Earth rod HSN Code

Understanding the HSN Code for Earth Rods

An “earth rod,” also known as a grounding rod, is a crucial component in electrical installations, providing a safe path for fault currents to dissipate into the earth. For businesses dealing with these essential safety items, pinpointing the correct HSN (Harmonized System of Nomenclature) code is vital for accurate GST (Goods and Services Tax) compliance in India. While the term “earth” appears frequently in HSN classifications, it’s important to differentiate between earth as in soil/minerals and “earth” as in electrical grounding.

Earth Rod HSN Codes

The provided data contains many entries with “earth,” but these predominantly refer to:

• Machinery for moving or processing earth/minerals (Chapter 84).
• Earth colors, rare-earth metals, or elements like alkaline-earth metals (Chapter 28).
• Earth as a mineral substance (Chapter 25).

A standalone “earth rod” for electrical grounding is typically made of a conductive metal, often copper-bonded steel. Such an item would generally be classified under Chapter 74 (Copper and articles thereof) or Chapter 73 (Articles of iron or steel), depending on its primary metallic composition.

Crucially, the provided data DOES NOT contain a direct HSN code for an electrical “earth rod” as a standalone item.

Let’s look at the “earth” related HSN codes present in your data and explain why they don’t apply to electrical earth rods:

Machinery for Earthworks and Minerals

• HSN Code 8430: This entire chapter covers “Other Moving, Grading, Levelling, Scraping, Excavating, Tamping, Compacting, Extracting Or Boring Machinery, For Earth, Minerals Or Ores; Pile-Drivers And Pile-Extractors; Snowploughs And Snow-Blowers.”
  • Sub-headings like 84301020 (Pile-Extractors), 84305010 (Mining Machinery for Earth), 84303900 (Coal or Rock Cutters and Tunneling Machinery), 84304110 (Boring or Sinking Machinery for Earth – Self-Propelled), and the general 8430 itself, all refer to heavy machinery used for working with soil, minerals, or ores. These are not electrical grounding rods.
  • All machinery under HSN 8430 has an 18% GST rate, effective from November 15, 2017.
• HSN Code 8474: This chapter includes “Machinery For Sorting, Screening, Separating, Washing, Crushing, Grinding, Mixing Or Kneading Earth, Stone, Ores Or Other Mineral Substances.”
  • Sub-headings like 84748020, 84748090, and 84741010 all describe machinery for processing earthy or mineral substances. Again, these are industrial machines, not electrical grounding rods.
  • These machines have an 18% GST rate, effective from July 1, 2017.

Earth-Related Chemicals and Minerals

• Chapter 28 (Inorganic chemicals): These HSNs refer to chemical compounds.
  • HSN Code 2821: This covers “Iron Oxides And Hydroxides; Earth Colours Containing 70% Or More By Weight Of Combined Iron Evaluated As Fe2O3.”
    • 28212000 (“Earth Colours”), 28211010 (“Iron Oxides”), and 28211020 (“Iron Hydroxides”) are all chemical pigments or compounds.
  • HSN Code 2846: This covers “Compounds, Inorganic Or Organic, Of Rare-Earth Metals, Of Yttrium Or Of Scandium.”
    • 28469010 (“Rare-Earth Oxides”) and 28469090 (“Other” Rare-Earth Compounds) are chemical substances.
  • HSN Code 2805: This deals with “Alkali Or Alkaline-Earth Metals; Rare-Earth Metals, Scandium And Yttrium; Mercury.”
    • 28051100 (“Sodium” as an Alkali or Alkaline-Earth Metal).
  • All these chemical products related to “earth” have an 18% GST rate (except 28051100 at 5%), effective from July 1, 2017. These are not electrical rods.
• Chapter 25 (Mineral Products):
  • HSN Code 25309060: “Mineral Substances Not Elsewhere Specified Or Included – Other: Earth Colour Ochre, Crude.” This is a raw mineral pigment, not an electrical rod. It has a 5% GST rate, effective from July 1, 2017.

Metal Articles “For Earth Moving Equipments”

• HSN Code 73261910: This covers “Other Articles Of Iron Or Steel – Forged Or Stamped, But Not Further Worked : Other : For Automobiles And Earth Moving Equipments.” This refers to forged or stamped parts of earth-moving equipment, not the electrical grounding rod itself. It has an 18% GST rate, effective from July 1, 2017.