Ordinary commercial meaning governs sales tax classification of shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrush under the Bombay Sales Tax Act.

For sales tax classification under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, goods are to be identified by their ordinary commercial meaning. Shampoo was treated as a liquid soap with the essential characteristics of soap, so it falls within the soap entry and not the toilet article entry. Tooth-paste, being comparable to tooth-powder and used for oral cleansing, and tooth-brush, as an article used for cleansing teeth, were held to answer the ordinary meaning of toilet articles and therefore fall within the toilet article entry rather than the residuary entry. The result was that the classification of shampoo as soap was sustained, while tooth-paste and tooth-brush were classified as toilet articles.

---

---

Issues: (i) Whether shampoo is a toilet article within Entry 21A of Schedule E or soap within Entry 28 of Schedule C under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959. (ii) Whether tooth-paste and tooth-brush are toilet articles within Entry 21A of Schedule E or fall under the residuary Entry 22 of Schedule E under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Issue (i): Whether shampoo is a toilet article within Entry 21A of Schedule E or soap within Entry 28 of Schedule C under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Analysis: The classification turned on the ordinary and commonly understood meaning of the goods. Shampoo was found to be a form of liquid soap, having the essential characteristics of soap despite differences in composition from cake soap. On that basis, it remained within the soap entry and could not be treated as a toilet article.

Conclusion: Shampoo is soap under Entry 28 of Schedule C and not a toilet article under Entry 21A of Schedule E.

Issue (ii): Whether tooth-paste and tooth-brush are toilet articles within Entry 21A of Schedule E or fall under the residuary Entry 22 of Schedule E under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Analysis: The expression toilet article was construed according to common parlance and dictionary meaning. Tooth-paste was treated on the same footing as tooth-powder, which had already been recognised as a toilet requisite, and tooth-brush was regarded as an article actually used for cleansing teeth. Since the goods answered the ordinary conception of toilet articles, they could not be taken to the residuary entry.

Conclusion: Tooth-paste and tooth-brush are toilet articles under Entry 21A of Schedule E and not goods falling under Entry 22 of Schedule E.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded only in relation to tooth-paste and tooth-brush, while the classification of shampoo as soap was sustained, leaving the parties to bear their own costs.

Ratio Decidendi: For sales tax classification, goods must be placed according to their ordinary commercial meaning, and an article used for cleansing or grooming the person falls within the toilet article category unless a more specific entry properly applies.

---