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United KingdomGOV.UK

HMRC accepts ECO Pocket blinds may qualify as building materials

HMRC cites a tribunal finding that the electric pleated blinds were ordinarily incorporated into eco-homes and met the exception for certain electrical appliances.

By Taxxa AI OyPublished 4 August 2026

Tax

Electric ECO Pocket pleated blinds may qualify as building materials for construction VAT reliefs under HMRC's revised guidance.GOV The change identifies a specific exception for these blinds within guidance that otherwise excludes electrically operated window blinds which open and close automatically to admit or retain heat.

HMRC attributes the treatment to Richard & Christine Baker TC/2024/0542. Its account says the tribunal found the blinds were ordinarily incorporated into eco-homes and fell within the exception for certain electrical appliances under Note 22(c)(i). The wording is conditional: installation of electric ECO Pocket pleated blinds may qualify as building materials.

The product characteristics matter. HMRC describes ECO Pocket blinds, also called cellular or honeycomb blinds, as containing built-in air pockets intended to regulate room temperature. Those pockets retain heat in winter and reduce sunlight or heat gain in summer.

Note 22 defines building materials by reference to goods of a description ordinarily incorporated by builders in a building of that description, or its site. Electrical or gas appliances are generally excluded, subject to specified exceptions. The exception relevant here covers appliances designed to heat space or water, or to provide ventilation, air cooling, air purification or dust extraction. Note 23 says incorporation includes installation as fittings.

The new ECO Pocket passage sits alongside HMRC's existing acceptance of manual blinds and shutters as ordinarily incorporated building materials, including manual awnings and canopies incorporated into the building's fabric. The guidance also retains its general warning that electrical or motorised blinds, shutters, awnings and canopies fall within the input tax blocking order as electrical appliances. Read together with the express ECO Pocket exception, this is a specific qualification to the general treatment, not blanket acceptance of motorised window coverings.

The input-tax distinction matters for taxable persons constructing or working on a building to grant a major interest of a description in Schedule 8. Where they incorporate goods other than building materials, article 6 of the Input Tax Order excludes credit for input tax on their supply or importation.Legislation

The statutory basis is the Value Added Tax Act 1994, Schedule 8, Group 5, Notes 22 and 23, and the Value Added Tax (Input Tax) Order 1992, article 6.

Check an ECO Pocket installation’s product design, thermal function and building type against the building-materials tests before determining its VAT treatment.

Sources