House mark does not make a medicament patent or proprietary when the product is listed in a recognised pharmacopoeia.

Thiabendazole Premix BP (Vet) was held not to be a patent or proprietary medicament for classification under sub-heading 3003.10. The product's presence in the British Pharmacopoeia supported its treatment as a recognised medicament, and the absence of an express reference to British Pharmacopoeia (Veterinary) in the tariff note did not, by itself, change that position. The label mark 'D' was found to be only a house mark identifying the manufacturer, not a product-specific brand name. A house mark used across a manufacturer's products does not convert a medicament into a patent or proprietary medicine.

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Issues: Whether Thiabendazole Premix BP (Vet) was a patent or proprietary medicament classifiable under sub-heading 3003.10 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.

Analysis: The product name was shown to be mentioned in the British Pharmacopoeia, and the mere fact that British Pharmacopoeia (Veterinary) was not expressly named in the tariff note did not by itself make the goods patent or proprietary. The mark 'D' on the label was found to be only a house mark identifying the manufacturer and not a product mark or brand name linking the mark to the medicine. A house mark used across the manufacturer's products does not, by itself, render a medicament a patent or proprietary medicament.

Conclusion: The goods were not patent or proprietary medicaments under sub-heading 3003.10, and classification under that heading was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The classification orders were set aside and the appeals were allowed, leaving the product outside the patent or proprietary medicament entry.

Ratio Decidendi: A manufacturer's house mark, which merely identifies the manufacturer and does not function as a product-specific brand name, does not convert a medicament into a patent or proprietary medicine when the medicine is otherwise identified in a recognised pharmacopoeia.

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