Tariff classification of fusible interlining cloth confirmed under Chapter 59 after coating process analysis.

Fusible interlining cloth was examined against competing tariff headings 5208, 5209, 5212 and 5903 under the Customs Tariff Act. The product was found to be a textile coated with plastic on one side and produced through a dot-printing process rather than weaving or interlacing, so it did not fit the description of woven cotton fabrics under headings 5208, 5209 or 5212. The visible dotted pattern was treated as part of the coating process and did not take the goods out of Chapter 59. The goods were therefore classifiable under heading 5903.

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Issues: Whether fusible interlining cloth manufactured by the appellant was classifiable under headings 5208, 5209 or 5212 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, or under heading 5903 of that Schedule.

Analysis: The product was examined along with the manufacturing process and the sample invoices. The material was found to be a textile coated with plastic on one side and to emerge from a dot-printing process rather than from weaving or interlacing. On that basis, it did not answer the description of woven cotton fabrics under headings 5208, 5209 or 5212. The claimed exclusion from Chapter 59 was also rejected because the visible dotted pattern was treated as the result of the coating process itself, not as a basis to take the goods outside Chapter 59. The reliance placed on contrary advance ruling material was found unpersuasive in light of the relevant CBEC circulars and the nature of the product.

Conclusion: Fusible interlining cloth was held classifiable under heading 5903, and the appellant's claim for classification under headings 5208, 5209 or 5212 failed.

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