Classification of HDPE man-made filament twine followed prior High Court and Supreme Court-backed view, rejecting Tariff Item 68 treatment.

HDPE man-made filament twine was treated as classifiable under Tariff Item 18(II)(1) of the erstwhile Central Excise Tariff rather than Tariff Item 68. The classification dispute was resolved by following the earlier High Court view on the same goods, which had already been taken to the Supreme Court and not upset there. On that basis, the Tribunal accepted the assessee's classification position and the department's challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether HDPE man-made filament twine was classifiable under Tariff Item 18(II)(1) of the erstwhile Central Excise Tariff or under Tariff Item 68.

Analysis: The dispute was controlled by the earlier High Court view on the classification of the same goods, and that view had already been carried to the Supreme Court and the challenge had been dismissed. The Tribunal followed the earlier ratio and accepted the assessee's classification claim.

Conclusion: HDPE man-made filament twine was classifiable under Tariff Item 18(II)(1), not Tariff Item 68, and the department's appeal failed.

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