Common parlance classification governs tool cabinets and knocked-down furniture for concessional notification benefit

Tool storage cabinets specially designed for factory tools, with drawers, thick-gauge steel and no common door, were treated in common parlance as cabinets rather than excluded cupboards, so the concessional notification applied. Centre-piece tables and moulded plastic chairs cleared in knocked-down condition retained their character as complete furniture when supplied as finished sets without separate assembly charges, and the notification benefit could not be denied on the ground that they were unassembled. The document also notes that the trolley issue was remitted for reconsideration on merits.

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Issues: (i) Whether the Tool Storage Cabinet was a cupboard excluded from Sr. No. 4 of Notification No. 80/90 dated 20-3-1990. (ii) Whether centre-piece tables and moulded plastic chairs cleared in knocked-down condition were only parts of furniture or complete furniture eligible for the notification.

Issue (i): Whether the Tool Storage Cabinet was a cupboard excluded from Sr. No. 4 of Notification No. 80/90 dated 20-3-1990.

Analysis: The product was found to be specially designed for storing heavy tools in a factory, with multiple drawers, thick gauge steel, and no common door. Its character differed from a conventional cupboard used in common parlance, and the market understanding of the product supported its identity as a tool storage cabinet rather than a cupboard.

Conclusion: The Tool Storage Cabinet was not classifiable as an excluded cupboard and was eligible for the concession.

Issue (ii): Whether centre-piece tables and moulded plastic chairs cleared in knocked-down condition were only parts of furniture or complete furniture eligible for the notification.

Analysis: The tables and chairs were cleared as complete sets in knocked-down condition for convenience of transport, with no separate assembly charge recovered and no indication that they were sold merely as parts. Furniture supplied in such condition retains its identity as complete furniture, and the benefit of the notification could not be denied merely because the articles were dispatched unassembled.

Conclusion: The centre-piece tables and moulded plastic chairs were complete furniture and qualified for the notification.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded on the substantive classification issues concerning the tool storage cabinet, centre-piece tables, and moulded plastic chairs, while the trolley matter was sent back for reconsideration on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Goods are to be classified according to their common parlance identity, and furniture cleared in knocked-down condition as complete sets does not become mere parts for the purpose of denying a concessional notification.

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