Cotton fabric classification for braided stove wicks upheld, securing exemption under the sales tax schedule.

Stove wicks made wholly of cotton and produced by braiding cotton threads were held to be cotton fabrics within item 19 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944. The Court applied the adopted statutory meaning of "cotton fabrics" under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, and held that fabric is not limited to woven cloth but may include cotton products formed by braiding or bonding fibres into a usable textile article. Because the essential character of the material remained cotton fabric despite its shape or end-use as a stove wick, the goods fell within item 4 of the Third Schedule and qualified for exemption under section 8.

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Issues: Whether stove wicks made wholly of cotton and produced by braiding cotton threads are "cotton fabrics" within item 19 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944, so as to fall within item 4 of the Third Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 and qualify for exemption under section 8.

Analysis: The relevant entry in the Third Schedule adopted the meaning of "cotton fabrics" from item 19 of the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944. The stove wicks were found to be wholly made of cotton. The Court held that "fabric" is not confined to woven cloth in the narrow sense and may include products made by bonding or braiding fibres or threads into a usable textile product. On that basis, and relying on earlier decisions treating similarly fabricated cotton products as cotton fabrics, the Court concluded that the change in shape into a stove wick did not alter the essential character of the article as a cotton fabric.

Conclusion: Stove wicks made wholly of cotton and fashioned by braiding are cotton fabrics within item 19 of the First Schedule to the Central Excises and Salt Act, 1944 and therefore fall within item 4 of the Third Schedule to the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, attracting exemption under section 8; the claim of the assessee succeeds.

Ratio Decidendi: A product fabricated wholly from cotton by braiding or similar bonding processes remains a "cotton fabric" if the statutory definition is inclusive and the essential character of the material as cotton fabric is retained despite its end-use or shape.

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