Motor vehicle accessory test applied to rubber flaps used in heavy vehicles for protection and support.

Rubber flaps used in the wheels of heavy motor vehicles were treated as accessories of motor vehicles, not as unclassified rubber products, because they functioned as protective covers and supports for the tube in buses and trucks. Applying the accessory test, the article need not be indispensable to the vehicle as a whole; it is enough if it is an adjunct, accompaniment, or supplementary item that facilitates convenient use. Exclusive use in heavy automobiles, the protective function, and commercial recognition as an automobile item supported classification under Item 43 of the U. P. Sales Tax Act, making the turnover taxable as a motor vehicle accessory.

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Issues: Whether rubber flaps used in the wheels of heavy motor vehicles are taxable as accessories of motor vehicles under Item 43 of the Schedule to the U. P. Sales Tax Act, or as unclassified rubber products.

Analysis: The article was found to be a rubber flap used only as a protective cover and support for the tube in the wheels of buses and trucks. Applying the accepted test for accessories, an article need not be indispensable to the vehicle as a whole; it is enough if it is an adjunct, accompaniment, or addition that facilitates convenient use or serves a supplementary function. The exclusive use of the rubber flap in heavy automobiles, its protective function for the tube, and its commercial availability as an automobile item supported its classification as an accessory of motor vehicles. Authorities dealing with different statutory entries or different factual settings did not displace this conclusion.

Conclusion: The rubber flap is an accessory of a motor vehicle and its turnover is taxable under Item 43 of the Schedule to the U. P. Sales Tax Act. The finding is against the assessee and in favour of the Revenue.

Ratio Decidendi: An article used exclusively in a motor vehicle for protection or support, and functioning as a supplementary or accompanying item for convenient use, may be treated as an accessory of the motor vehicle even if it is not indispensable to the vehicle as a whole.

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