ORDER
G. Sankaran, Member (T)
1. The captioned appeal was initially filed as a Revision Application before the Central Government which under Section 131-B of the Customs Act, 1962, has come as transferred proceedings to this Tribunal for disposal as if it were an appeal filed before it.
2. The short point arising for decision in the present appeal is whether the product silicone emulsion imported by the appellants, vide Bill of Entry Cash No. 903 dated 15-4-1977 was correctly assessable to duty under Heading No. 39.01/06 of the Customs Tariff Schedule of 1975, as determined by the lower authorities, or under Heading No. 34.01/07(2) of the said Schedule as claimed by the appellants.
3. The appeal was heard on 30-8-1983. Shri Ignatius submitted that the same product used to be assessed under the residual Item No. 87 of the repealed Customs Tariff Schedule of 1934 as “goods not otherwise specified” on the basis of a tariff ruling issued by the Central Board of Excise & Customs. Even after the introduction of the new Customs Schedule of 1975, the Collector of Customs, Madras had issued a Public Notice No. 59/78 dated 3-4-1978 classifying “Mould release Agent” (containing Polymeric Organic Silicone compound in volatile organic solvent) under Heading No. 34.01/07 (1). The product was a mould releasing agent which was used in the appellants’ factory to lubricate the tyre moulds in order to prevent the moulded tyre from sticking to the mould and help disengage the tyre from the mould. Synthetic resin would not be able to do this function since it would bind or stick the tyre to the mould. Shri Ignatius also drew our attention to the CCCN Explanatory Notes appearing on Pp. 567 to 570 under Chapter 39 and submitted that since silicone emulsion had no resinous property, it would not fall within Chapter 39. On the other hand the Explanatory Notes under Heading No. 34.03 of the CCCN would show that mould released preparations used in plastics, rubber or construction industries or in metal foundaries fell within that heading. The corresponding Heading in the Indian Customs Tariff Schedule would be 34.01/07 (2) as a lubricating preparation. This view got confirmed in the Public Notice No. 59/78 issued by the Collector of Customs, Madras.
4. Shri Sunder Rajan, appearing for the Respondent opposed the appeal by submitting that statutory note 2 to Chapter 39 specifically provided that silicones fall within Heading 39.01/06. He also drew our attention to CCCN Explanatory Notes (Volume 2, page 575) under “Silicones”, wherein it is stated that “Silicone oils and greases are used as lubricants remaining stable at very high or low temperatures as water repellent impregnating products, as dielectric products, as foam-preventing products, as mould release agents, etc. Lubricating preparations consisting of mixtures containing silicone greases or oils fall within Heading 27.10 or 34.03, as the case may be”. Reference was also drawn to Hawley’s Condensed Chemical Dictionary, page 921, wherein it is stated that one of the uses of silicone is as mould releasing agent.
5. We have considered the submissions of both sides. It is clear from a reading of statutory notes 2 and 3 of Chapter 39 of the Customs Tariff Schedule that silicones in liquid or pasty (including emulsions, dispersions and solutions) forms fall under Heading No. 39.01/06. The product imported by the appellants has been declared in the Bill of Entry by the appellants as “Silicone emulsion”. The covering invoices also describes the product as “Silicone emulsion Code 702”. The appellants have not produced any evidence to substantiate their contention that it is a lubricating preparation conforming to the nomenclature of Heading No. 34.03. On the other hand the statutory notes referred to earlier, coupled with the description in the Invoice and the Bill of Entry, unmistakably point to the classification under Heading No. 39.01/06 as the correct one. Though CCCN Explanatory Notes have no binding force, they have considerable persuasive value inasmuch as they represent the combined expertise of the Customs Cooperation Council whose tariff nomenclature is the basis for the Indian Customs Tariff Nomenclature of 1975. As Shri Sunder Rajan has pointed out, the CCCN Explanatory Notes on page 575 make it clear that silicone oils (which would include emulsions) used as mould release agents (which is stated to be the use to which the imported product is put) fall under Heading No. 39.01 of the CCCN. The corresponding heading in the Indian Tariff is 39.01/06.
6. Having regard to the above discussions, we see no merit in the appeal which is, therefore, rejected.