Composite goods classification under tariff rules favoured Heading 76.07 where no single material gave essential character.

Plastic laminated films consisting of LLDPE and polyethylene layers sandwiching aluminium foil were examined for classification between Headings 39.20 and 76.07 of the Customs Tariff Act. The analysis treated the goods as a composite product with both plastic and aluminium components, noting that aluminium foil provided barrier properties while the plastic layers contributed heat-sealability, strength and packaging functions. Because neither component could be identified with certainty as giving the goods their essential character, the residual classification rule was applied. The product was therefore classified under Heading 76.07, resolving the tariff dispute in favour of the assessee.

---

---

Issues: Whether plastic laminated films consisting of layers of LLDPE and polyethylene sandwiching aluminium foil were classifiable under Heading 39.20 or Heading 76.07 of the Customs Tariff Act.

Analysis: The composition of the goods was not in dispute, but the competing tariff entries had to be applied to a composite product having both plastic and aluminium components. Technical literature showed that aluminium foil supplied barrier properties, while the plastic layers contributed heat-sealability, strength and other packaging functions. On the material before it, the Court found that neither component could be said with certainty to provide the essential character of the goods. In that situation, the interpretative rules required recourse to the residual rule of classification under which the heading occurring last in numerical order among equally competing headings is to be adopted.

Conclusion: The goods were held classifiable under Heading 76.07, and the assessee succeeded on the classification issue.

---