Common parlance test governs product classification: cream held to be cosmetic, not ayurvedic medicine.

The classification of "Boro Soft" cream for trade tax depended on the common parlance test and whether its ingredients were shown in authoritative ayurvedic texts. Mere medicinal or organic ingredients, a manufacturing licence, a trade-mark description, or a certificate based only on ingredients were insufficient to show that the product was ordinarily understood or used as a medicament. In the absence of reliable text-based or other convincing evidence that it was purchased and used as an ayurvedic medicine, the cream was treated as a cosmetic and not an ayurvedic medicinal preparation.

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Issues: Whether the product "Boro Soft" cream was classifiable as an ayurvedic medicine or as a cosmetic for the purposes of trade tax.

Analysis: The classification turned on the common parlance test and the further test of whether the ingredients of the product were shown to be mentioned in authoritative ayurvedic texts. Mere presence of some medicinal or organic ingredients, a manufacturing licence, a trade-mark description, or a certificate based only on ingredients did not establish that the product was ordinarily understood or used as a medicament. The assessee did not produce reliable material from authoritative texts or other convincing evidence to show that the cream was purchased and used as an ayurvedic medicine rather than as a cosmetic.

Conclusion: "Boro Soft" cream was correctly held to be a cosmetic and not an ayurvedic medicinal preparation.

Ratio Decidendi: Classification of a product as a medicament depends on its common parlance understanding and supporting evidence from authoritative medicinal texts; ingredients alone do not convert a cosmetic into a medicine.

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