Excise classification of epoxide intermediate: low-molecular-weight diglycidyl ether was not a resin polymer under Item 15A(1)(i).

Diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A was held not to fall under Item 15A(1)(i) because the tariff covered only a product that was itself a condensation, polycondensation or polyaddition polymer. The material was found to be a low-molecular-weight epoxide ether used as an intermediate for further curing to produce epoxy resin, not a resin polymer at the stage of clearance. Technical literature and expert opinion supported that characterisation, and the presence or absence of a by-product was not decisive. On that basis, the goods were not classifiable as a resin polymer under Item 15A(1)(i), and the classification adopted by the lower authorities could not stand.

---

---

Issues: Whether diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A was classifiable under Item 15A(1)(i) of the Central Excise Tariff as a condensation, polycondensation or polyaddition product, or whether it was only an intermediate epoxide ether not amounting to a resin polymer.

Analysis: The decisive question was the character of the product at the stage of clearance. The evidence showed that the goods were diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A, having low molecular weight and functioning as an intermediate used for further curing to produce epoxy resins. The material before the Tribunal, including technical literature and expert opinions, indicated that the product was an epoxide ether and not a high polymer resin. The Tribunal also held that, for Item 15A, the relevant condensation had to be a condensation polymerization producing the polymer itself, and not merely a condensation step in the formation of an intermediate. On that footing, the presence or absence of a by-product was not decisive, but the goods still did not answer the tariff description of a resin polymer.

Conclusion: The goods were not assessable under Item 15A(1)(i) and the classification adopted by the lower authorities could not stand.

Ratio Decidendi: For classification under Item 15A(1)(i), the product must itself be a condensation, polycondensation or polyaddition polymer of the kind described by the tariff, and a low-molecular-weight epoxide intermediate used to make epoxy resin is not such a product.

---