Tariff classification and varnish coating: mere varnish on cotton fabrics does not make them plastic products under Chapter 39.

Cotton fabrics coated with varnish and cut into tapes were not treated as articles of plastic under Chapter 39 because a varnish coating, by itself, does not establish that the goods are plastic products. The classification could not be sustained without evidence that the varnish was based on synthetic polymer or that the coating altered the goods so they answered the Chapter 39 description. On that evidence, the Revenue's challenge failed and the original classification was left undisturbed.

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Issues: Whether cotton fabrics coated with varnish and cut into tapes were classifiable under Chapter 39 on the footing that the varnish coating made them articles of plastic.

Analysis: Varnishes and lacquers are liquid preparations used for protection or decoration, and they may be based on different substances. The mere fact of coating with varnish does not, by itself, establish that the product is an article of plastic. The Revenue produced no evidence to show that the varnish used was necessarily based on synthetic polymer or that the goods had acquired the character of goods falling under Chapter 39.

Conclusion: The classification under Chapter 39 was not accepted, and the Revenue's challenge to the order of the Collector (Appeals) failed.

Final Conclusion: The appeal was rejected and the original classification order was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: Mere coating with varnish does not convert an article into a plastic product for tariff classification unless the material and its effect on the goods are established by evidence.

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