HTS heading · chapter 16
1604
Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs
Analysis
Heading 1604 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule covers prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs. It divides into 12 six-digit subheadings and 48 eight-digit tariff lines, with 68 ten-digit statistical suffixes below them.
The spread of 35 percentage points between the cheapest and dearest lines makes misclassification expensive here. The highest rate, 35%, applies to 1604.14.10 (in airtight containers: in oil).
17 of its 47 lines with a percentage rate are duty-free at the general rate (36%) and 30 are dutiable, from duty-free up to 35%. The median line pays 4%.
1 of the lines carry specific or compound rates (per kilogram, per dozen and so on) rather than a percentage, so their burden depends on the unit value of the goods.
The largest subheadings are 1604.20 (other prepared or preserved fish, 9 lines), 1604.19 (other (including yellowtail), 8 lines), 1604.14 (tunas, skipjack tuna and bonito (Sarda spp.), 7 lines) and 1604.13 (sardines, sardinella and brisling or sprats, 5 lines).
Tariff lines
| Line | Description | General rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1604.11.20 | In oil, in airtight containers | 6% |
| 1604.11.40 | Salmon: other | Free |
| 1604.12.20 | In oil, in airtight containers | 4% |
| 1604.12.40 | In tomato sauce, smoked or kippered, and in immediate containers weighing with their contents over 0.45 kg each | Free |
| 1604.12.60 | Other: other | Free |
| 1604.13.10 | Smoked sardines, neither skinned nor boned, valued $1 or more per kg in tin- plate containers, or $1.10 or more per kg in other containers | Free |
| 1604.13.20 | Neither skinned nor boned | 15% |
| 1604.13.30 | Other: skinned or boned | 20% |
| 1604.13.40 | In immediate containers weighing with their contents under 225 grams each | Free |
| 1604.13.90 | Other: other | 3.1% |
| 1604.14.10 | In airtight containers: in oil | 35% |
| 1604.14.22 | In containers weighing with their contents not over 7 kg each, and not the product of any insular possession of the United States, for an aggregate quantity entered in any calendar year not to exceed 4.8 percent of apparent United States consumption of tuna in airtight containers during the immediately preceding year, as reported by the National Marine Fisheries Service | 6% |
| 1604.14.30 | Not in oil: other | 12.5% |
| 1604.14.40 | In bulk or in immediate containers weighing with their contents over 6.8 kg each, not in oil | 1.1¢/kg |
| 1604.14.50 | Not in airtight containers: other | 6% |
| 1604.14.70 | Bonito (Sarda spp.): in oil | 4.9% |
| 1604.14.80 | Bonito (Sarda spp.): not in oil | 6% |
| 1604.15.00 | Fish, whole or in pieces, but not minced: mackerel | 3% |
| 1604.16.20 | In oil, in airtight containers | Free |
| 1604.16.40 | In immediate containers weighing with their contents 6.8 kg or less each | 5% |
| 1604.16.60 | Other: other | Free |
| 1604.17.10 | In airtight containers | 4% |
| 1604.17.40 | Neither cooked nor in oil | 10% |
| 1604.17.50 | Fish sticks and similar products of any size or shape, fillets or other portions of fish, if breaded, coated with batter or similarly prepared: other | 7.5% |
| 1604.17.60 | In oil and in bulk or in immediate containers over 7 kg each | Free |
| 1604.17.80 | Other: other | 6% |
| 1604.18.10 | In airtight containers | 4% |
| 1604.18.90 | Shark fins: other | 6% |
| 1604.19.10 | Bonito, yellowtail and pollock | 4% |
| 1604.19.22 | Not in oil: other | 4% |
| 1604.19.25 | Bonito, yellowtail and pollock | 5% |
| 1604.19.32 | In oil: other | 4% |
| 1604.19.41 | Neither cooked nor in oil | 10% |
| 1604.19.51 | Fish sticks and similar products of any size or shape, fillets or other portions of fish, if breaded, coated with batter or similarly prepared: other | 7.5% |
| 1604.19.61 | In oil and in bulk or in immediate containers weighing with their contents over 7 kg each | Free |
| 1604.19.82 | Other: other | 6% |
| 1604.20.05 | Products containing meat of crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates; prepared meals | 5% |
| 1604.20.10 | Other: pastes | Free |
| 1604.20.15 | Balls, cakes and puddings: in oil | Free |
| 1604.20.20 | In airtight containers | Free |
| 1604.20.25 | In immediate containers weighing with their contents not over 6.8 kg each: other | Free |
| 1604.20.30 | Not in oil: other | Free |
| 1604.20.40 | Neither cooked nor in oil | 10% |
| 1604.20.50 | Fish sticks and similar products of any size or shape, if breaded, coated with batter or similarly prepared: other | 7.5% |
| 1604.20.60 | Other: other | Free |
| 1604.31.00 | Caviar and caviar substitutes: caviar | 15% |
| 1604.32.30 | Boiled and in airtight containers | Free |
| 1604.32.40 | Caviar substitutes: other | Free |