Glass fitting HSN Code

Understanding the Glass Fitting HSN Codes

The term “glass fitting” can be quite ambiguous, referring to a wide range of components that interact with glass, from the simple frame around a window to intricate hardware for structural glass installations. For businesses in India, precisely identifying the HSN (Harmonized System of Nomenclature) code for a “glass fitting” is crucial for accurate GST (Goods and Services Tax) compliance.

The HSN system provides a globally standardized method for classifying goods. The classification of “glass fittings” depends heavily on their material, function, and what they are fitting or fitted to. It’s rarely a single HSN code that covers everything.

Glass Without Fittings: The Starting Point

It’s important to first distinguish the glass itself from its fittings. Glass products that come “without fittings” are typically found under Chapter 70: “Glass and glassware.”

• HSN 7011: This heading specifically covers “Glass Envelopes (Including Bulbs And Tubes), Open, And Glass Parts Thereof, Without Fittings, For Electric Lamps, Cathode-Ray Tubes Or The Like.” This includes glass envelopes for fluorescent lamps (70111010), filament lamps (70111020), and cathode-ray tubes (70112000). These types of bare glass components are generally subject to an 18% GST rate, effective from November 15, 2017.
• Other Articles of Glass (7020): This is a broad category for other finished glass articles that don’t have specific fittings. These also generally have an 18% GST rate.
• Safety Glass (7007): Toughened or laminated safety glass, often used in construction, is classified under 7007 and typically has an 18% GST rate.

Where Do the “Fittings” Come In?

The “fittings” for glass are usually classified based on their own material and purpose, rather than being grouped with the glass itself, unless they are an integral part of a lighting fixture or optical instrument.

Here’s how different types of “glass fittings” might be classified:

• Base Metal Mountings and Hardware: For general purpose fittings used in buildings (like for doors, windows, staircases), furniture, or similar applications, even if they specifically interact with glass, they often fall under:
  • Chapter 83: “Miscellaneous articles of base metal.”
  • HSN 8302: “Base metal mountings, fittings and similar articles suitable for furniture, doors, staircases,windows, blinds, coachwork, saddlery, trunks, chests, caskets or the like; base metal hat- racks, hat-pegs, brackets and similar fixtures; castors with mountings of base metal; automatic door closures of base metal.”
    • 83024110: “Fittings for doors and windows” (if made of base metal).
    • 83024200: For hinges specifically for glass.
    • 83024900: “Other” base metal fittings.
  • These types of fittings usually attract an 18% GST rate, effective from July 1, 2017.
• Optical Elements and Mountings: When “fittings” are part of optical instruments, such as lenses mounted for cameras or projectors, they are classified under:
  • Chapter 90: “Optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof.”
  • HSN 9002: “Lenses, Prisms, Mirrors And Other Optical Elements, Of Any Material, Mounted, Being Parts Of Or Fittings For Instruments Or Apparatus, Other Than Such Elements Of Glass Not Optically Worked.”
  • These optical fittings also attract an 18% GST rate, effective from July 1, 2017.
• Lighting Fittings: If the “glass fitting” is specifically part of a lamp or lighting fixture, it falls under:
  • Chapter 94: “Furniture; bedding, mattresses, mattress supports, cushions and similar stuffed furnishing; lamps and lighting fittings, not elsewhere specified or included; illuminated signs, illuminated name-plates and the like; prefabricated building.”
  • HSN 9405: “Lamps And Lighting Fittings Including Searchlights And Spotlights And Parts Thereof, Not Elsewhere Specified Or Included; Illuminated Signs, Illuminated Name-Plates And The Like, Having A Permanently Fixed Light Source, And Parts Thereof Not Elsewhere Spe…”
    • 94055031: For “Hurricane Lanterns, Kerosene Lamp / Pressure Lantern, Petromax, Glass Chimney, And Parts Thereof.”
  • Many lighting fittings, including those with glass components, carry a 12% GST rate, effective from July 1, 2017 (with a rate revision on November 15, 2017, for some specific items under 9405).
• Glass Frit and Preparations for Glass Industry: These are not “fittings” in the sense of hardware, but are materials used in the glass industry:
  • HSN 32071090: “Prepared Pigments…vitrifiable enamels…of a kind used in the ceramic enamelling or glass industry; Glass Frit And Other Glass, In The Form Of Powder, Granules Or Flakes.”
  • These materials have an 18% GST rate.
• Polishes for Glass: Cleaning or polishing preparations for glass are classified separately:
  • HSN 3405: “Polishes And Creams, For Footwear, Furniture, Floors, Coachwork, Glass Or Metal, Scouring Pastes And Powders And Similar Preparations…”
  • These polishes have an 18% GST rate.

It is crucial to determine the exact nature and primary function of the “glass fitting” to assign the correct HSN code for GST purposes. Often, the fitting is an accessory to the glass, and its classification follows the rules for accessories of base metal, or other materials, rather than being classified as glass itself.