Classification of aluminium printing plates under Heading 84.42 confirmed for specially processed plates used in printing.

Micro finished grained aluminium printing plates and pre-sensitised aluminium printing plates were treated as plates specially prepared for printing purposes after cleaning, graining, anodising and, where applicable, coating with light-sensitive chemicals. Heading 84.42 covered printing plates, including plates treated by planing, graining or polishing, and did not require the goods to be photographic plates. Heading 76.06 applied only to aluminium plates in base form, and Heading 37.01 covered photographic plates and film sensitised and unexposed. On that basis, the plates were classifiable under Heading 84.42 and not under Headings 76.06 or 37.01, and the assessee succeeded.

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Issues: Whether micro finished grained aluminium printing plates and pre-sensitised aluminium printing plates were classifiable under Heading 84.42 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, or under Headings 76.06 and 37.01.

Analysis: The products had undergone processes of cleaning, graining, anodising, and, in the case of pre-sensitised plates, coating with light-sensitive chemicals, so that they were no longer ordinary aluminium sheets. Heading 84.42 covered plates prepared for printing purposes, including plates treated by planing, graining or polishing, and did not require that the goods be photographic plates. The technical material and HSN notes supported the view that the plates were prepared for offset lithography and were suitable for printing, while Heading 37.01 applied to photographic plates and film sensitized and unexposed. Heading 76.06 covered only aluminium plates, sheets and strip in their base form and did not fit goods that had been specifically processed for printing use.

Conclusion: The plates were classifiable under Heading 84.42 and not under Headings 76.06 or 37.01; the appeals succeeded in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Aluminium plates that have been specially processed and prepared for printing purposes are classifiable under the printing-plates heading, even if photographic principles are involved in their use, and are not to be treated as ordinary aluminium plates or photographic plates merely because further exposure or development may occur at a later stage.

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