Classification of boiled supari: processed betel nut remains under Chapter 8, not a food preparation under Chapter 21.

Boiled (whole) supari remains classifiable as dried betel nut under sub-heading 0802 80 10 because boiling, drying and allied treatment were treated as processes within Note 3 to Chapter 8 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. Those processes did not change the goods into a food preparation under Chapter 21, as they retained the character of betel nuts and did not satisfy Supplementary Note 2 to Chapter 21. On that basis, the article concluded that boiled supari is not classifiable under sub-heading 2106 90 30.

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Issues: Whether boiled (whole) supari is classifiable under sub-heading 2106 90 30 as a food preparation or under sub-heading 0802 80 10 as dried betel nut.

Analysis: The processes applied to raw betel nuts, namely boiling, drying and allied treatment, were found to fall within the scope of Note 3 to Chapter 8 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The goods, after such processing, retained the character of betel nuts and did not acquire the character of a preparation so as to satisfy Supplementary Note 2 to Chapter 21. A preparation under Chapter 21 requires a product containing betel nuts in the relevant statutory sense, whereas the goods here remained classifiable as betel nuts of Chapter 8.

Conclusion: Boiled (whole) supari is not classifiable under sub-heading 2106 90 30 and is more appropriately classifiable under sub-heading 0802 80 10.

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