Gypsum board classification under VAT law confirmed as gypsum in all its forms, excluding residuary taxation.

Gypsum board was held to fall within Entry 56 of Schedule IV of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003, as amended to cover "gypsum in all its forms", and therefore it was not taxable under the residuary entry. The Court applied the common parlance test and construed the expanded wording as extending beyond unprocessed gypsum to the same commodity in different manufactured forms. It noted that gypsum board retained gypsum as its primary constituent and that the manufacturing process did not change its essential character. The later creation of a separate entry for gypsum board in 2014 also supported the conclusion for the assessment years in question.

---

---

Issues: Whether gypsum board falls within Entry 56 of Schedule IV of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003 as amended to cover "gypsum in all its forms", or whether it is taxable under the residuary entry.

Analysis: The amended entry was held to be deliberately broader than the original entry of "gypsum", and the expression "in all its forms" was construed as enlarging the scope of the entry beyond the mere unprocessed mineral. Gypsum board was found to retain gypsum as its primary constituent, with the manufacturing process involving dehydration, mixing with additives, and formation between paper sheets, rather than any substantive change in the essential character of the commodity. Applying the common parlance test and the principle that "in all its forms" multiplies the same commodity into different forms, the Court held that gypsum board continued to answer the description of gypsum. The later creation of a separate entry for gypsum board in 2014 also supported the view that, for the assessment years in question, it was covered by the expanded gypsum entry.

Conclusion: Gypsum board is covered by Entry 56 of Schedule IV of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003 and is not liable to be taxed under the residuary entry.

---