Ejusdem generis limits Heading 32.13 classification where paints packed in metal tins are not similar containers.

Paints packed in metal tins or cans were held not to fall within Heading 32.13 as sign board painter's colours. The Tribunal applied ejusdem generis to the heading's reference to tablets, tubes, jars, bottles, pans or similar forms of packing, and held that metal tins or cans were not similar to the specified containers. It distinguished the earlier authority relied on by the department because that case turned on an admission that the goods were otherwise classifiable under a different heading, which was absent here. The classification claim therefore failed.

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Issues: Classification of paints as sign board painter's colours under Heading 32.13 of the Tariff, including whether packing in metal tins or cans could be treated as similar forms of packing.

Analysis: The Tribunal noted that the earlier decision relied upon by the authorities turned on an admission that the goods were otherwise classifiable under a different heading, whereas no such admission existed here. The heading covered goods put up in tablets, tubes, jars, bottles, pans or similar forms of packing. On the dictionary meanings of jars and cans, a jar is ordinarily a glass, earthenware or stoneware container, while a tin or can is a metal container. Applying ejusdem generis, a metal tin or can could not be treated as a similar packing to the containers specified in the heading.

Conclusion: The paints were not classifiable under Heading 32.13 and the claim for classification as sign board painter's colours failed.

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