World Customs Organisation's Harmonized System Committee ('HSC') meets regularly and issues various Rulings, Opinions regarding classification of various products. At times changes are also made to the HSN Explanatory Notes. The WCO Rulings and Opinions so issued have been consistently applied by Courts in India (Manisha Pharma Plasto Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India [1999 (112) ELT 22 (Del.)]). The CBIC too considers these rulings with high regard and has often issued Circulars explicitly applying the Rulings. Thus, these Rulings and Opinions are of great significance to importers and exporters in India. Further, as the Customs Tariff Schedule has been borrowed for GST purposes as well, the WCO Rulings and Opinions are also significant for domestic transactions within India.
The 75th Session of the HSC was held in March 2025. The Rulings, opinions, changes suggested therein have been recently released by the WCO. The same are summarised below.
WCO Rulings:
Crisp snacks: made using rice flour, chickpea flour, beans, green peas etc. Product is extruded and then cooked/popped on exposure to heat. Classified under Heading 2005 (as other preserved/prepared vegetables) and not under Heading 1905 as bakers' wares.
Lab grown meat: Classified as a food preparation, under Heading 2106 and not under Headings 0410 (Insects and other edible products of animal origin) or 3002 (products manufactured artificially through cell culture).
Fruit Juice compounds: consisting of fruit juice concentrates with vitamins, flavour, water etc. Classified as a food preparation, under Heading 2106 (Food preparations not elsewhere specified or included) and not under Heading 2009 (Fruit and Nut juices).
Preparation used in animal feeding: composed of coccidiostat (drug to treat disease coccidiosis in animals) along with varying combinations of corn, wheat, extraction meal, , processing aids bran, oil etc. Classified under Heading 2309 (Preparations of a kind used in animal feeding) and not under Chapter 30 as pharmaceutical products.
However, Preparation for the prevention of the clinical signs of coccidiosis in lambs and calves, made from coccidiostat, water and other excipients was classified under Chapter 30 and not under Heading 2309.
Mineral concentrate: containing mainly galena (lead (II) sulphide) and argentite (silver sulphide), used for extraction of lead and silver. Classified under Heading 2607 (Lead ores and concentrates) and not under Heading 2616 (Precious metal ores and concentrates).
Lithium bis(fluorosulfonyl)imide: a promising new electrolyte additive for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. Classified under sub-heading 2853.90 (Other organic compounds) and not under Heading 2826 (Fluorides; fluorosilicates, fluoroaluminates and other complex fluorine salts).
Pegmispotide, an erythropoietic agent: a functional analog of erythropoietin, for treatment of anemia associated with chronic kidney disease in adult patients on dialysis. Classified under sub-heading 3907.29 (Other polyethers).
Unedged boards: roughly machined, sawn on both sides, not edged (with traces of bark), not planed, not sanded. Classified under Heading 4407 (Wood sawn, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed) and not under Heading 4403 (Wood in the rough, whether or not stripped of bark or sapwood).
Product called '2 x 2 fabrics': a fabric construction in which two yarns of the warp, of 100% cotton, alternately pass over and under two successive yarns of the weft. Classified under 5208 (Woven fabrics of cotton, containing 85% or more by weight of cotton).
Bracelet: essentially consisting of two smooth and one braided leather straps and an attached double clasp made of base metal. One of the bands has a decorative element also made of base metal. Classified under sub-heading 7116.20 (Articles of precious or semi-precious stones) and not under Heading 7117 (Imitation jewellery).
A silver-coloured wire mesh: composed of rigid galvanised steel wires, used for dynamic rock or compressed terrain support in mining and construction industries. Classified under sub-heading 7314.41 (Cloth or iron or steel wire, plated or coated with zinc) and not under sub-heading 7314.14 (Other woven cloth, of stainless steel).
Bird cage of iron: consisting of metal sides and a plastic base, with a plastic dirt tray and plastic feeding container. Classified under sub-heading 7326.20 (Articles of iron or steel wire) and not under Heading 7323 (Other household articles, of iron or steel).
Propeller-type wind turbine blade blank: consisting of two supporting aerodynamic surfaces made of carbon fibre and fibreglass, with a metal tip at the end to protect against lightning. Classified under sub-heading 8412.90 (Parts of other engines/motors).
Hard capsules filling machines: designed to automatically or semi-automatically fill ingestible empty hard capsules with ingredients for pharmaceutical or dietary supplement products. Classified under sub-heading 8422.30 (Machinery for filling, bottles, cans, boxes, bags or other containers) and not under Heading 8479 (Machines having individual functions, not specified elsewhere).
Electronic cigarette pod, 'replacement pods': designed for an electronic cigarette kit. Classified under sub-heading 8543.40 (Electronic cigarettes and similar personal electric vaporising devices)
Empty cartridge (coil not included): designed for an electronic cigarette kit. Classified under sub-heading 8543.90 (Parts of electrical machines, having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere)
Self-propelled concrete mixer with self-loading function: consisting of a cabin and a motor vehicle chassis. Classified under sub-heading 8705.40 (Concrete-mixer lorries) and not under Heading 8474 (Machinery for sorting, screening, separating, washing, crushing etc, earth, stone, ores or other mineral substances).
A 27 tons semi-trailer: specifically adapted for use as a mobile cinema and can be transformed into a cinema at the location where films are to be screened. Classified under sub-heading 8716.40 (trailers and semi-trailers) and not under Headings 9406 (Prefabricated buildings) or 9508 (Travelling theatres).
Airsoft gun powered by gas or compressed air: made of aluminium and steel, designed for use in airsoft activities. Classified under Heading 9304 (Other arms, example, spring, air or gas gun and pistols)
WCO opinions:
Powdered cooked chicken: made from chicken meat that has been ground, cooked and spray dried. Classified under Heading 0210 (Edible flours and meals of meat or meat offal)
Sugar spheres: consisting of a minimum of 80% sugar, a minimum of 8.5 % corn starch and a maximum of 1.5% purified water, intended to be used by pharmaceutical companies as a carrier for active substances. Classified under Heading 1701 (Cane or beet sugar and chemically pure sucrose in sold form)
Heat-treated shelled mung beans: produced by peeling and oven-baking raw mung beans at a temperature of 160 to 180 °C. Classified under sub-heading 2005.51 (Shelled beans)
De-sensitising spray for men: containing lidocaine (9.6 % by weight) as the active ingredient as well as isopropyl myristate, solvent, stearic acid and fragrance. Classified under sub-heading 3824.99 (Other chemical products and preparations of chemical or allied industries, not elsewhere specified or included)
Marker for mineral oils: in the form of a coloured liquid, essentially comprising invisible forensic markers (not colouring matters), hydrocarbon fractions (mineral oil) and a trace amount of a dye. Classified under sub-heading 3824.99 (Other chemical products and preparations of chemical or allied industries, not elsewhere specified or included)
Air cooler: comprising of an independent closed circuit in which a propylene glycol water solution circulates as a working medium. It has no refrigeration equipment in the circuit but can generate heat. Classified under sub-heading 8415.90 (Parts of Air conditioning machines, not incorporating a refrigerating unit)
Central Processing Unit (CPU) cooling system: consisting of a fan, a heatsink, fan fixing brackets, fasteners with screws for installation on CPU sockets, a universal plate with plastic fasteners and metal segments/holes for screws, screws and thermal paste. Classified under sub-heading 8473.30 (Parts and accessories of the machines of Heading 8471 i.e., Automatic data processing machines and units)
Asphalt material transfer vehicle: a self-propelled machine, mainly consisting of a receiving hopper, an intermediate hopper with a three-way mixing auger, and conveyors. It is designed to prevent the thermal and material segregation of a ready-made asphalt mixture during transfer from a tipping lorry to an asphalt paver during continuous laying of asphalt. Classified under sub-heading 8479.10 (Machinery for public works, building or the like)
Light therapy device: designed for use at home and in beauty or healthcare facilities. It is equipped with a halogen light source in conjunction with an optical unit to deliver therapeutic polarised light. Classified under sub-heading 8543.70 (Other electrical machines and apparatus having individual functions, not specified or included elsewhere)
Air spring: consisting of a fabric-reinforced rubber bellow (vulcanised rubber), steel plates, and a plastic piston, to be used as a component in the suspension system of semi-trailers. It is designed to absorb shocks and bumps and to act as a vibration isolator and chassis height adjustment actuator. Classified under sub-heading 8716.90 (Parts of trailers and semi-trailers, other vehicles not mechanically propelled)
Electronic blood pressure monitor: for automatic blood pressure and pulse measurement, designed for home use, consisting of a wrist cuff and a pump for its inflation, a blood pressure measuring sensor, a display showing the measurement readings, the time and the date, and other electronic components: Classified under Heading 9018 (Instruments and appliances used in medical sciences).
Amendments to HSN Explanatory Notes:
Heading 2202 covers 'Waters, including mineral water, aerated water, and other non-alcoholic beverages'. The Explanatory Notes to Heading 2202 has been amended to limit the maximum fruit or nut juice content of the beverages of this group to 25% by volume of the finished product
Heading 2937 covers 'Hormones, prostaglandins, thromboxanes and derivatives and structural analogues thereof'. Part (V), item (b) of Explanatory Notes to Heading 2937 has been amended to expand the manner of altering the analogues of steroid hormones
Heading 2941 covers 'Antibiotics'. The Explanatory Notes to Heading 2941 has been amended to expand the scope of antibiotics covered. Further, Quinolinecarboxylic acid derivatives, nitrofurans, sulphonamides and other chemically defined organic compounds of earlier headings of Chapter 29 have been excluded from the scope of Heading 2941
The sub-heading 2941.40 has been amended to include 'sirpefenicol'
The Explanatory Notes to Chapter 29 provides a list of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. It has been prepared by the International Narcotics Control Board to assist Governments in completing the annual statistical reports on narcotic drugs along with the estimates of annual requirements for narcotic drugs. The list has been amended to include certain Psychotropic substances like Bromazolam, Phenobarbital propylhexedrine, etc.
Heading 3003 covers 'Medicaments for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, not put up in measured doses or in forms or packings for retail sale'. The Explanatory Notes to Heading 3003 has been amended to exclude foodstuffs, beverages and preparations of a kind used in animal feeding containing medicinal substances, if those substances are added solely to ensure a better dietetic balance, to increase the energy-giving or nutritional value of the product or to improve its flavour. A similar change has also been made in Heading 3004, which covers 'Medicaments for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses or in forms or packings for retail sale'.
Heading 9505 covers 'Festive, carnival or other entertainment articles'. The Explanatory Notes to Heading 9505 has been amended to expand the inclusions and exclusions thereunder.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
