The tariff classification of meal kits from India.

NY L86522 August 19, 2005 CLA-2-16:RR:NC:2:228 L86522 CATEGORY: Classification TARIFF NO.: 1605.20.0510; 1605.90.0500 Mr. Lars-Erik A. Hjelm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP 1333 New Hampshire Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20036-1564 RE: The tariff classification of meal kits from India. Dear Mr. Hjelm: In your letter dated June 6, 2005, and July 15, 2005, on behalf of Choice Canning Co., you requested a tariff classification ruling. Ingredients breakdowns for five products were submitted with your June letter. Additional information concerning packaging and further descriptions of the manufacturing process accompanied your July letter. Item B, Mediterranean Style Meal—Shrimp Pasta Primavera Style Vegetables Dressed With Light Tomato and Garlic Sauce and Item C, Mediterranean Style Meal—Shrimp, Pasta, Mediterranean Style Vegetables Tossed with Hearty Tomato & Basil Sauce were previously ruled upon in NY L85515 dated July 6, 2005. Item A, Mediterranean Style Meal—Mixed Seafood, Basmati Rice Vegetables Blended with a Flavorful Paella Sauce consists of 50 percent basmati rice (including sauce), 25 percent mixed vegetables, and 25 percent mixed seafood - shrimp, octopus, and calamari in equal parts. Item E, Asian Style Meal—Shrimp, Asian Style Vegetables with a Chinese Oyster Sauce consists of 60.25 percent fully cooked mixed vegetables, 21 percent shrimp and 18.75 percent sauce (separately packaged). The frozen meal kits are put up in hermetically sealed, airtight bags containing 1.5 lbs., net weight, for retail sale. The applicable subheading for Item E, Asian Style Meal—Shrimp, Asian Style Vegetables with a Chinese Oyster Sauce will be 1605.20.0510, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, prepared or preserved...shrimps and prawns…prepared meals...in airtight containers, imported in accordance with Statistical Note 1 to this chapter. The rate of duty will be 5 percent ad valorem. Articles classifiable under subheading 1605.20.0510, HTS, which are products of India may be entitled to duty free treatment under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) upon compliance with all applicable regulations. The GSP is subject to modification and periodic suspension, which may affect the status of your transaction at the time of entry for consumption or withdrawal from warehouse. To obtain current information on GSP, check our Web site at www.cbp.gov and search for the term "GSP". The applicable subheading for item A, Mediterranean Style Meal—Mixed Seafood, Basmati Rice Vegetables Blended with a Flavorful Paella Sauce will be 1605.90.0500, HTS, which provides for crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates, prepared or preserved...other…products containing fish meat; prepared meals. The rate of duty will be free. Your inquiry does not provide enough information for us to issue a classification ruling on Item D, Asian Style Meal—Shrimp Basmati Rice, Vegetables Flavored with an Asian Garlic Soy Sauce. Your request for a classification ruling should include the additional information indicated below: Has the rice contained in Item D been fully cooked, or par-boiled, prior to importation? How long is the consumer required to heat or cook the product? This merchandise is subject to The Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002 (The Bioterrorism Act), which is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Information on the Bioterrorism Act can be obtained by calling FDA at telephone number (301) 575-0156, or at the Web site www.fda.gov/oc/bioterrorism/bioact.html. This ruling is being issued under the provisions of Part 177 of the Customs Regulations (19 C.F.R. 177). A copy of the ruling or the control number indicated above should be provided with the entry documents filed at the time this merchandise is imported. If you have any questions regarding the ruling, contact National Import Specialist Stanley Hopard at 646-733-3029. Sincerely, Robert B. Swierupski Director, National Commodity Specialist Division