Coffee-chicory blend classified as a coffee preparation, not a coffee substitute or residuary tariff item

A blended instant coffee product made with roasted chicory cubes and coffee extract was treated as a distinct commercial preparation, not as pure coffee or a coffee substitute. Because chicory was used mainly as a blending ingredient and the product was prepared on a basis of coffee, sub-heading 0901.20 was excluded. The tariff entry for coffee preparations in Heading 21.01, specifically sub-heading 2101.10, applied instead of sub-heading 2101.30, and Heading 21.07 was ruled out because a specific entry covered the product.

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Issues: Whether instant coffee chicory blend is classifiable under sub-heading 0901.20 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, or under Heading 21.01, particularly sub-heading 2101.10, and whether sub-heading 2101.30 or Heading 21.07 applies.

Analysis: The product was manufactured by blending coffee with roasted chicory cubes, extracting the liquor and spray-drying it into powder. The blend was held to be neither pure coffee nor a coffee substitute in the statutory sense, because chicory was used in India mainly for blending with coffee and the resulting commodity was a distinct commercial product known as French coffee or instant coffee chicory blend. Since it was not a coffee substitute, sub-heading 0901.20 was excluded. Chapter 21, and particularly Heading 21.01, covered coffee preparations and distinguished between preparations with a basis of coffee and roasted chicory or coffee substitutes. The blend, being prepared with a basis of coffee extract and not falling within the substitute category, was held to answer the description of sub-heading 2101.10 rather than sub-heading 2101.30. Heading 21.07 was not attracted because specific entries existed for coffee products under Heading 21.01.

Conclusion: The product is classifiable under sub-heading 2101.10 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, and not under sub-heading 0901.20, sub-heading 2101.30, or Heading 21.07.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a blended coffee-chicory product is prepared with a basis of coffee extract and does not constitute a coffee substitute, it falls under the specific tariff entry for coffee preparations rather than the entry for coffee substitutes or the residuary heading.

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