Tariff classification of plant-based health supplement turns on HSN notes and essential character, not common parlance alone.

For competing tariff entries that are pari materia with the HSN, classification must be determined by the heading terms read with the HSN Explanatory Notes. A plant- or fruit-based preparation is not treated as a food supplement under Heading 21.06 where no vitamins are added and the product derives its essential character from fruit or edible plant ingredients. On that basis, the product described as "Indian Noni," made from morinda citrifolia, garcinia cambogia and stevia extracts with preservatives and flavouring, was excluded from Heading 21.06 and treated as classifiable under Heading 20.09 as a fruit juice or mixture of juices for the relevant periods.

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Issues: Whether the product "Indian Noni" was correctly classifiable under Chapter Heading 21.06 as a food preparation, or whether it fell under Chapter Heading 20.09 as a fruit juice or mixture of juices.

Analysis: The product was manufactured from morinda citrifolia, garcinia cambogia and stevia extracts, with preservatives and flavouring added, and was marketed as a health supplement. The Tribunal noted that, where competing tariff entries exist and the Central Excise Tariff is pari materia with the HSN, classification must be guided primarily by the heading terms and the HSN Explanatory Notes. The HSN note under Heading 21.06 covers food supplements based on plant or fruit extracts only when vitamins are added, and also excludes preparations made from fruits or other edible parts of plants where the essential character is given by such fruits or plant parts. No vitamins were added to the impugned product, and the essential character was derived from the fruit and plant ingredients. The common parlance test was therefore not decisive against the tariff notes.

Conclusion: The product was not classifiable under Heading 21.06. It was rightly classifiable under Chapter Heading 20.09 for the relevant periods.

Ratio Decidendi: Where competing tariff entries are pari materia with the HSN, classification must be determined by the heading terms read with the HSN Explanatory Notes, and a plant or fruit based preparation is excluded from Heading 21.06 when its essential character is given by the fruit or edible plant material and no added vitamins are present.

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