Vegetable extract classification turns on inert carriers and bulk importation, keeping single flaxseed extract under Heading 1302.

A single flaxseed extract in powder form with an inert carrier remains classifiable under Heading 1302 as a vegetable extract when the carrier is added only for stability or to convert it into powder form. Heading 2106 was inapplicable because the product was not a food preparation or fit for direct human consumption. Headings 3003 and 3004 were also excluded because the goods were a single plant extract, not a compounded medicament, and were imported in bulk rather than put up in measured doses or retail packings. The ruling therefore classified the product under tariff item 13021919 in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the imported product, a single flaxseed extract in powder form with an inert carrier, is classifiable under tariff item 13021919 as a vegetable extract, or whether it falls under Heading 2106 or Headings 3003/3004 as a food preparation or medicament.

Analysis: Classification was determined by the General Rules for Interpretation, read with the relevant Section and Chapter Notes and the Harmonised System Explanatory Notes. Heading 1302 covers vegetable saps and extracts obtained from plant material by solvent extraction, and the Notes permit inert substances to be added merely to stabilise the extract or convert it into powder form without changing its classification. Chapter Note 3 to Chapter 30 further clarifies that simple vegetable extracts of Heading 1302, merely standardised or dissolved in any solvent, are to be treated as unmixed products. Heading 3003 applies only to medicaments consisting of two or more constituents mixed together for therapeutic or prophylactic use, which excludes a single plant extract. Heading 3004 requires a medicament to be put up in measured doses or in forms or packings for retail sale, which was not satisfied because the goods were imported in bulk. Heading 2106 was also found inapplicable because the product was not a food preparation, not fit for direct human consumption, and remained a raw plant extract intended for further manufacture.

Conclusion: The product is classifiable under Heading 1302 and tariff item 13021919. Classification under Headings 2106, 3003, and 3004 is not sustainable and the ruling is in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: A single plant extract obtained by solvent extraction remains classifiable under Heading 1302 when inert carriers are added only for powder form or stability, unless it is compounded into a medicament or presented as a retail-dose preparation.

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