Tariff classification of a cam component turns on specific heading description, not merely its motion-transmitting function.

A cam forming part of a capsule-making machine was held not classifiable under Heading 84.83 as a transmission shaft or camshaft merely because it transmitted motion and converted rotary into reciprocal motion. Classification under that heading required the goods to specifically answer the description of a transmission shaft, which the cam did not. Heading 84.79, being the residual entry for machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions not specified elsewhere in Chapter 84, therefore supported the appellant's claimed classification. The department failed to justify the disputed classification, and the appellant's classification was accepted.

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Issues: Whether the cam forming part of a capsule making machine was classifiable under Heading 84.83 as transmission shafts or under Heading 84.79 as part of the machine.

Analysis: Heading 84.79 covers machines and mechanical appliances having individual functions not specified or included elsewhere in Chapter 84, while Heading 84.83 covers transmission shafts, including camshafts and crankshafts. The cam in question was used in the process of transmitting motion and converting rotary motion into reciprocal motion, but that functional use did not make it a transmission shaft. Classification under Heading 84.83 required the goods to answer the description of a transmission shaft or camshaft, and the cam was not shown to be synonymous with a shaft. Since the department could not establish a basis for the assigned classification, the appellant's claimed classification had to be accepted.

Conclusion: The cam was not classifiable under Heading 84.83 and the appellant's classification was accepted.

Final Conclusion: The impugned classification was set aside and the appeal succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A component cannot be classified under a tariff heading merely because it performs a motion-transmitting function unless it specifically answers the description used in that heading.

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