This course covers the legal framework for classifying goods under the Customs Tariff Act 1975 (CTA 1975) read with the General Rules of Interpretation (GIR) and Chapter 5 of the Indian Customs Manual 2025. Classification — the process of determining the correct tariff heading and sub-heading under the HSN-based Indian Customs Tariff — is arguably the most technically demanding topic in the CBLE syllabus, and this course builds the skill systematically from the structure of the Tariff upward rather than treating classification as a lookup exercise.

The course opens with the architecture of the CTA 1975 — the First Schedule (import tariff) and Second Schedule (export tariff), the Section and Chapter structure, the role of Section Notes and Chapter Notes as legally binding classification instruments, and the relationship between the Indian Tariff and the international Harmonized System of Nomenclature maintained by the World Customs Organization. The six General Rules of Interpretation are then covered in sequence — GIR 1 (classification by heading terms, Section Notes and Chapter Notes), GIR 2 (incomplete or unfinished goods, mixtures), GIR 3 (goods classifiable under two or more headings — specific description, essential character, last in numerical order), GIR 4 (goods most akin), GIR 5 (packing materials and containers), and GIR 6 (sub-heading classification) — with the emphasis that GIR must be applied in strict sequence and that GIR 3 sub-rules are themselves hierarchical. CBLE classification questions almost invariably hinge on GIR 1, GIR 2, or GIR 3, and the course treats each with detailed worked examples.

The course then addresses the practical classification methodology — reading Section Notes and Chapter Notes before the heading text, understanding the legal effect of Exclusion Notes versus Inclusion Notes, and the role of the Explanatory Notes to the HSN as a persuasive (though not legally binding) aid to interpretation. The treatment of composite goods, sets put up for retail sale, parts and accessories, and goods at various stages of manufacture — all of which generate recurring CBLE questions — is covered systematically. The course also covers the Customs Tariff (Identification, Description and Coding of Goods) Rules 1977, the role of the Advance Ruling mechanism for classification disputes, and the procedure when the proper officer disputes the declared classification — including the reference to the Customs Laboratory for technical testing. Chapter 5 of the Indian Customs Manual 2025 is mapped throughout for the operational classification procedure including the ICEGATE-based tariff lookup and the role of the appraiser in resolving classification disputes at the Customs House.