NCS/ARS/CL/10472

You have applied for an Advance Ruling on the tariff classification of Slashagold Herbicide, imported and packaged in 1-litre, 5-litre, and 25-litre containers.

PRODUCT ANALYSIS

Based on the technical documentation submitted, the product is commercially known as Slashagold Herbicide and is identified as a formulation containing Glufosinate-ammonium at a concentration of 200 g/L, presented as a soluble liquid (SL). The identification is based on the information provided in the submitted Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS).

The product is a broad-spectrum, non-selective herbicide, whose active ingredient is used to control a wide range of weed, including broadleaf weeds, grasses, and sedges. It acts by inhibiting the enzyme glutamine synthetase, thereby disrupting nitrogen metabolism and causing the accumulation of toxic levels of ammonia in plant tissues, which ultimately leads to the death of susceptible plants.

According to the technical documentation submitted, the product is a yellow liquid formulation with a stated assay of 20% and a molecular weight of 198.15 g/mol. The declared active ingredient concentration of 200 g/L is equivalent to 20% weight/volume (w/v), provided the percentage is expressed on that basis.

The product is packaged in 1-litre, 5-litre, and 25-litre containers and is intended for use as a herbicide for the control of unwanted vegetation.

TARIFF CLASSIFICATION

Based on the foregoing analysis, Note 2 to Section VI provides that goods which are covered by headings 30.04, 30.05, 30.06, 32.12, 33.03, 33.04, 33.05, 33.06, 33.07, 35.06, 37.07 or 38.08, by reason of being put up in measured doses or in forms or packings for retail sale, are to be classified in those headings and in no other heading of the Nomenclature.

Furthermore, Note 1(a)(2) to Chapter 38 provides for the inclusion in Chapter 38 of “insecticides, rodenticides, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products, put up as described in heading 38.08.”

The Explanatory Note to Heading 38.08, paragraph 4, further provides that these products are classified under the heading when:

1. They are put up in packings for retail sale as disinfectants, insecticides, etc., or in such forms that there can be no doubt that they will normally be sold by retail; or
2. They have the character of preparations, whatever their presentation, including liquids, washes or powders, and such preparations consist of suspensions or dispersions of the active product in water or in other liquids.

In the present case, Slashagold   which is a broad-spectrum, non-selective herbicide containing Glufosinate-ammonium 200 g/l formulated as Soluble Liquid (SL), presented in specified package sizes of 1-litre, 5-litre, and 25-litre, falls in heading 3808, which covers:

“Insecticides, rodenticide, fungicides, herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators, disinfectants and similar products, put up in forms or packings for retail sale...” 

Accordingly, Slashagold (Glufosinate-ammonium 200 g/l) is effectively classified in tariff subheading 3808.93.90.00 – Herbicides, anti-sprouting products and plant-growth regulators: Other, at 5% rate of duty and 0% VAT, in accordance with the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) 2022 – 2027.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK 

1. GIR 1 & 6
2. Note 2 to Section VI
3. Note 1(a)(2) to Chapter 38
4. Explanatory Note to Heading 38.08, paragraph 4