Printed wrappers as products of the printing industry: substantive branding information led to classification under the printing tariff entry.

Printed gay wrappers were treated as products of the printing industry because the pictures, motifs and legends on the wrappers conveyed substantive information about the nature and brand of the goods and were not merely incidental to use. On that basis, the wrappers fell under sub-heading 4901.90 rather than sub-heading 4823.19. As the classification under the printing industry entry was accepted, the duty demand, penalty and interest did not survive, and the impugned orders were set aside with consequential relief.

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Issues: Whether printed gay wrappers were classifiable under sub-heading 4901.90 as products of the printing industry or under sub-heading 4823.19, and whether the duty demand, penalty and interest could therefore survive.

Analysis: The product was examined in the light of the printed matter appearing on the wrappers and the applicable section notes and chapter notes. The printing was found to be more than incidental, because the pictures, motifs and legends conveyed specific information about the nature and brand of the goods that could be contained inside and enabled the buyer to make an informed choice. Applying the same reasoning already accepted in the connected batch of appeals, the product was treated as falling within sub-heading 4901.90 as a product of the printing industry.

Conclusion: The product was held classifiable under sub-heading 4901.90 and not under sub-heading 4823.19, with the result that the duty demand and penalty did not survive.

Final Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the appeals were allowed with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: Where printing on wrappers conveys substantive information about the goods and is not merely incidental to use, the goods are classifiable as products of the printing industry under the relevant tariff entry.

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