Classification of concrete cover blocks: treated as cement bricks, not pre-fabricated structural components.

Concrete cover blocks used to maintain spacing and level between steel rods and shuttering were treated as having only an ancillary function and not as pre-fabricated structural components for building or civil engineering. The court held that the product could reasonably be regarded as a cement brick or block, and that the more specific entry for cement bricks, including hollow bricks, applied. On that reasoning, the commodity fell under entry 18(5) of the Third Schedule to the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 and not under entry 10(3)(a) of SRO No. 82/2006.

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Issues: Whether the concrete cover blocks manufactured by the appellant were classifiable under entry 10(3)(a) of SRO No. 82/2006 as pre-fabricated structural components for building or civil engineering, or under entry 18(5) of the Third Schedule to the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 as cement bricks including hollow bricks.

Analysis: The commodity was a small concrete block used to maintain spacing and level between steel rods and the shutter during concreting. Its function was limited and ancillary, and it was not a structural component in the sense contemplated by entry 10(3)(a). The Court noted that the product could reasonably be treated as a cement brick or block, and that entry 18(5) specifically covered cement bricks including hollow bricks. On that reasoning, the item was considered to fall within the more appropriate and specific schedule entry for cement bricks rather than the entry relating to pre-fabricated structural components.

Conclusion: The commodity was held to fall under entry 18(5) of the Third Schedule to the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 and not under entry 10(3)(a) of SRO No. 82/2006. The assessee succeeded.

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