Classification of bindi and eye brow pencils: not skin-care preparations under the old central excise tariff entry.

Bindi and eye brow pencils were not classifiable as preparations for the care of the skin under Item No. 14F(i) of the erstwhile Central Excise Tariff Schedule, 1944. The entry covered cosmetics and toilet preparations, including skin-care preparations, but did not extend to articles that could not reasonably be treated as skin-care products. The later amended tariff, which specifically mentioned eye-brow pencils as beauty or make-up preparations, supported the view that such items were make-up articles rather than skin-care preparations. Accordingly, they fell outside Item No. 14F(i).

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Issues: Whether bindi and eye brow pencils were classifiable as preparations for the care of the skin under Item No. 14F(i) of the erstwhile Central Excise Tariff Schedule, 1944.

Analysis: Item No. 14F(i), as it stood during the material period, covered cosmetics and toilet preparations and, within clause (i), preparations for the care of the skin. The entry did not extend to articles which could not reasonably be regarded as skin-care preparations. Bindi and eye brow pencils were not preparations for the care of the skin and did not fall within the inclusive part of the entry on that footing. The later amended tariff entry specifically mentioned eye-brow pencils as beauty or make-up preparations, which supported the view that their inclusion was attributable to their character as make-up items rather than skin-care preparations.

Conclusion: Bindi and eye brow pencils were not classifiable under Item No. 14F(i) as preparations for the care of the skin.

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