Off-the-road tariff classification excludes fork-lift truck tyres and tubes under the specialised equipment category.

Tyres and tubes for fork-lift trucks were analysed under the tariff phrase "vehicles or equipment designed for use off-the-road." The tariff history, Board circulars, Finance Minister's speech and trade-technical materials indicated that the phrase was meant for specialised rough-terrain machinery such as bulldozers, scrapers, loaders and excavators. A contemporaneous circular specifically excluded fork-lift truck tyres from the off-the-road category, and later material did not support including them. The prior power tiller tyre decision was treated as distinguishable and not controlling. Fork-lift trucks were therefore not treated as off-the-road equipment for classification under sub-headings 4011.91 and 4013.91.

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Issues: Whether tyres and tubes meant for fork-lift trucks are classifiable under sub-headings 4011.91 and 4013.91 as goods for vehicles or equipment designed for use off-the-road, or under the residuary sub-headings 4011.99 and 4013.99.

Analysis: The expression "vehicles or equipment designed for use off-the-road" was not defined in the tariff. The surrounding tariff history, the Board's circulars, the Finance Minister's speech, and trade and technical material showed that the phrase was intended to cover specialised vehicles and equipment used on rough terrain such as bulldozers, scrapers, loaders, excavators and similar earth-moving machinery. The contemporaneous circular of 1981 specifically excluded fork-lift truck tyres from the OTR category, and the later material did not justify treating fork-lift trucks as off-the-road equipment. The earlier decision concerning power tiller tyres did not govern this classification dispute.

Conclusion: Fork-lift trucks are not vehicles or equipment designed for use off-the-road, and the tyres and tubes for such trucks are not classifiable under sub-headings 4011.91 and 4013.91.

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