In re Lords Interior Private Limited (CAAR Delhi)
The application before the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings (CAAR), New Delhi concerned the tariff classification of various imported interior decorative products made of plastics. The applicant proposed to import items such as PS mouldings, PS wall panels, 3D PVC panels, PVC panels, PVC sheets, PVC accessories, PU wall panels, PU panels, PU corners, PU mouldings and WPC panels. These goods were described as lightweight, cellular plastic sheets or panels used for interior decoration of walls and ceilings.
Applicant’s Position
The applicant argued that the goods are properly classifiable under Customs Tariff Heading (CTH) 3921, which covers “other plates, sheets, film, foil and strip, of plastics,” including cellular or reinforced plastic sheets. According to the applicant:
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The products are presented in sheet or panel form of regular geometric shape.
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Surface features such as embossing, printing, colouring, or UV coating amount only to permitted “surface working” under Chapter Note 10 to Chapter 39.
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Even where panels have interlocking edges, these are formed during the extrusion process itself and do not constitute “further working” that would take the goods outside the scope of sheets or panels.
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The goods serve a decorative function and do not perform any structural or load-bearing role in buildings.
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They are comparable to modern decorative wall coverings that replace paint or wallpaper.
The applicant opposed classification under CTH 3925 (builders’ ware of plastics), contending that this heading applies only to specific construction-related articles such as doors, windows, tanks, structural elements, and defined architectural features. Since the products are decorative overlays applied to existing walls and ceilings, the applicant maintained they are not “builders’ ware.”
The applicant also relied on earlier judicial and advance ruling precedents that, according to them, supported classification of similar cellular plastic sheets under Heading 3921 rather than 3925.
Department’s Position
The jurisdictional customs authority disagreed and proposed classification under CTH 3925 as “builders’ ware of plastics.” The department argued that:
