Yarn manufactured out of viscose staple fibre and non-cellulosic soft waste - Classification [Heading 55.05] - Central Excise - 23/90

Yarn manufactured out of viscose staple fibre and non-cellulosic soft waste - Classification [Heading 55.05] Circular No. 23/90 Dated 1-11-1990 [From F. No. 55/9/88-CX.1] Government of India Central Board of Excise Customs New Delhi Subject : Central Excise - Classification of yarn manufactured from viscose staple fibre and non-cellulosic soft waste - Clarification regarding. A doubt was raised regarding the classification of yarn manufactured from viscose staple fibre and non-cellulosic soft waste (polyester waste), whether under Heading No. 55.05 or 55.06 of the CET. 2. The said issue came up for discussion in the North Zone Tariff Conference held on 18th and 19th September, 1989 at Chandigarh where it was observed that the yarn consisted of artificial staple fibre and synthetic staple fibre and, therefore, was classifiable under sub-heading No. 5506.21 or 5506.29 of the Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, as the case may be, because the classification under Heading No. 55.06 was not contingent upon as to how the constituent fibres had been obtained. 3. The issue was referred to the Deputy Chief Chemist, C.R.C.L., New Delhi, for his views. He pointed out that the North Zone Tariff Conference did not examine the scope of the term 'synthetic staple fibres' occuring in Central Excise Tariff Headings 55.05 and 55.06. He further observed that the word "staple" before the word "fibre" in the sub-heading 55.06 is understood in the textile technology as "staple fibre", a somewhat redundant term widely used to refer to staple of man-made fibres especially rayon staple. It relates to fibres that have been deliberately cut to definite spinning length from continuous filament. 4. The Deputy Chief Chemist referred to the encyclopaedia of Chemical Technology, Kirk-Othmer, Volume 16, Page 106 and 109, as per which "Staple" fibres are of relatively uniform length. Extruded fibres are furnished in precision cut, of uniform length (ca ± 0.3). Staple extruded (synthetic) fibres are provided in lengths of Ca 2-6 cm. Attention was also drawn to HSN Explanatory Notes (Page 759) as per which the length into which fibres are cut is usually between 25 mm and 180 mm and varies according to particular man-made fibres concerned. In the light of the foregoing, the Deputy Chief Chemist opined that fibres obtained from synthetic waste may not conform to the technological requirement of standard staple fibres as they are not of uniform length and that there is considerable force in the argument that fibres of variable lengths obtained from waste are not covered by the term 'Synthetic Staple Fibres' figuring in sub-heading 55.06. 5. The issue was further examined in the Board in the light of the opinion of the Deputy Chief Chemist C.R.C.L., New Delhi, and also the decision of the CEGAT Special Bench in the case of Collector of Central Excise, Hyderabad v. M/s Priyadarshani Spinning Mills Ltd. and the decision of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in the case of M/s. Madhumilan Syntex Ltd. Both the CEGAT and the Madhya Pradesh High Court have held that the raw materials in the disputed yarn were not synthetic staple fibre and as such the yarn would be classifiable under Heading 55.05 of the CET. Therefore, the Board is of the view that yarn manufactured out of viscose staple fibre and non-cellulosic soft waste (polyester waste) would be appropriately classifiable under Chapter Heading No. 55.05 of the CET. 6. This may be brought to the notice of the trade and field formations.