Meter registers classified as accessories, not parts or measuring instruments, so OGL import entitlement was denied.

Meter registers used with a flow meter were held classifiable under Heading 90.29 rather than Heading 90.26 because they functioned as counters displaying total liquid delivery, not as instruments measuring or checking flow. On import entitlement, the registers were treated as complete instruments and accessories, not parts of the flow meter, so import under OGL was not available and a specific import licence was required. The operative principle stated was that classification and import eligibility depend on the item's own essential character and function as described in the catalogue, not merely on its use with another machine.

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Issues: (i) Whether meter registers imported by the appellant were classifiable under Heading 90.26 or Heading 90.29 of the Customs Tariff. (ii) Whether the goods were eligible for import under OGL as parts of the flow meter or required a specific import licence.

Issue (i): Whether meter registers imported by the appellant were classifiable under Heading 90.26 or Heading 90.29 of the Customs Tariff.

Analysis: Heading 90.26 covers instruments and apparatus for measuring and checking flow, level, pressure or other variables of liquids or gases. The catalogue showed that the meter register functioned as a counter used with a flow meter to display the running, final and accumulated total of liquid delivery. Such a device was not itself an instrument for measuring or checking flow, but an accessory or counter used with the flow meter.

Conclusion: The goods were correctly classifiable under Heading 90.29 and not under Heading 90.26.

Issue (ii): Whether the goods were eligible for import under OGL as parts of the flow meter or required a specific import licence.

Analysis: The catalogue indicated that the meter registers were complete instruments in themselves and were shown as accessories to the flow meters manufactured by the appellant. As they were not parts of the flow meter but accessories used with it, the claim to import them under OGL as parts was not sustainable.

Conclusion: The goods were not eligible under OGL and required a specific import licence.

Final Conclusion: The classification adopted in the impugned order and the finding that the goods were not importable under OGL were upheld, leaving no infirmity in the order under challenge.

Ratio Decidendi: Goods are to be classified according to their own essential character and function as reflected in the catalogue and description; an item that is a complete instrument or accessory used with another machine is not necessarily a part of that machine for import entitlement purposes.

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