Classification of polyethylene glycol under Heading 39.07 upheld as it was not a separate chemically defined compound.

Polyethylene glycol of the grades in question was held not to be a separate chemically defined organic compound because its grades have varying average molecular weights and differing numbers of oxyethylene units, giving them the character of commercial mixtures rather than a constant molecular composition. Reading Chapter 39 with the Harmonised System Explanatory Notes, the Tribunal held that Chapter 39 is not confined to plastics alone and that the exclusion for separate chemically defined compounds did not apply. The goods were therefore correctly classifiable under Heading 39.07, and the Commissioner's classification was upheld.

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Issues: Whether polyethylene glycol of various grades is classifiable under Heading 39.07 of the Central Excise Tariff or under Chapter 29 as a separate chemically defined organic compound.

Analysis: Note 1 to Chapter 39 defines "plastics" but does not confine all headings in Chapter 39 to plastics alone. The scheme of the chapter, read with the Harmonised System Explanatory Notes, shows that several headings cover polymers and related products beyond plastics. The decisive question was whether the goods fell within the exclusion for separate chemically defined compounds. The material on record, including pharmacopoeial and technical descriptions, showed that polyethylene glycol grades are commercial mixtures with varying average molecular weights and differing numbers of oxyethylene units, rather than compounds with a constant molecular composition. The Tribunal further distinguished earlier decisions under the Customs Tariff, noting that the structure of Chapter 39 of the Central Excise Tariff materially differed and that those precedents did not control the present tariff scheme.

Conclusion: Polyethylene glycol of the grades in question is not a separate chemically defined compound and is correctly classifiable under Heading 39.07; the classification adopted by the Commissioner is upheld.

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