Specific taxing entry prevails over residuary classification for cleansing powder with detergent ingredient; reassessment set aside.

Cleansing powder containing a detergent ingredient was held to fall within the specific sales tax entry for soaps and detergents, because the entry was broad enough to cover cleansing agents used for surface cleaning and the mere presence of abrasives did not require resort to the residuary head. Recourse to the residuary entry was impermissible where the goods could reasonably be placed within a specific entry, and the revenue's long-standing treatment of the product and earlier departmental clarifications supported that construction. The later insertion of a separate scouring powder entry did not alter the classification for the prior period. The reassessment under the residuary entry was set aside and the writ petitions succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the cleansing powder manufactured by the assessee was classifiable under the specific sales tax entry for soaps and detergents or could be taxed only under the residuary entry.

Analysis: The product contained a detergent ingredient and was used as a cleansing powder. The goods had been treated by the revenue as falling within the scope of the soap or detergent entry for more than two decades, and the department had also issued clarifications supporting that view. A residuary entry can be invoked only when the goods cannot reasonably be brought within any specific entry. Since the entry for soaps and detergents was broad enough to cover cleansing agents used for surface cleaning, the mere presence of abrasives did not take the product outside that entry. The later insertion of a separate scouring powder entry did not alter the position for the prior period in question. The revenue's attempt to shift the goods to the residuary entry was therefore inconsistent with the statutory scheme and its own earlier understanding of the entry.

Conclusion: The product was not taxable under the residuary entry and was required to be classified under the specific entry for soaps and detergents; the contention of the revenue failed.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions succeeded, and the reassessment or classification of the product under the residuary head was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Where goods can reasonably fall within a specific taxing entry, recourse to the residuary entry is impermissible, and a consistent long-standing departmental construction of the entry is relevant in determining classification.

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