CIT Rules that PURADD FD-100 is Properly Classified as a Gasoline Detergent Additive
In BASF Corporation v. U.S., the Court of International Trade agreed with Customs that PURADD FD-100, the trade name for polyisobutylene-amine diluted in a saturated hydrocarbon solvent, is properly classified in HTS 3811.90.00 as a gasoline detergent additive.
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BASF had argued that PURADD FD-100 is classified under HTS 3902.20.50, as a polyisobutylene, because, among other reasons, it meets the three necessary requirements for this heading, which are that the imported article must be (a) a polymer, (b) of propylene or other olefin, and (c) in primary form.
Customs contends that PURADD FD-100 is classifiable under 3811.90.00 because heading 3811 includes all additives that are specifically prepared for use in gasoline, citing the definition of "detergent additive package" set forth by the EPA. It also contends that the article is classifiable under 3811 as "an unfinished or incomplete form of a prepared additive for gasoline."
The CIT finds that while PURADD FD-100 is classifiable in both headings of the HTSUS, classification under 3811.90.00 is legally correct due to its specificity, as it is a use provision. The principal use of PURADD FD-100, which exceeds any other single use of the article, is an additive for gasoline. Also, articles listed under heading 3811 have a limited function and purpose, and PURADD FD-100 has limited use as a detergent-active component. Heading 3902, however, describes its articles in considerably general terms. The CIT also finds that the article is classifiable under subheading 3811.90.00, the "other" category, because it is neither an antiknock preparation nor an additive for lubricating oils, which are the descriptions set forth in the other categories of heading 3811.
CIT Slip Op. 06-28 (dated 02/28/06) available at http://www.cit.uscourts.gov/slip_op/Slip_op06/06-28.pdf