Common parlance test governs tariff classification of a screwdriver-line tester; it remains a hand tool, not electrical apparatus.

Tariff classification of a screw driver special with neon bulb turned on its commercial identity as a whole. Although the article could also act as an electrical line tester, it was understood in common and trade parlance as a hand tool, was manually operated, and did not become an electrical apparatus with an individual function merely because it indicated the presence of electricity for a limited purpose. The product therefore fell under sub-heading 8205.00, not sub-heading 8543.00, and the Revenue's challenge failed. The analysis also noted that Heading 82.05 specifically covered screw drivers, while the HSN notes to Heading 85.43 did not support classification in Chapter 85.

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Issues: Whether the product described as screw driver special with neon bulb, also known as an electrical line tester, was classifiable as a hand tool under sub-heading 8205.00 or as electrical apparatus having individual functions under sub-heading 8543.00.

Analysis: The product was capable of use both as a screw driver and as a line tester. In common and trade parlance it was understood as a hand tool, and the materials on record showed that such screw drivers with testers were marketed in the hand tool category. The determining test was the nature of the article as a whole in commercial understanding, not the fact that it could indicate the presence of electricity for a limited purpose. The article was manually operated, did not itself constitute an electrical machine or appliance, and did not answer the description of an electrical apparatus having an individual function within Chapter 85. The tariff specifically mentioned screw drivers in Heading 82.05, while the HSN notes to Heading 85.43 did not support classification of this article thereunder.

Conclusion: The product was correctly classifiable under sub-heading 8205.00 and not under sub-heading 8543.00, and the Revenue's challenge failed.

Ratio Decidendi: For tariff classification, an article must be classified according to its common and commercial parlance identity as a whole, and a manually operated tool does not become an electrical apparatus merely because it performs a limited testing function with the aid of a neon bulb.

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