In a case involving tax, bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice S B Sinha has held that vaseline is a drug.
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal had held that petroleum jelly should be taxed as belonging to the ‘cosmetics and toilet preparation’ category. Ponds India (merged with Hindustan Unilever) filed a petition against this in the Allahabad High Court which was dismissed in October 2005.
Ponds then moved the Supreme Court which has allowed its petition since a license is required to produce it, it is recognised by Indian Pharmacopeia and it does not contain any perfume as a cosmetic ordinarily would.
As the Court said, “The said definition [of a drug under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940] is an extensive one. It even applies to preparations applied on human body for the purpose of killing insects like mosquitoes, which per se does not have any medicinal or any value for curing any disease or disorder in human beings.”