Classification of wax-treated cotton fabric as water-proofed cloth affirmed on identical prior judicial guidance.

Cotton fabric treated with wax emulsion, which filled the interstices, materially reduced air permeability and eliminated water permeability, was classified as water-proofed cloth. The applicable classification followed the earlier Bombay HC ruling on identical fabric, which had already determined that such processing changed the goods' character for tariff purposes. On that basis, the fabric was not classifiable as bleached and dyed fabrics or as water-repellant cloth, and relief followed for the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the processed cotton fabric subjected to wax emulsion was classifiable as water-proofed cloth rather than as bleached and dyed fabrics or water-repellant cloth.

Analysis: The goods were cotton fabrics treated with wax emulsion to fill the interstices, reduce air permeability to a negligible extent, and eliminate water permeability. The controlling guidance was the earlier Bombay High Court decision on the same type of fabric, which held that such cloth was to be treated as water-proofed cloth. The applied principle was that the proper classification had to follow the nature and effect of the processing as already judicially determined on identical facts.

Conclusion: The fabric was held classifiable as water-proofed cloth and not as bleached or dyed fabrics or water-repellant cloth, with consequential relief to the assessee.

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