Tariff classification of grain driers: drying agricultural produce falls under the heading for temperature-based treatment, not milling machinery.

Grain driers that effect a temperature-based transformation of grain or similar agricultural produce are classifiable under Heading 84.19 as machinery for treatment of materials by a process involving change of temperature, including drying. The explanatory notes show that transformation does not require loss of identity, and dryers for agricultural products fall within that heading. Heading 84.37 is narrower, covering machinery used in the milling industry or for treatment of grain before milling. Because the machine was also usable for oilseeds, seeds, distilleries and seed-processing plants, it was not confined to milling-industry machinery. The goods were therefore correctly classified under Heading 84.19 and not Heading 84.37.

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Issues: Whether grain driers manufactured by the appellant were classifiable under Heading 84.19 of the Tariff or under Heading 84.37.

Analysis: Heading 84.19 covers machinery for treatment of materials by a process involving a change of temperature, including drying. The expression "transformation" in the Explanatory Notes does not require the material to lose its identity completely; drying grain from moist to dry condition is a covered transformation. The Explanatory Notes also indicate that dryers for agricultural products fall within this heading. By contrast, Heading 84.37 is confined to machinery used in the milling industry or for treatment of grain prior to milling. The machine in question was also shown to have uses beyond milling, including drying oilseeds and seeds, and use in distilleries and seed-processing plants.

Conclusion: The goods were correctly classifiable under Heading 84.19 and not under Heading 84.37. The appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Drying machinery that effects a temperature-based transformation of grain or similar agricultural produce is classifiable under the heading for treatment of materials by change of temperature, and not under a heading confined to milling-industry machinery.

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