Hollow concrete blocks for masonry work were outside the prefabricated building exemption because they were not designed as components.

Hollow concrete blocks used for masonry work were held not to fall within the exemption for intermediates or components of prefabricated buildings under Notification No. 64/88. The exemption was limited to goods shown to be manufactured to a specific design for use in prefabricated construction. On the material described, the blocks were ordinary masonry substitutes for bricks, and the record did not establish that they were intended or designed as components of prefabricated buildings. As a result, the goods were outside the scope of the notification and the exemption was unavailable.

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Issues: Whether hollow concrete blocks used for masonry work were eligible for exemption under Notification No. 64/88 as intermediates or components for prefabricated buildings falling under sub-heading 9406.00 of the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.

Analysis: The exemption was confined to items constituting intermediates and components for prefabricated buildings. The material placed on record described the goods as hollow concrete blocks meant for masonry work and as substitutes for bricks in traditional construction. The literature did not show that the blocks were manufactured to a particular design so as to be used as components of prefabricated buildings, nor did it indicate that their intended use was prefabricated construction as opposed to ordinary masonry construction.

Conclusion: The blocks were not intermediates or components of prefabricated buildings and were not eligible for exemption under Notification No. 64/88.

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