Tariff classification of carpets made on manually operated looms favours Heading 57.01 as hand-made carpets.

Tariff classification of carpets made on manually operated looms turned on Chapter Note 3 to Chapter 57 and the scope of Headings 57.01 and 57.02. Under the post-1996 structure, Heading 57.01 covered hand-made carpets, while Heading 57.02 applied only to carpets not falling under Heading 57.01. The fact that manually operated looms might be described as machines in a dictionary sense did not control classification, because the Chapter Note was confined to Heading 57.02 and could not remove hand-made carpets from Heading 57.01. Carpets made on manually operated looms were therefore treated as hand-made carpets under Heading 57.01.

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Issues: Whether carpets manufactured on manually operated looms were classifiable under Heading 57.01 as hand-made carpets or under Heading 57.02 as machine-made carpets.

Analysis: The classification had to be determined by reading the tariff headings and Chapter Note 3 to Chapter 57 in their relevant forms. Prior to 23-7-1996, Chapter Note 3 excluded manually operated looms from the meaning of "machines" for Heading 57.01, while after re-introduction from that date the note applied to Heading 57.02 and excluded only manually operated implements used independently by hand. In the post-1996 tariff structure, Heading 57.01 covered hand-made carpets, and Heading 57.02 covered carpets other than those under Heading 57.01. The fact that manually operated looms could be treated as machines in a dictionary sense did not control the tariff entry, because the note was confined to Heading 57.02 and could not be used to shift hand-made carpets out of Heading 57.01.

Conclusion: Carpets manufactured on manually operated looms were held to be hand-made carpets classifiable under Heading 57.01, and not under Heading 57.02.

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