CBP ruling N306942: the duty-free basis for coconut shell charcoal, explained
By Mohamad Sinno, Charcoal Expert · Reviewed by Budi Hartanto, shipping specialist · Last updated
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N306942 is real, it is still live, and it put coconut charcoal from Indonesia on a duty-free line. None of that tells you it covers your shipment. A classification ruling reaches only the transaction it describes — so everything turns on whether your goods match that description. Here it is, in CBP's own words: "charcoal cubes consisiting [sic] of carbonized coconut shell powder agglomerated with tapioca", measuring "approximately one square inch", "packaged 72 pieces to a carton", and "used in hookahs for tobacco smoking".
Check yours against those four attributes before citing this ruling. All four conditions in 19 CFR 177.9 are verifiable from open sources in about ten minutes; three are trivially favourable, and the description match is the one that does the work.
Where this text comes from
Quotations are from the ruling itself on CBP's own site,
rulings.cbp.gov/ruling/N306942, read 10 August 2026 and re-read 11 August 2026 —
not from a third-party rulings mirror. The body renders in the browser but not to an
automated fetcher, which returns only the page shell; that difference is why several earlier
readings of this ruling reported the text as unavailable. The misspelling in the product
description is CBP's own and is quoted unaltered.
What N306942 establishes
The record fields first, from the CBP CROSS API on 10 August 2026. These are what a status check looks at:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Ruling number | N306942 |
| Date | 19 November 2019 |
| Subject | "The tariff classification of coconut charcoal from Indonesia" |
| Tariff number assigned | 4402.90.0000 |
| Category | Classification |
| Collection | ny — an NY-series ruling, not a Headquarters ruling |
| Revocation status | Not flagged as revoked; no modifying ruling listed; no revoking ruling listed |
| Related rulings | None listed |
That establishes three things: CBP classified a coconut charcoal of Indonesian origin at a subheading carrying a Free general rate, the ruling was issued in November 2019, and nothing in CROSS records it as disturbed since.
What the fields do not give you is the article. "Coconut charcoal" is a subject line — no shape, no binder, no dimensions, no use. The ruling body supplies all four, and CBP's reasoning turns on two of them:
"Since the charcoal consists of carbonized coconut shell agglomerated with tapioca, we find that the product meets the term 'shell charcoal' and is classifiable within heading 4402."
CBP ruling N306942, 19 November 2019
The feedstock and the binder are doing the work — carbonized coconut shell, agglomerated with tapioca. CBP reaches that by quoting the Explanatory Notes for heading 4402, which state that "the similar products obtained by carbonising coconut or other shells also fall in this heading". Note what is absent from the reasoning: the cube shape, the one-inch dimension and the hookah use are recited as facts of the article but carry no weight in the classification. That asymmetry matters below.
The reliance test, applied
19 CFR 177.9 sets the conditions under which a ruling letter reaches a transaction. Applied to what N306942 actually says — ruling text from CROSS, regulation text via Cornell LII and the eCFR API, all read 10–11 August 2026:
| Condition (19 CFR 177.9) | What N306942's record shows | Does it carry you? |
|---|---|---|
| Still in force. A ruling letter "represents the official position of the Customs Service" and "is binding on all Customs Service personnel" until modified or revoked — 177.9(a) | CROSS carries no revoking or modifying ruling and does not flag it as revoked, checked 10 August 2026 | Yes, as far as the record goes. Status is a live field — re-check it, do not cache it |
| The information assumption. Issued on the assumption that all information furnished "is accurate and complete in every material respect" — 177.9(b)(1) | The ruling names what was furnished: a letter dated 23 October 2019 from Yamato Transport USA for its client Kanaan Trading, LLC, plus "a sample … submitted for our review and will be retained for reference" | Partly. You can see what was furnished — a physical sample — but not inspect it. The ruling rests on an article held by CBP, not on the words alone |
| Same transaction. Applies where "the transaction described in the ruling letter and the actual transaction are the same, and any and all conditions set forth in the ruling letter have been satisfied" — 177.9(b)(1) | The described transaction is a named importer, Kanaan Trading, LLC, bringing coconut charcoal cubes from Indonesia through a named forwarder. No conditions are attached to the holding | No, and it never will be. "The same" transaction means that one. Yours is a different importer and a different entry — this condition is why a ruling held by someone else is evidence, not authority |
| Identical article, or identical description. A classification ruling is applied "only with respect to transactions involving articles identical to the sample submitted with the ruling request or to articles whose description is identical to the description set forth in the ruling letter" — 177.9(b)(2) | Four stated attributes: carbonized coconut shell powder agglomerated with tapioca; cubes; "approximately one square inch"; 72 pieces to a carton; for hookah use | Checkable — go and check. This is the condition that decides it, and it is now a comparison you can actually run against your own spec sheet |
The pattern is worth naming, because it is the opposite of what the search results suggest. Status is the cheapest thing to verify and the least informative — of course it is still in force. Scope is where a ruling either reaches you or does not, and one condition, the same transaction, can never be satisfied by a ruling somebody else holds. That is not a defect in N306942. It is what a ruling letter is.
Using — and not over-using — a ruling
Treating it as your classification
Under 177.9(b)(2) the ruling reaches articles identical to the sample or identically described. Nobody quoting N306942 in a sales thread has checked your briquettes against that description. Now that it is readable, the check takes a minute — and the weighting is not obvious. CBP's reasoning rests on the feedstock and the binder: carbonized coconut shell, agglomerated with tapioca. The cube, the one-inch dimension and the hookah use are recited but do the classification no work. So a hexagonal briquette of shell charcoal with a tapioca binder sits closer to this ruling than a cube of something else. Either way it stays evidence that CBP has classified a coconut charcoal from Indonesia at a Free line — not a determination about your goods.
Treating 4402.90.0000 as the code to enter today
It is not in the schedule. The USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule, checked 10 August 2026, returns three lines under heading 4402: 4402.10.00.00 "Of bamboo" (Free), 4402.20.00.00 "Of shell or nut" (Free), and 4402.90.01.00 "Other" (Free). The literal string 4402.90.0000 no longer appears. The dedicated shell-or-nut line arrived after this ruling — our 4402.20 vs 4402.90 page covers that split and how to handle paperwork still carrying the old code.
Treating "Free" as your duty bill
Free is the general column-1 rate for the subheading. For Indonesia-origin goods there is a Chapter 99 layer above it. HTSUS 9903.05.45 reads: "Except for products described in headings 9903.05.85–9903.05.92 and 9903.06.16–9903.06.17, articles the product of Indonesia, as provided for in U.S. note 52 to this subchapter", at a general rate of "The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 10%" (USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule, 10 August 2026).
Those exceptions are a closed, enumerated set, and heading 4402 is in none of them — read end to end in the USTR notice published 28 July 2026, not inferred from silence. 9903.06.16 points into note 52(j)(11)(i), whose Chapter 44 entries are 4403.41.00, the 4409.22 group and the 4412 group; the list steps straight from 3823.70.40 to 4403.41.00. 9903.06.17 points into (j)(11)(ii), a single item — "Aloe, Tasmanian pepper, coconut and centella (classifiable in subheading 1302.19.91)" — a botanical extract, not charcoal, and the reason a "coconut is exempt" claim circulates. The string "4402" appears nowhere in the notice.
So the 10% attaches to Indonesia-origin goods entered on or after 24 July 2026, on top of the Free rate. That is a reading of the published provisions, not a customs determination — duty and classification remain the importer of record's responsibility under 19 U.S.C. §1484. The point for this page is narrower: a 2019 ruling establishing a Free classification says nothing about a 2026 Chapter 99 duty, and citing N306942 as proof of a duty-free landed cost has been wrong since July. The US country guide carries the full entry-cost picture, and our landed-cost method sets out where an add-on like that sits in the calculation.
The verify path
- Read the ruling in a browser, not with a script. The .gov page renders for a person even though it returns nothing to an automated fetch. That inversion is why so much writing about this ruling stops at the metadata.
- Compare your product description to the ruling's, field by field — shape, agglomeration, binder, dimensions, intended use. A material difference means the ruling is background, not authority.
- If your goods differ, request your own ruling. That is what the mechanism is for, and it converts an argument into a binding answer.
- Have your broker confirm the subheading and any Chapter 99 duty in force at the date of entry, in writing. Classification is the importer of record's call, and rates move faster than pages do.
- Re-check revocation status before you rely on it. It is a live field, not a fact you looked up once.
Getting the description right is where this stops being a customs question and starts being a supplier question. If you want the product description sheet for the goods you are quoting — shape, dimensions, agglomeration and packing, in the form a broker will ask for it — WhatsApp +628213924038 and we will send it.