Karnataka High Court Sets Aside Advance Ruling On Kitchen Exhaust Hoods In Halton India's Case

The Karnataka High Court on 6 August held that the Customs Authority for Advance Rulings must examine material produced by an importer to determine whether kitchen exhaust hoods contain fans before deciding their tariff classification.

A Division Bench comprising Justices S.G. Pandit and K. Manmadha Rao set aside the Authority's order dated 25 March 2026 after finding that material submitted by Halton India Pvt. Ltd. to establish that its imported exhaust hoods contain fans had not been considered. The Court held:

“..the respondent Advance Ruling Authority has to give a factual finding by examining the material as to whether the kitchen exhaust hoods contain fan or not...”

Halton India, which provides ventilation solutions, imports kitchen exhaust hoods from its manufacturing unit in Malaysia for use in commercial kitchens.

The company had sought classification under CTH 84145990, contending that the products fall under the tariff entry covering fans and ventilating or recycling hoods incorporating a fan. It claimed that the imported exhaust hoods contain fans. However, the Advance Ruling Authority reached the contrary conclusion.

Before the High Court, it submitted that it had inadvertently sent additional documents supporting its classification claim to an incorrect email address. As a result, the Authority did not consider the material and proceeded on the basis that the company had not made any additional submissions.

The Bench held that Halton India should be given an opportunity to place the additional material on record and that the Authority must examine the material to determine whether the imported kitchen exhaust hoods contain fans.

Accordingly, the High Court granted Halton India 15 days to submit the additional material and directed the Authority to examine the submissions and pass an appropriate order in accordance with law.

For Petitioner: Advocate Pradyumna G.H.

For Respondent: Advocate Aravind V. Chavan