New Delhi: The Delhi High Court, hearing a petition demanding that air purifiers be considered medical devices and the GST rate on them be reduced from 18 percent to 5 percent, told the central government that if it cannot provide clean air, it should at least reduce the GST. The Delhi High Court has ordered the GST Council to immediately consider the demand to reduce the 18 percent GST on air purifiers in Delhi.
The bench headed by Chief Justice DK Upadhyay said that if a physical meeting of the GST Council is not possible, a decision should be taken through a video conference. The next hearing in the case will be on December 26.
The bench headed by Chief Justice DK Upadhyay directed the central government’s lawyer to seek instructions on the matter and inform the court. The petition was filed by advocate Kapil Madan.
The petition states that given the poor air pollution situation in Delhi-NCR, air purifiers cannot be considered a luxury item. Air purifiers help provide clean air to people, therefore, they should be considered in the category of medical devices.
Therefore, the GST rates on air purifiers should be reduced. The petition states that according to the central government’s 2020 notification, air purifiers should be classified as medical devices.
The petition states that despite knowing how crucial the role of air purifiers is in saving lives, continuously levying an 18 percent GST on them is arbitrary and unjust. The petition states that the court needs to intervene in this matter.
The petition states that the advisory issued by the World Health Organization and the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare regarding the National Programme on Climate Change and Human Health describes air purifiers as a protective device in situations of poor and severe air quality. In such a situation, considering air purifiers as medical devices due to the extremely poor air quality, there is a need to reduce the GST on them.
