Federal Circuit Issues Mandate in Case on Classification of Tobacco Wraps

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its mandate June 28 in a case on the tariff classification of tobacco wraps. In its May decision, the appellate court affirmed the Court of International Trade's ruling, which allowed into evidence the results of a particular customs test used to weigh the tobacco wraps. Importer New Image Global filed the case to fight for a lower excise tax on its tobacco wraps, which were classified as roll-your-own tobacco, subjecting them to the excise tax (New Image Global v. U.S., Fed. Cir. #19-2444).

The wraps are made with ethanol, which "gasses off" when the package is opened and the wrap is exposed to air. New Image has argued that this process will shed between 10% and 13% of the wraps' weight by the time they reach the final consumer and notes that any lab test that finds that the wraps gain weight in storage and transit from the Mexican factory to the U.S. is "inherently unreliable." CBP used an "indirect method" for weighting the wraps that included the weight of additives. New Image challenged CIT's acceptance of such a weighing method. Ultimately, the Federal Circuit sided with the lower court. However, it didn't explain its rationale for the decision (see 2205060029).