ATM thermal paper rolls remain Chapter 48 goods where printing is only incidental to their primary use.

Printed thermal paper rolls used in ATMs were held classifiable under Chapter 48, not Chapter 49, because the decisive test was whether the printing was merely incidental to the goods' primary use. Chapter Note 12 to Chapter 48 treats paper printed with motifs, characters or pictorial representations as Chapter 49 only where the printing is not incidental. Here, the rolls were designed for ATM use and to print transaction details, while the bank name, logo and similar markings served only identification. Authorities on printed labels and lottery tickets were distinguished, and the Revenue's appeal succeeded, with the Commissioner (Appeals) order set aside.

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Issues: Whether the printed thermal paper rolls used in ATMs were classifiable under Chapter 49 as printed matter or under Chapter 48 as paper rolls, and whether the printing on them was merely incidental to their primary use.

Analysis: The decisive test was whether the printing on the paper was merely incidental to the primary use of the goods. Chapter Note 12 of Chapter 48 provides that paper and paperboard printed with motifs, characters or pictorial representations, where the printing is not merely incidental to the primary use, fall in Chapter 49. The thermal rolls were made to fit ATM machines and were principally meant to print transaction details; the bank name, logo and similar printing served only identification and was incidental to the product's primary use. The cited authorities on printed labels and lottery tickets were distinguished, and the ratio of the decision concerning printed paperboard articles, where printing was incidental to packaging use, was applied.

Conclusion: The goods were correctly classifiable under Chapter 48 and not under Chapter 49. The Revenue's appeal succeeded, and the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) was set aside.

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