Statutory classification of medicinal products prevails over trade description; revenue reference failed for want of a debatable legal question.

Vicco Vajradanti toothpaste, powder and Vicco Turmeric cream were treated as drugs and medicines, not toilet or cosmetic articles, for sales tax purposes because a competent authority had recognised them as medicines under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and they were manufactured and sold under a valid licence. That statutory classification could not be displaced merely because the taxing statute did not define "drugs and medicines" or because the goods were also known in trade as toothpaste, powder or cream. The matter was also governed by earlier judicial decisions, so no debatable question of law arose and the Revenue's reference application was rejected.

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Issues: Whether Vicco Vajradanti tooth paste, powder and Vicco Turmeric cream were classifiable as "drugs and medicines" rather than toilet or cosmetic articles for the purpose of sales tax under the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958, and whether any question of law arose so as to justify the Revenue's reference application.

Analysis: The disputed products had been treated as medicines by the competent statutory authority under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and were manufactured and distributed under a valid licence. That statutory classification could not be displaced merely because the taxing statute did not define "drugs and medicines" or because the goods were also known or sold in trade as toothpaste, powder or cream. Once a competent authority had validly recognised the products as medicines or drugs, the Revenue could not re-characterise them on its own assumption without strong contrary material. The issue was also covered by earlier judicial decisions, leaving no debatable question of law.

Conclusion: The products were rightly treated as "drugs and medicines" and not as toilet or cosmetic articles; the Revenue's reference application was correctly rejected.

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