PUMA AYURVEDIC HERBAL (P) LTD. vs COMMNR., CENTRAL EXCISE, NAGPUR

The Supreme Court addressed the classification of Ayurvedic products under the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, determining whether they should be categorized as medicaments under Chapter 30 or cosmetics under Chapter 33. The Court established a twin test for classification: (1) whether the product is commonly understood as a medicament, and (2) whether its ingredients are recognized in authoritative Ayurvedic texts. The Court held that the products in question, intended for therapeutic use, should be classified as medicaments, thereby attracting nil excise duty, and overturned the previous classification as cosmetics.