Footwear embellishment exemption denied for zip fasteners, which were treated as utilitarian fastening items rather than decorative accessories.

Zip fasteners of specified lengths were considered outside the phrase "buckles and other embellishments for footwear" in Notification No. 29/79-Cus. because the exemption was confined to items with a similar decorative character. The analysis treated buckles as distinct articles that may serve fastening or decorative functions, but found zip fasteners to be primarily utilitarian fastening devices, with any decorative effect only incidental. The materials and certificate relied on by the parties were held insufficient to show that zip fasteners were used as footwear embellishments, so they did not qualify for the concessional duty rate under the notification.

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Issues: Whether zip fasteners of specified lengths were covered by the expression "buckles and other embellishments for footwear" in Notification No. 29/79-Cus. so as to qualify for the concessional rate of duty.

Analysis: The relevant entry treated buckles as distinct because they may serve both fastening and decorative purposes, but the expression "other embellishments for footwear" was confined to articles of a similar decorative character. Zip fasteners were found to serve primarily a fastening or utilitarian function, with any decorative effect being merely incidental and limited. The materials relied upon by the appellants did not establish that zip fasteners were used as embellishments for footwear, and the certificate produced was not sufficient to alter that conclusion.

Conclusion: Zip fasteners are not embellishments for footwear and do not fall within the notification.

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