'Pignolia' in HTS Means Mediterranean Pine Nuts, CIT Says
References to “Pignolia” in the tariff schedule include only nuts of the Pinus pinea tree, the Court of International Trade said in a decision issued Dec. 2 (here). Other kinds of pine nuts, including seeds of the Pinus koraiensis tree imported by Specialty Commodities, are not classifiable as pignolia in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, CIT said.
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Specialty Commodities had imported its “Chinese pinenut kernels” in 2009, classifying them under subheading 0802.90.25 as “Other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled: Other: Pignolia: Shelled,” which is dutiable at $0.01 per kilogram. CBP disagreed, reclassifying the pine nuts under subheading 0802.90.97 as “Other nuts, fresh or dried, whether or not shelled or peeled: Other: Other: Shelled: Other,” which carries a $0.05 per kilogram tariff rate.
In court, the company supplied a series of dictionary definitions and industry publications that used the terms pignoli and pine nuts interchangeably. It argued the term covers all pine nuts. The government argued that only some pine nuts -- those from the Pinus pinea tree -- are pignoli. It provided its own definitions and publications to that effect. Faced with contradictory information, CIT concluded the definitions and industry publications were inconclusive.
Specialty Commodities also cited two CBP New York ruling letters on classification of oil and vinegar sets. Each included a reference to “pine nuts (or pignoli),” indicating CBP considered the terms interchangeable, the company said. However, ruling letters are only applicable to the merchandise on which they are issued -- in this case oil and vinegar sets, CIT said. A brief mention of pignoli in a ruling letter where the writers were focused on how to classify oil and vinegar sets is not an indication of how CBP interprets the term, the court said.
On the other hand, the first edition of the explanatory notes to the World Customs Organization’s harmonized system references “pignolia nuts (seeds of the Pinus pinea).” A 1968 Summaries of Trade and Tariff Information report also appears to limit pignolia nuts to Mediterranean pine nuts, indicating that the old Tariff Schedules of the United States, the predecessor to the HTS, used the narrower definition advocated by the government.
When the first edition of the HTS replaced the TSUS in 1988, the drafters “had before them the TSUS, the 1968 SOTI Report, and the 1986 First Edition of the Explanatory Notes,” CIT said. “These sources all tend to define pignolia narrowly, as seeds of the Pinus pinea,” it said. “Based on foregoing, the court holds that term ‘Pignolia’ in HTSUS subheading 0802.90.25 does not include ‘seeds of the Pinus koraiensis,’” CIT said.
(Specialty Commodities Inc. v. U.S., Slip Op. 16-114, CIT # 11-00091, dated 12/02/16, Judge Eaton)
(Attorneys: Christopher Jensen of Cowan Liebowitz for plaintiff Specialty Commodities; Monica Triana for defendant U.S. government)