Specific tariff entry prevails for domestic milk cans; capacity alone does not shift classification to a broader container heading.

Domestic milk cans were treated as classifiable under Heading 73.23 because the tariff entry and HSN Notes specifically covered household articles, including milk cans, and extended to similar establishment use. Capacity was not the governing test for classification, so the goods could not be shifted to Heading 7310 merely because they were larger containers. The specific entry prevailed over the broader container heading, and the exemption attached to Heading 73.23 therefore remained available. The Revenue's challenge to the lower appellate classification was rejected.

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Issues: Whether domestic milk cans were classifiable under Heading 73.23 of the Central Excise Tariff and entitled to the claimed exemption, or whether they fell under Heading 7310 on the basis of capacity.

Analysis: The tariff entries and HSN Notes showed that Heading 73.23 covered table, kitchen and other household articles, including domestic milk cans, and extended to articles used in hotels, restaurants, hospitals, canteens and similar establishments. The notes also made clear that capacity was not the governing criterion for classification. Heading 7310, on the other hand, covered containers generally, including packing cans and similar containers, and did not displace the specific reference to milk cans under Heading 73.23. The note to Heading 7310 and the sub-classification scheme also indicated that the classification could not be decided merely by treating larger cans as industrial and smaller cans as domestic. The Tribunal also noted prior authority treating vessels used outside the household as utensils for tariff purposes.

Conclusion: Domestic milk cans were correctly classified under Heading 73.23, and the exemption was rightly extended. The Revenue's challenge failed.

Final Conclusion: The classification adopted by the lower appellate authority was upheld and the Revenue appeal was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the tariff heading specifically covers the goods and the HSN Notes indicate that capacity is not the decisive test, classification must follow the specific entry and not a capacity-based approximation under a broader heading.

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