

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 086319      

                       May 22, 1990      
CLA-2:CO:R:C:G 086319

CATEGORY:  Classification

TARIFF NO.: 1701.99

Mr. Mark T. Land
Boiron Borneman
1208 Amosland Road
Norwood, PA  19074

RE:  Modification of New York Ruling Letter 826155; Sugar pellets

Dear Mr. Land:

     In New York Ruling Letter (NYRL) 826155, dated December 18,
1987, you received a ruling on the classification of sugar
pellets, also described as "homeopathic globules".  In that
ruling the products at issue were classified in subheading
2106.90.50, of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United
States Annotated (HTSUSA), which provides for food preparations
not elsewhere specified or included: other: subject to quotas
established pursuant to Section 22 of the Agricultural Adjustment
Act, as amended.  Pursuant to  177.9 of the Customs Regulations
(19 C.F.R.  177.9), we are modifying NYRL 826155.

FACTS:

     The sugar pellets consist os white spheres, approximately
1/8 inch in diameter and are comprised of 85 percent sucrose and
15 percent lactose.  They were stated to be imported in 30
kilogram cartons, and to be used as a vehicle for oral
pharmaceutical preparations.

ISSUE:

     What is the correct classification for the sugar pellets?

LAW AND ANALYSIS:

  Modification

     Our regulations allow for the modification or revocation of
ruling letters.  As stated in 19 C.F.R.  177.9(d)(1), "(a)ny
ruling letter found to be . . . not in accordance with the
current views of the Customs Service may be modified or revoked. 
Modification or revocation shall be effected by Customs
Headquarters by giving notice to the person to whom the ruling n


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letter was addressed . . . ."  As provided in  177.9(d)(2),
"(t)he modification or revocation of a ruling letter will not be
applied retroactively with respect to the person to whom the
ruling was issued, or to any person directly involved in the
transaction to which that ruling related . . . ."

  Classification

     Classification of goods under the HTSUSA is governed by the
General Rules of Interpretation (GRI's), taken in order.  When
goods are prima facie classifiable under two or more headings GRI
3 is applicable.  In this case classification is determined by
application of GRI 3(b) which provides in pertinent part:

     Mixtures . . . shall be classified as if they consisted
     of the material which gives them their essential
     character.

     In general, essential character has been construed to mean
the attribute which strongly marks or serves to distinguish what
an article is; that which is indispensable to the structure, core
or condition of the article.  In addition, the Explanatory Notes
provide further factors which help determine the essential
character of goods.  Factors such as bulk, quantity, weight or
value, or by the role of a constituent material in relation to
the use of the goods are to be utilized, though the importance of
certain factors will vary between different kinds of goods.

     The sucrose, which constitutes the primary ingredient of the
sugar pellets, would impart the essential character for the
product at issue.  Though the product will be used, subsequent to
importation, as a carrier for pharmaceuticals, "(i)t is well
settled that, . . ., imported merchandise must be classified with
reference to its condition when imported." United States v.
Citroen, 223 U.S. 407, 32 S.Ct. 256, 56 L. Ed. 486 (1911). 
"Condition as imported refers to the condition of the goods when
they are brought within the jurisdiction of the United States
with intent to unlade."  The Sherwin-Williams Co. V. United
States, 38 CCPA 13, 18, C.A.D. 432 (1950).  Therefore the heading
for sugars would be the proper classification for the product at
issue.








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HOLDING:

     The product at issue, sugar pellets, is properly classified
in subheading 1701.99.00, HTSUSA, which provides for cane or beet
sugar and chemically pure sucrose, in solid form: other: other. 
Under this subheading the merchandise is subject to the quota and
fees provided in additional U.S. Note 3 to Chapter 17, HTSUSA. 
The rate of duty is 1.4606 cents per kilogram, less 0.020668
cents per kilogram for each degree under 100 degrees (and
fractions of a degree in proportion) but not less than 0.943854
cents per kilogram.

     NYRL 826155, is hereby modified pursuant to  177.9 of the
Customs Regulations.

                                   Sincerely,



                                   John Durant, Director