Application for Further Review of Protest No. 0901-24-104481; Tariff-Rate Quota; Sugar Containing Products from Canada ATTN Denise Basilio, Supervisory Import Specialist This letter is in reference to the Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No. 0901-24-104481, timely filed on June 6, 2024, by Trans America Customs Broker, on behalf of Dr. Oetker, USA, LLC (“Protestant”), regarding the tariff-rate quota status of sugar containing products from Canada. Our decision is set forth below. FACTS Protest No. 0901-24-104481 concerns eighty-seven entry type 02 entries of various sugar-containing products entered into the United States from Canada between December 1, 2023, and March 9, 2024. When filing entry, Protestant sought in-quota tariff rate treatment of the sugar-containing products (“SCP”), which includes products such as Dulce, crème brulee, chocolate mousse, and other food preparations containing sugar. The imported SCPs were entered under the following subheadings 1702.3

H343527 April 27, 2026 OT:RR:CTF:FTM H343527 JER CATEGORY: Entry; Tariff-Rate Quota Center Director Agriculture and Prepared Products Center of Excellence and Expertise 909 S.E. 1st Avenue, Suite 980 Miami, FL 33131 RE: Application for Further Review of Protest No. 0901-24-104481; Tariff-Rate Quota; Sugar Containing Products from Canada ATTN: Denise Basilio, Supervisory Import Specialist This letter is in reference to the Application for Further Review (“AFR”) of Protest No. 0901-24-104481, timely filed on June 6, 2024, by Trans America Customs Broker, on behalf of Dr. Oetker, USA, LLC (“Protestant”), regarding the tariff-rate quota status of sugar containing products from Canada. Our decision is set forth below. FACTS: Protest No. 0901-24-104481 concerns eighty-seven entry type 02 entries of various sugar-containing products entered into the United States from Canada between December 1, 2023, and March 9, 2024. When filing entry, Protestant sought in-quota tariff rate treatment of the sugar-containing products (“SCP”), which includes products such as Dulce, crème brulee, chocolate mousse, and other food preparations containing sugar. The imported SCPs were entered under the following subheadings: 1702.30.40, 1901.90.69, 1901.90.71, 1901.90.91, 2102.20, 2102.30, 2106.90, and 3302.10, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). The relevant quota period for the subject SCPs was October 1, 2023, through September 30, 2024, with an opening date of October 2, 2023.1 The date of release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) custody for the imported SCPs varied, dating back to December 1, 2023, and through March 9, 2024. At the time of entry summary filing, Protestant did not record the 8-digit unique identifier from the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) Certificate of Origins that they possessed on any of the entry summaries. 1 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Quota Bulletin 23-304 2024, Sugar Containing Products (17 AUSN 8), https://www.cbp.gov/trade/quota/bulletins/qb-23-304. 2 On March 14, 2024, CBP issued two Notices of Action (“CBP Form 29”) for all eighty-seven entries at issue. In each Notice of Action, Protestant was informed that “any sugar-containing product (“SCP”) from Canada must have a valid export certificate at the time of entry for the in-quota tariff rate” as indicated in Cargo Systems Messaging Service (“CSMS”) Number 58559426.2 The notices advised that, “[f]ailure to provide the required 8-digit USMCA Certificate of Origin for the entries listed may result in rate advancement and issuance of bills for duty and fees owed.” The notices afforded Protestant twenty (20) days to submit a USMCA Certificate of Origin (also referred to herein as a Canadian Export Certificate or Certificate of Eligibility) for each of the entries for which quota status was claimed. Prior to the issuance of these notices, the quota status claimed for certain line items of SCPs appearing in several entries was accepted in ACE. Protestant states that denial of in-quota status is contrary to the notices of action issued by CBP, CBP’s public statements regarding the filing of quota export certificates, and 19 C.F.R. § 10.112. Protestant claims that the unique identifier, the Canadian Export Certificate Number, was inadvertently omitted on the entry summaries. Specifically, Protestant notes that the notices state that “[f]ailure to provide the required 8-digit Canadian Export Certificate for the entries listed below may result in rate advancement and issuance of bills for duty and fees owed.” Protestant continues that the notices provided that: According to the Canadian Export Certificate Requirement for Sugar Containing Products (SCP) of Canada under WTO and USMCA (CSMS # 58559426), any SCP from Canada must have a valid export certificate at the time of entry for the in-quota tariff rate. Failure to provide the required 8-digit Canadian Export Certificate for the entries listed below may result in rate advancement and issuance of bills for duty and fees owed. If you disagree, you have 20 days to submit the necessary documentation, including a valid Canadian Export Certificate and, if applicable, a USMCA Certification of Origin for entries claiming USMCA benefits. Failure to do so within the specified timeframe will lead to rate advancement, any USMCA claim made shall qualify for USMCA tariff treatment under subheading 9823.10.03 through 9823.10.45 with related S duty rates, MPF will be exempt. According to Protestant, its broker submitted the Canadian Export Certificates for the subject entries on March 26, 2024, to comply with the 20-day requirement articulated in the notices of action and thereby recorded a valid Canadian Export Certificate for each of the eighty-seven entries. These certificates were effective for SCPs of subheading 1901.90.69, HTSUS. Protestant further stated that its failure to file the Export Certificates was an inadvertent oversight 2 U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Cargo Messaging Service, CSMS # 58559426 - Guidance: Canadian Export Certificate Requirement Reminder for Sugar Containing Products of Canada Under the World Trade Organization Agreement and United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, (Nov. 30, 2023), https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/csms-archive. 3 on the part of Trans American, the customs broker. On April 19, 2024, the entries were liquidated as type 01 consumption entries. ISSUE: Whether the sugar containing products of subheading 1901.90.69, HTSUS, are entitled to quota status. LAW AND ANALYSIS: We note that this matter is protestable under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a)(2) as a decision regarding the rate and amount of duties chargeable. The protest was timely filed on June 6, 2024, within 180 days of liquidation. (Miscellaneous Trade and Technical Corrections Act of 2004, Pub. L. 108-429, § 2103(2)(B)(ii), (iii) (codified as amended at 19 U.S.C. § 1514(c)(3) (2006)). Further Review of Protest No. 0901-24-104481 is properly accorded to Protestant pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 174.24(a) because the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with a ruling of the Commissioner of CBP, or with a decision made by CBP with respect to the same or substantially similar merchandise, and (b) because the decision against which the protest was filed is alleged to be inconsistent with matters previously ruled upon by the Commissioner of Customs or his designee or by the Customs courts. In order to qualify for quota-class priority and status, entry summaries must be presented in proper form. 19 C.F.R. § 132.1(d). “‘Quota priority’ is the precedence granted to one entry or withdrawal for consumption of quota-class merchandise over other entries or withdrawals of merchandise subject to the same quota.” 19 C.F.R. § 132.1(f). “‘Quota status’ is the standing which entitles quota-class merchandise to admission under an absolute quota, or to a reduced rate of duty under a tariff-rate quota, or to any other quota benefit.” 19 C.F.R. § 132.1(g). The time of entry for merchandise that is entered for consumption is established in accordance with 19 C.F.R. § 141.68. Pursuant to 19 C.F.R. § 141.68(d), the time of entry for quota-class merchandise “will be the time of presentation of the entry summary or withdrawal for consumption in proper form, with estimated duties attached, or if the entry/entry summary information and a valid scheduled statement date . . . have been successfully received by CBP via the Automated Broker Interface.” The following regulations pertain specifically to the quota status of SCPs, and inform the requirements for their presentation in proper form: 15 C.F.R. § 2015.3(a) provides the following: To claim the in-quota rate of duty on sugar-containing products of a participating country, the United States importer must make a declaration to the United States Customs Service, in the form and manner determined by the United States Customs Service, that a valid export certificate is in effect with respect to those sugar-containing products. 4 19 C.F.R. § 132.17 Export certificate for sugar-containing products subject to tariff-rate quota. (a) Requirement. For sugar-containing products defined in 15 C.F.R. § 2015.2(a), and as described in paragraph 15 of Appendix 2, Tariff Schedule of the United States—(Tariff Rate Quotas), to Annex 2-B of Chapter 2 of the Agreement Between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA), for which preferential tariff treatment is claimed under the USMCA, and that are products of a participating country, as defined in 15 C.F.R. § 2015.2(e), the importer must possess a valid export certificate in order to claim the in-quota tariff rate of duty on the products at the time they are entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption. The importer must record the unique identifier of the export certificate for these products on the entry summary or warehouse withdrawal for consumption (Customs Form 7501, column 34), or its electronic equivalent. (b) Validity of export certificate. To be valid, the export certificate must meet the requirements of 15 CFR 2015.3(b), and with respect to the requirement of 15 C.F.R. § 2015.3(b)(3) that the certificate have a distinct and uniquely identifiable number, this unique identifier must consist of 8 characters in any alpha/numeric combination. The HTSUS provisions for SCPs are set forth in Additional U.S. Note 8 to Chapter 17 HTSUS, which provides, in pertinent part, that: The aggregate quantity of articles containing over 10 percent by dry weight of sugars described in additional U.S. note 3 to chapter 17, entered under subheadings 1701.91.54, 1704.90.74, 1806.20.75, 1806.20.95, 1806.90.55, 1901.10.74, 1901.90.69, 2101.12.54, 2101.20.54, 2106.90.78 and 2106.90.95 during the 12-month period from October 1 in any year to the following September 30, inclusive, shall not exceed 64,709 metric tons [.] When the entry summaries were initially filed, the importer possessed the requisite certificates for subheading 1901.90.69, HTSUS, but did not record the unique identifying 8-digit number on the entry summary. Hence, because Protestant failed to record a unique identifying number, Protestant’s entry summary was not presented in proper form for quota status purposed. However, the fact that the entry summary was not initially presented in proper form does not preclude an importer seeking quota status from resubmitting the entry summary or curing deficiencies in presentation so long as the quota period in which the goods arrived and were released is still open. Here, the quota period had not closed when Protestant submitted copies of its Canadian Export Certificates for the subject entries. By submitting its Canadian Export Certificates, Protestant corrected presentation of the entry summary. In Headquarters Ruling Letter (“HQ”) 965049, dated July 23, 2002, an initial entry summary that was filed on December 3, 1999, was not presented in proper form for the importer to claim quota status. A corrected entry summary was submitted on December 28, 1999. However, between the time of the initial filing and the second, “corrected” filing, the quota had filled. CBP held that even though the 5 presentation in proper form eventually occurred, because the quota was filled before the importer presented its documents in proper form the importer could not claim the in-quota rate. Comparatively, here, Protestant was able to cure by submitting the missing export certificates necessary for presentation in proper form prior to the closing of the quota period. In the instant case, when Protestant presented the entry summaries in proper form by submitting its export certificates, the time of presentation for quota purposes was the date the certificates were submitted: March 26, 2024. Due to the quota period still being open on the date of presentation in proper form, the entered merchandise covered by the certificates of eligibility is entitled to quota status. HOLDING: Based on the foregoing, the sugar containing products of subheading 1901.90.69, HTSUS, are entitled to quota status. You are instructed to GRANT the protest. You are instructed to notify the protestant of this decision no later than 60 days from the date of this decision. Any reliquidation of the entry or entries in accordance with the decision must be accomplished prior to this notification. Sixty days from the date of the decision, the Office of Trade, Regulations and Rulings will make the decision available to CBP personnel and the public on the Customs Rulings Online Search System (“CROSS”) at https://rulings.cbp.gov/, or other methods of public distribution. Sincerely, Yuliya A. Gulis, Director Commercial and Trade Facilitation Division