Tariff classification of Char-Dolochar as waste from iron or steel manufacture determines GST treatment and rejects solid fuel heading.

Char-Dolochar/Dolochar generated as a by-product in sponge iron manufacture was treated as partly burnt coal or cinder, but on the facts it did not satisfy the description of solid fuel manufactured from coal. The AAR held that the more specific classification was the tariff entry for waste from the manufacture of iron or steel, and not the heading claimed by the applicant. The product was therefore classified under the waste entry and made liable to GST at 18% IGST, with corresponding CGST and KGST at 9% each.

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Issues: Whether Char-Dolochar / Dolochar, arising in the manufacture of sponge iron, is classifiable under the heading claimed by the applicant or under the tariff entry treating it as waste from the manufacture of iron or steel, and the corresponding rate of GST applicable thereto.

Analysis: The material emerges as a by-product in the course of sponge iron manufacture and is described as partly burnt coal or cinder. On the facts placed, it does not answer the description of solid fuel manufactured from coal. The appropriate classification is the entry dealing with waste from the manufacture of iron or steel, which is the more specific description for the product. The classification selected by the applicant's competing tariff heading was therefore not accepted.

Conclusion: Char-Dolochar / Dolochar is classifiable under the waste-from-manufacture entry and attracts GST at 18% IGST, with corresponding CGST and KGST at 9% each.

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