Functional use controls exemption: centrifugal booster fan treated as part of air-conditioning machinery and excluded from notification benefit.

A centrifugal booster fan designed for and used in air-conditioning machinery was treated as a part of that machinery, so it fell within the notification's exclusion and was not eligible for exemption under Notification No. 175/86-C.E. Tariff classification under Heading 84.14, rather than 84.15, was held immaterial because the controlling test was functional use and design: whether the goods were parts of air-conditioning machinery covered by the exclusion.

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Issues: Whether a centrifugal booster fan, admittedly used in air-conditioning machinery and designed for that purpose, was entitled to the benefit of Notification No. 175/86-C.E. or stood excluded as a part of air-conditioning machinery.

Analysis: The article was found to have a specific shape and design for use in air-conditioning machinery and was in fact being so used. The notification excluded parts of air-conditioning machinery from its scope, and the fact that the goods were classifiable under Tariff Heading 84.14 rather than 84.15 was held to be immaterial for deciding eligibility to the exemption. The relevant test was whether the goods were parts of air-conditioning machinery falling within the exclusion in the notification.

Conclusion: The centrifugal booster fan was held to be a part of air-conditioning machinery and therefore not eligible for the benefit of Notification No. 175/86-C.E.

Ratio Decidendi: For exemption under a notification excluding parts of air-conditioning machinery, functional use and design prevail over tariff classification where the goods are shown to be parts used in such machinery.

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