Tariff classification of Korean Ginseng tablets follows essential character as ginseng extract, not residual food preparations.

Korean Ginseng tablets were held classifiable as vegetable extracts of ginseng under tariff item 13021914 because the product's essential character remained ginseng extract, with only minor binder content and tablet form treated as a mode of presentation. The residual entry under tariff item 21069099 for miscellaneous food preparations was inapplicable because it applies only where no more specific classification exists. The view that tablet form or alleged medicinal use required classification in Chapter 21 was rejected as irrelevant to the product's true nature.

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Issues: Whether Korean Ginseng tablets are classifiable under tariff item 13021914 as vegetable extracts of Ginseng, or under tariff item 21069099 as food preparations not elsewhere specified or included.

Analysis: Tariff item 13021914 specifically covers extracts of Ginseng, including powder, and the form of the product does not by itself alter its essential character when it remains a Ginseng extract. The imported goods contained predominantly Ginseng extract with only minor binder content, and the tablet form was merely a mode of presentation. By contrast, tariff item 21069099 is a residual entry in Chapter 21 for miscellaneous edible preparations and applies only where no more specific classification is available. The reasoning adopted by the lower authority, including the view that tablet form or alleged medicinal use required classification under Chapter 21, was found to be irrelevant and inconsistent with the nature of the product.

Conclusion: Korean Ginseng tablets are classifiable under tariff item 13021914 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and not under tariff item 21069099.

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