Description

Pork picnic smoked or pork shoulder smoked contains the arm bone, shank bone, and a portion of the blade bone of a pig, with shoulder muscles interspersed with fat. The shank and a part of the lower area are covered with skin. It is cured and smoked. The smoking process involves flavouring, cooking and preserving the meat  by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smouldering plant materials, most often wood. The product, as presented for classification purposes, is also frozen.

Analysis and Justification

Heading 02.03 covers fresh, chilled or frozen meat of pigs and other swine including ‘hams, shoulders and other cuts thereof with bone in’. According to the Explanatory Notes to Chapter 2 of the Harmonized System, ‘frozen’ means “cooled to below the product’s freezing point until it is frozen throughout”.

Heading 02.10 applies to all kinds of meat and edible meat offal which have been salted in brine, dried or smoked.

Each of the  headings mentioned above refers to part only of the state of the product for classification. Heading 02.03 refers to meat in a frozen state while 02.10 refers to meat that is smoked. The structure of the
Harmonized System upon which the Customs tariff is based, is designed so that goods within the Chapter of a Section follow the progression from live objects and raw materials to the finished product. Therefore, heading 02.10 is more applicable since the meat has been further processed by smoking and goes beyond the scope of heading 02.03 which applies only to meat fresh, chilled or frozen.

Decision

In accordance with General Interpretative Rule 1 of the Harmonized System, pork picnic smoked or pork shoulder smoked is classified under heading 02.10 of the Customs Tariff. 

Issued by the Customs & Excise Department on May 26, 2009