Milk drink classification stays under Chapter 4 where minimal flavouring does not change essential character.

A nutritious milk drink containing only a small quantity of flavouring substance remained classifiable under Tariff Heading 0404 90 00 because the added flavour did not alter its essential character. Applying the HSN Notes to Headings 0404 and 1901, the classification test was whether the added ingredient changed the product so fundamentally that it moved from Chapter 4 to Chapter 19. Heading 1901 was treated as covering milk preparations where milk constituents are combined with impermissible ingredients or replaced by other substances. A minuscule flavouring addition was held insufficient to convert the product into a food preparation of milk, so classification under Heading 1901 was rejected.

---

---

Issues: Whether the impugned product, a nutritious milk drink containing a small quantity of flavouring substance, was correctly classifiable under Tariff Heading 0404 90 00 or could be shifted to Tariff Heading 1901.

Analysis: The classification was examined with reference to the HSN Notes to Tariff Headings 0404 and 1901. The relevant test was whether the added flavouring substance changed the essential nature of the product so as to take it out of Chapter 4 and into Chapter 19. The reasoning proceeded on the basis that Heading 1901 applies where milk constituents are combined with other ingredients not permitted in the earlier headings, or where milk constituents are replaced by another substance. A minuscule quantity of flavouring substance was held not to alter the basic character of the product or convert it into a food preparation of milk.

Conclusion: The product remained classifiable under Tariff Heading 0404 90 00 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, and the attempted classification under Heading 1901 was rejected.

---