Tariff classification and manufacture test determine orthopaedic goods classification and defeat excise demand on traded bandages.

Orthopaedic heating pads, belts and bands were held classifiable under Tariff Item 9021 10 00 because their therapeutic and supportive use aligned with the HSN description of orthopaedic appliances, which prevails over the more general heading for electro-medical apparatus. The bandages cleared from job workers in fully packed condition were treated as traded goods, with no manufacturing activity by the assessee established at its factory; since excise duty attaches only on manufacture, no fresh duty demand could survive. The duty demands, interest and equivalent penalties were therefore set aside, with consequential relief.

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Issues: (i) Whether orthopaedic heating pads/belts/bands were classifiable under Tariff Item 9021 10 00 as orthopaedic appliances or under Tariff Item 9018 90 99 as electro-medical apparatus. (ii) Whether the bandages cleared by the appellant were manufactured by it so as to attract central excise duty, or were only traded goods on which duty had already been paid.

Issue (i): Whether orthopaedic heating pads/belts/bands were classifiable under Tariff Item 9021 10 00 as orthopaedic appliances or under Tariff Item 9018 90 99 as electro-medical apparatus.

Analysis: The product was found to be marketed and used for relief from swelling and pain and for supporting bodily conditions. The classification was guided by the HSN Explanatory Notes, which showed that Chapter 9018 covered electro-medical apparatus used for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, while Chapter 9021 covered orthopaedic appliances for preventing or correcting bodily deformities and supporting organs after illness or operation. The specific heading for orthopaedic appliances was held to be more appropriate than the general heading for medical apparatus, and end-use evidence from medical experts supported the assessee's claim.

Conclusion: The heating pads/belts/bands were correctly classifiable under Tariff Item 9021 10 00, in favour of the assessee.

Issue (ii): Whether the bandages cleared by the appellant were manufactured by it so as to attract central excise duty, or were only traded goods on which duty had already been paid.

Analysis: The evidence showed that the bandages were received and cleared in fully packed condition from job workers, and no further manufacturing activity by the appellant was established at its factory premises. Since central excise duty is attracted only on manufacture, mere clearance of finished goods received from job workers could not justify a fresh demand.

Conclusion: No duty demand was sustainable on the bandages, in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The duty demands, interest, and equivalent penalties were set aside and the appeal was allowed with consequential relief.

Ratio Decidendi: For classification, the specific tariff heading supported by the product's end-use and HSN guidance prevails over a general heading, and excise duty cannot be demanded in the absence of manufacture by the assessee.

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