In re Generex Pharmassist Private Limited (CAAR Mumbai)
The Customs Authority for Advance Rulings, Mumbai considered an application filed by M/s Generex Pharmassist Private Limited seeking an advance ruling on the classification of “Keranat”, an imported yellowish oil-form product used as a raw material for manufacturing hair-care nutraceutical tablets. The application was received on 07.04.2026 under the relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. Keranat comprises approximately 60% millet seed extract, 29.93% sunflower seed oil, 10% wheat seed extract and 0.07% rosemary extract. The product is manufactured through extraction of millet and wheat constituents, followed by blending and standardisation with cold-pressed sunflower seed oil and addition of rosemary extract. It is imported in bulk packs and supplied to third-party manufacturers for further processing into tablets; it is not imported as a finished tablet, measured dose or ready-to-consume nutraceutical. The applicant initially claimed classification under CTI 1302 19 19 and, following tariff restructuring effective from 01.05.2026, amended the claim to CTI 1302 19 39 — “Other” extracts. The jurisdictional Commissionerate proposed classification under CTI 2106 90 99 as a food preparation not elsewhere specified or included. The applicant contended that Heading 1302 specifically covers compound and standardised vegetable extracts, that sunflower oil functions only as a carrier/standardising medium, and that the downstream use of Keranat cannot determine its classification at importation. The Authority examined Heading 1302 and the alternative classifications under Chapters 15, 21, 30, 33 and 38. It found that the botanical extracts remained the substantive components of Keranat, while sunflower seed oil performed the supporting functions of carrying, diluting and standardising the extracts; rosemary extract, present at approximately 0.07%, functioned as an antioxidant. The Authority also considered that the HSN Explanatory Notes recognise liquid, fluid and compound extracts and permit standardisation without necessarily changing their character, while excluding extracts where additions give them the character of food preparations or medicaments or where they undergo specified further purification processes. The material on record did not establish that the additions transformed Keranat into a food preparation, medicament or other specifically covered preparation. Classification under Chapters 15, 30, 33 and 38 was therefore not accepted. The Authority further held that Heading 2106 is residual, whereas CTI 1302 19 39 is a residual tariff item specifically within the “Extracts” branch of Heading 1302. Since Keranat was not covered by the specifically enumerated extract entries under CTI 1302 19 11 to 1302 19 38, the appropriate tariff item was CTI 1302 19 39. Accordingly, the Authority ruled that Keranat is classifiable under CTI 1302 19 39 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, and not under CTI 2106 90 99 as proposed by the jurisdictional Commissioner.
