Tariff classification cannot rest on grounds outside the show cause notice; appellate authority must stay within the pleaded dispute.

Classification under customs tariff law cannot be sustained on a ground not alleged in the show cause notice. Where the notice confined the dispute to classification under Chapter Sub-heading 5910.00 and the competing entry under Chapter Heading 5603.00, the authority could not rely on a chemical test report suggesting Chapter Sub-heading 4010.90 because that basis was never put to notice. The appellate authority therefore had no power to travel beyond the notice, and any classification founded on an unalleged tariff entry was unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether the appellate authority could classify the goods under a tariff entry not proposed in the show cause notice.

Analysis: The show cause notice proposed classification under Chapter Sub-heading 5910.00, while the adjudication proceeded on the competing question whether the goods were classifiable under Chapter Heading 5603.00. The chemical test report suggesting Chapter Sub-heading 4010.90 was not part of the allegation in the notice. Since the disputed issue before the adjudicating authority was confined to the classification alternatives stated in the notice, the appellate authority could not introduce and decide a new classification basis beyond the scope of the notice.

Conclusion: The appellate authority had no power to travel beyond the show cause notice, and the classification under Chapter Sub-heading 4010.90 could not be sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A classification determination cannot rest on a ground not alleged in the show cause notice, and appellate jurisdiction cannot extend beyond the issues specifically put to notice.

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