Statutory product classification prevails over trade meaning; prior view held per incuriam and set aside in the tax dispute.

Where the sales tax statute contains express entries classifying tooth paste and tooth powder as toilet articles and face cream as cosmetics, those specific classifications prevail over trade meaning, and a separate entry for drugs and medicines cannot be used to reclassify them. A prior Division Bench view treating the products as medicines was held per incuriam because it ignored the relevant statutory scheme and could not bind the Court. Classification under excise law could not be imported into the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, since each enactment must be construed on its own language. The earlier order was set aside and the writ petition was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether the earlier Division Bench decision treating the products as medicines could be treated as per incuriam, and whether the products were classifiable under the specific entries in Schedule II of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958.

Analysis: The statutory entries expressly classified tooth paste and tooth powder under toilet articles and face cream under cosmetics, while drugs and medicines formed a separate entry. Where the statute itself fixes the tax treatment of a product by clear and specific entries, resort to trade meaning is unnecessary. A decision rendered in ignorance of such statutory provisions can be treated as per incuriam and does not bind the Court. Classification under excise legislation could not be imported into the sales tax statute, because each enactment must be construed on its own language and scheme.

Conclusion: The earlier decision was held to be per incuriam and could not govern the present classification dispute. The order following that decision was set aside, and the writ petition was dismissed.

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