Tariff classification of green pepper turns on specific entry and trade parlance, supporting Chapter 7 treatment over spice classification.

Imported green pepper was treated as a fresh vegetable for customs classification because tariff classification must follow the most specific description available, read with chapter notes and common trade understanding. The analysis distinguished green pepper in its harvested form from pepper as a processed spice under Chapter 9, and concluded that spice is not raw produce but a processed product. On that basis, green pepper remained specifically covered by Chapter 7 as fresh or chilled vegetables, making reclassification under Chapter 9 unsustainable.

---

---

Issues: Whether imported green pepper was correctly classifiable under heading 0709 99 10 of Chapter 7 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as fresh or chilled vegetables, or under heading 0904 11 90 of Chapter 9 as pepper, neither crushed nor ground.

Analysis: Classification under the tariff must proceed from the most specific description and not by resort to a residuary entry where a clear specific entry is available. The chapter notes and tariff structure showed that the imported goods were green pepper in the form in which they were harvested, while Chapter 9 covered pepper as a processed spice. The Court applied the common trade and commercial understanding of the goods and held that spice is not the raw produce of the plant but a processed product, whereas green pepper in its imported form remained a vegetable entry specifically covered under Chapter 7. The inclusion and exclusion scheme in the chapter notes supported the appellant's declaration and negatived the revenue's attempt to treat the goods as spice.

Conclusion: The goods were correctly classifiable under Chapter 7 as declared by the appellant, and the reclassification under Chapter 9 was unsustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a tariff provides a specific entry matching the commercial identity of imported goods, classification must follow that specific entry on the basis of common trade parlance and chapter-note structure, and not a residuary or less appropriate heading.

---