Tariff classification of refrigerator table tops turns on their own characteristics, not mere placement on the appliance.

A cut-to-size wooden table top fixed on a refrigerator was examined for tariff classification as a refrigerator part under Chapter Heading 84.18, or alternatively under Chapter 44 or Chapter 94. The item was found to have no role in the refrigeration process and not to answer the description of furniture specially designed as part of refrigerating equipment. The relevant Chapter Note and HSN explanatory notes indicated that only cabinets or furniture designed to receive a refrigerating unit or evaporator would fall outside Chapter 94. Classification had therefore to be tested on the item's own characteristics, and the prior order was inadequate for not identifying the correct sub-heading within the proper chapter.

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Issues: Whether refrigerator tops were classifiable under Chapter Heading 84.18 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 as parts of refrigerators, or under Chapter 44 or Chapter 94.

Analysis: The item was a cut-to-size wooden table top fixed on a refrigerator, but it had no role in the refrigeration process and did not by itself answer the description of furniture specially designed as a part of refrigerating equipment. The relevant Chapter Note and HSN explanatory notes showed that only cabinets or furniture equipped with, or designed to receive, a refrigerating unit or evaporator would fall outside Chapter 94. The item did not satisfy that description. The item therefore could not be treated as a part of a refrigerator merely because it was placed on one, and the classification had to be tested on its own characteristics. The order below also failed to specify the correct sub-heading within the appropriate chapter.

Conclusion: Classification under Chapter Heading 84.18 was held to be unsustainable, and the matter was sent back for determination of the proper sub-heading under the appropriate chapter.

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