Toilet article classification: tooth-powder used for cleaning teeth falls within the sales tax entry under ordinary meaning.

Tooth-powder sold as Vicco Vajradanti was held to fall within entry 39 of Schedule B to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953 as a toilet article. The expression was construed in its popular and ordinary sense, covering articles used for cleansing and grooming the person. The Court held that a dentifrice does not cease to be a toilet article merely because it also serves a hygienic purpose, and that an article used for cleaning any part of the body, including the teeth, answers that description. The exclusion of certain enumerated items and reliance on ejusdem generis did not justify excluding tooth-powder from the entry.

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Issues: Whether tooth-powder sold as Vicco Vajradanti falls within entry 39 of Schedule B to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953 as a toilet article.

Analysis: The relevant expression was construed in its popular and ordinary sense, with reference to the ordinary understanding of "toilet" and "toiletry" as covering articles used in cleansing and grooming the person. The Court held that the essential character of a dentifrice is not defeated because it serves a hygienic purpose. An article used for cleaning any part of the body, including the teeth, answers the description of a toilet article. The exclusion of certain enumerated articles and the reliance on ejusdem generis did not justify excluding tooth-powder from the entry.

Conclusion: Tooth-powder is a toilet article within entry 39 of Schedule B to the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953, and the Tribunal was wrong in holding otherwise.

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