Plastic builders' ware classification upheld for cold storage panels and doors, rejecting Heading 8418 treatment.

Insulated polyurethane foam panels and doors used for cold storage construction were held classifiable under Chapter 39, not Heading 8418, because their predominant character was plastic builders' ware by quantity and value. The Tribunal found they were not ordinary cabinets or refrigerator parts in the commercial sense contemplated by Heading 8418, and that separate supply of refrigeration units did not alter their essential character. Goods erected at site for cold storage rooms were treated according to their own composition and use, leading to rejection of Revenue's claim under Heading 8418 and acceptance of classification under Chapter 39.

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Issues: Whether insulated polyurethane foam panels and insulated polyurethane foam doors were classifiable under Heading 8418 as claimed by Revenue, or under Chapter 39 as claimed by the assessee.

Analysis: The goods were found to be polyurethane foam panels and doors used for erection of cold storage rooms, with plastic foam constituting the predominant material by quantity and value. They were not ordinary cabinets or refrigerator parts in the sense contemplated by Heading 8418. The Tribunal noted that cold storage rooms and warehouse plants erected at site are not to be treated as excisable goods under the ratio reflected in the departmental order under Section 37B and earlier Tribunal authority. Since the goods, on their own merits, were insulated doors and wall panels having the essential character of builders' ware of plastic, their proper classification was under Chapter 39. The Tribunal also held that the fact that refrigeration units were supplied separately did not justify classification under Heading 8418.

Conclusion: Classification under Heading 8418 was rejected and classification under Chapter 39 was upheld, against the assessee and in favour of Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: Where goods used in constructing cold storage rooms are predominantly made of plastic and are not cabinets or refrigerator parts in the commercial sense contemplated by Heading 8418, they are to be classified according to their own essential character under Chapter 39.

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