Textile classification dispute: fly waste was not proved to fall under heading 5505.20 and re-classification failed.

The fly waste classification dispute turned on whether the goods fell under heading 5505.20 or heading 5601.30 of the Central Excise Tariff. The classification under heading 5505.20 was rejected because the fibre length, which was central to the dispute, was not credibly established and the department relied on an inadequate test report and an alternative classification without first discrediting the assessee's claimed heading. HSN explanatory notes and the record supported treatment of textile fibres not exceeding 5 mm as textile flock under heading 5601.30, so the re-classification was held erroneous.

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Issues: Whether the disputed fly waste was correctly classifiable under heading 5505.20 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, or under heading 5601.30 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.

Analysis: The adjudication was found unsustainable because the length of the fibre, which was central to the classification dispute, had not been credibly established. The impugned order also proceeded on an inadequate test report and on an alternative classification without first discrediting the assessee's claimed classification. The material on record, including the HSN explanatory notes, supported the view that textile fibres not exceeding 5 mm in length fall within textile flock under heading 5601.30, and the evidence relied on by the department was insufficient to reject that position.

Conclusion: The disputed goods were not proved to be classifiable under heading 5505.20, and the re-classification was held to be erroneous.

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