Tariff classification of Myristic Acid turns on heading language, not purity alone, with refund following Chapter 15 treatment.

Imported Myristic Acid 95% was held classifiable as a fatty acid under Heading 15.08/13 of the Customs Tariff Act, not under Heading 29.01/45(1). Classification had to be derived from the tariff headings and relevant section or chapter notes, and not from an unsupported purity threshold or technical opinion based on that approach. The explanatory notes to the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature were treated as having no legal force, though they could be persuasive. Having placed the product in Chapter 15, the consequential entitlement to refund of additional duty followed.

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Issues: Whether imported Myristic Acid 95% was classifiable under Heading 15.08/13 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 or under Heading 29.01/45(1), and whether the respondent was entitled to refund of additional duty on the basis of the exemption notification.

Analysis: The classification could not be determined merely by applying a purity threshold of 90%. The earlier view that purity alone controlled the choice between Chapter 15 and Chapter 29 was rejected, and the reliance placed on technical opinion founded on that approach was not accepted. The imported product was found on the literature and surrounding material to be a fatty acid specifically covered by Heading 15.08/13. The explanatory notes to the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature were treated as having no legal force, though they may have persuasive value, and the tariff headings themselves were held to govern classification. Once the product was held to fall under Chapter 15, the consequential refund position followed.

Conclusion: The imported Myristic Acid was classifiable under Heading 15.08/13 and not under Heading 29.01/45(1); the respondent was therefore entitled to the refund of additional duty.

Ratio Decidendi: Tariff classification must be determined from the terms of the tariff headings and relevant section or chapter notes, and not by an unsupported purity criterion or by explanatory notes having no legal force.

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