Specific tariff classification for silicone products prevails over medicinal use, placing primary-form silicones outside the residuary entry.

Silicone-based products in primary form, including silicone oils and simethicone, were treated as polysiloxane compounds falling within the specific tariff entry for silicones produced by chemical synthesis. Prior Tribunal rulings supported classification under Tariff Item 15A(1), and the products' claimed medicinal, pharmacopoeial, or drug use did not alter that result because end-use cannot override a specific tariff description. The products were therefore classifiable under Tariff Item 15A(1) and not the residuary Tariff Item 68, with the Revenue's appeal accepted.

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Issues: Whether silicone-based products in primary form were classifiable under Tariff Item 15A(1) or under Tariff Item 68, and whether their alleged medicinal or pharmacopoeial use altered the classification.

Analysis: The products were found to be polysiloxane compounds, i.e. silicone oils, and simethicone was found to be a silicone-based jelly-like mass. The applicable tariff entry treated silicones as goods of a kind produced by chemical synthesis, and the prior Tribunal decisions had already held that silicone in primary form falls within Tariff Item 15A(1). The fact that the products were said to conform to pharmacopoeial standards, were used as drugs, or were sold for medicinal purposes did not displace the specific tariff classification, since end-use does not govern classification where the goods answer the description of a specific heading.

Conclusion: The products were held classifiable under Tariff Item 15A(1), and not under Tariff Item 68; the Revenue's appeal was accepted.

Ratio Decidendi: Silicone products in primary form are classifiable under the specific tariff entry for silicones, and their medicinal or pharmacopoeial use does not shift them to a residuary heading.

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