PVC floats for fishing nets are not floating structures under heading 89.07 when they serve only as buoyant attachments.

PVC floats used to support fishing nets were considered for classification under the Central Excise Tariff. Heading 89.07 covers floating structures such as rafts, tanks, coffer-dams, landing-stages, buoys and beacons, meaning articles that answer that tariff description in substance. A buoyant attachment for fishing nets was held not to perform the integrated function of a floating structure and therefore did not fall within heading 89.07. The classification under heading 39.26 as articles of plastics was thus preferred, and the Revenue's challenge to that classification failed.

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Issues: Whether PVC floats used to support fishing nets were classifiable under heading 89.07 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 as floating structures, or under heading 39.26 as articles of plastics.

Analysis: Heading 89.07 covers floating structures such as rafts, tanks, coffer-dams, landing-stages, buoys and beacons, i.e. structures having the character contemplated by that heading. The product in question was only a buoyant attachment for fishing nets and did not perform the integrated function of the examples specified under heading 89.07. On that basis, it was not treated as a floating structure, and the view that it was outside heading 89.07 was accepted.

Conclusion: The PVC floats were not classifiable under heading 89.07 and the Revenue's challenge to the assessee's classification failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A product that is merely buoyant and serves as an attachment to a fishing net does not become a floating structure under heading 89.07 unless it answers the tariff description of that heading in substance.

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