Motor vehicle accessory classification turns on actual use and market identity of a hydraulic tipping system

Hydraulic tipping systems sold for trucks were classified as accessories of motor vehicles because the item was attached beneath the truck body to lift and unload goods, converting the vehicle into a tipper lorry. The court treated the product's actual use and marketable identity as decisive, relying on the manufacturer's leaflet and the record showing it was marketed for trucks rather than for truck mounted articulated cranes or earth moving machinery. The possibility that similar hydraulic systems may also be used in other machinery did not change the classification on these facts, so Entry 135 applied and Entry 157(ii) did not.

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Issues: Whether the hydraulic tipping system sold by the dealer was classifiable as an accessory of motor vehicle under Entry 135 of the First Schedule to the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, or as components, spare parts or accessories of truck mounted articulated cranes and other earth moving machinery under Entry 157(ii).

Analysis: The item was found to be a hydraulic system attached beneath trucks for lifting the body and mechanically unloading goods, thereby converting the vehicle into a tipper lorry. The manufacturer's leaflet described the product as a truck hydraulic solution, and the record showed that the item was marketed and used for trucks, not for cranes or earth moving machinery. The fact that such a hydraulic system may also be used in other machinery did not alter its character in the present case, because the relevant inquiry was the actual use and marketable identity of the item sold by the dealer. On that basis, the item was treated as an accessory of a motor vehicle and not as a component of the machinery described in Entry 157(ii).

Conclusion: The classification under Entry 135 was upheld and the dealer's claim under Entry 157(ii) failed.

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