Customs classification of coloured glass turns on optical quality, not appearance alone, under the tariff notes and expert evidence.

Imported sheet glass was considered under competing customs tariff headings for optical glass and glass used for sun glasses. Reading the tariff entries with the CCCN explanatory notes, the text explains that optical glass may have light-absorptive or coloured properties, while protective spectacles may use either ordinary or optical glass. On the evidence, including supplier and expert certificates, the imported goods were described as superior-quality ophthalmic crown glass and not the poor-quality material typically associated with sun-glass use. The goods were therefore classified as optical glass under Heading 70.17/18 and not under Heading 70.01/16.

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Issues: Whether the imported sheet glass was classifiable as optical glass under Heading 70.17/18 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, or as glass of a kind used for sun glasses under Heading 70.01/16.

Analysis: The competing tariff entries had to be read with the CCCN explanatory notes on which the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 was broadly based. Although Heading 70.18 referred to optical glass mainly in relation to optical instruments and corrective spectacle lenses, the explanatory notes also indicated that optical glass may have special light-absorptive properties and may be coloured. The notes to Heading 90.04 further showed that protective spectacles, including sun glasses, may consist of ordinary or optical glass. The material on record, including the suppliers' certificate and the expert certificate from the University of Bombay, showed that the imported glass was of superior quality, of ophthalmic crown type, and not of the poor quality generally associated with glass of a kind used for sun glasses under Heading 70.15.

Conclusion: The goods were held to fall within the purview of optical glass classifiable under Heading 70.17/18 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and not under Heading 70.01/16.

Ratio Decidendi: Coloured glass used for protective spectacles may still qualify as optical glass where the tariff notes and evidence show that it is of optical quality and not merely ordinary sun-glass material.

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