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NY H81623




May 25, 2001

CLA-2-84:RR:NC:1:103 H81623

CATEGORY: CLASSIFICATION

TARIFF NO.: 8422.30.9040; 8419.89.9085

Mr. Peter D. Alberdi
A.J. Arango, Inc.
PO Box 75062
Tampa, FL 33675-5062

RE: The tariff classification of aseptic filling machinery from Italy

Dear Mr. Alberdi:

In a letter on behalf of Tropicana Products, Inc. received by this office on May 2, 2001 you requested a tariff classification ruling.

The aseptic filling machinery imported by your client will consist of a bottle sterilizer/rinser machine, a filler machine, a capper, and a cap sterilizer machine. In the sterilizer/rinser a star wheel transports bottles to grippers which overturn and position them onto nozzles. The bottles are first treated with a heated peroxide solution to sterilize them, after which they are rinsed with sterile water. The bottles are then returned to an upright position and carried by the star wheel to an exit conveyor.

The filler machine fills the sterilized bottles with the required volume of liquid. A star wheel carries the bottles to filling heads, which receive the liquid from a pressurized buffer tank. Once the desired volume of product has been obtained, a pneumatic valve is closed to stop the filling operation and the filled bottles are transferred to a capping unit where the cap is placed on the bottle.

The cap sterilizer is designed to sterilize and supply bottle caps to the capping machine. A feeder distributes the caps to a number of lanes, and they are then transferred to a treatment zone by gravity. In the treatment zone they are sterilized by heated peroxide and then rinsed with sterile water. They are unloaded onto a rotary table which gathers them into one line and moved to a chute for transferal to the capper.

While the bottle sterilizer/rinser, filler, capper and cap sterilizer will be imported in a single shipment, the water sterilizer unit will be separately imported. The water sterilizer is used to provide sterile water for the various rinsing operations. A centrifugal pump feeds treated and softened water from a storage tank to the heat recovery section of the water sterilizer, and then to the unit’s final heating section. After reaching the desired temperature, the water is pumped to the aseptic line. A booster pump in the water sterilizer is used to over-pressurize the sterile water to prevent it from coming into contact with non-sterile water if the plates in the heat exchanger section become damaged.

In a telephone conversation on May 21, 2001, Mr. David Blair of Tropicana advised us that the filling line could be operated without the water sterilizer unit, although such a line would not be capable of aseptic filling. Accordingly, the applicable subheading for the functional unit formed by the sterilizer/rinser machine, filler machine, capper, and cap sterilizer machine will be 8422.30.9040, Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS), which provides for machinery for machinery for fillingbottles: machines for filling, whether or not capable of performing other operations: other. The rate of duty will be free.

The applicable subheading for the water sterilizer, shipped separately, will be 8419.89.9085, HTS, which provides for machinery, plant or laboratory equipment, whether or not electrically heated, for the treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature such assterilizing: other machinery, plant or equipment: other: other: other: for other materials. The rate of duty will be 4.2 percent ad valorem.

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 Alan Horowitz at 212-637-7027.

Sincerely,

Robert B. Swierupski
Director,

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