Machine tools classification allowed rolling mills to qualify for Open General Licence clearance under import policy

Rolling mills were treated as machine tools for Import Trade Control Policy, 1985-88 purposes because the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature explanatory note under Heading 84.45 covered machine tools even where particular items were specifically classified elsewhere. The specific placement of rolling mills under Heading 84.44 did not exclude them from the broader machine-tool category for import policy coverage. Board circulars, machine-tool policy lists and the tariff framework supported this interpretation, while trade parlance and dictionary meanings were not accepted as decisive against the express explanatory note. On that basis, rolling mills were eligible for Open General Licence clearance.

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Issues: Whether rolling mills imported by the appellant were machine tools for the purposes of the Import Trade Control Policy, 1985-88, and therefore eligible for clearance under the Open General Licence.

Analysis: The classification dispute turned on the explanatory notes to the Brussels Tariff Nomenclature and the alignment between customs classification and import policy classification. The relevant note under Heading 84.45 stated that, although machine tools are generally classified there, certain machine tools are more specifically covered by other headings, including rolling mills under Heading 84.44. The fact that rolling mills were specifically placed under Heading 84.44 did not exclude them from the category of machine tools. Earlier tariff and policy materials, including the Board's circulars and the machine-tool policy lists, also supported treatment of rolling mills as machine tools. The trade-parlance argument and dictionary meaning were not accepted as decisive in view of the specific explanatory note and the policy framework.

Conclusion: Rolling mills were held to be included within the category of machine tools for the purposes of the Import Trade Control Policy, 1985-88, and the appellant's claim to OGL clearance succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the tariff explanatory note expressly treats a specifically classified article as a machine tool for classification purposes, specific placement under another heading does not by itself remove it from the broader category for import policy coverage.

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