The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, directed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to convene a meeting at the earliest to decide the issue of lowering or abolishing GST on air purifiers, keeping in view the prevailing air quality situation in Delhi and nearby areas.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that considering the functions performed by air purifiers, a GST rate of 5 per cent could be made applicable to them.
Taking note that if a physical meeting is not feasible, the court said that the meeting could be held through video conferencing.
“We are informed that the GST charged on devices enlisted in the February 2020 notification is 5 percent, and considering the functions performed by air purifiers, prima facie, we don’t find any reason why GST of 5 percent based on the notification can also not be provided for (air purifiers),” the court said issuing notice to the Centre, GST council and others.
The direction came while the court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocates Kapil Madan and Gurmukh Singh Arora challenging the levy of 18 per cent GST on air purifiers and seeking their classification as medical devices.
The petitioner said that medical devices attract 5 per cent GST, while air purifiers are currently taxed at 18 per cent seeking a direction to the respondents to levy GST at 5 per cent on air purifiers, citing the worsening air quality in Delhi and surrounding regions.
In the hearing earlier in the day the bench said, “…we all breathe. You know how many times we breathe in a day, at least 21,000 times a day. Just calculate the harm you are doing to your lungs just by breathing 21,000 times a day, and that’s involuntary.”
The matter was adjourned till 2:30pm to enable the counsel appearing for the Union Government to seek instructions.
When the case was taken up after lunch, counsel for the Centre submitted that any decision on GST rates was a policy matter to be taken by the GST Council.
Senior advocate Arvind Nayar, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that air purifiers could be included within the existing framework. “There is a notification of 2020. For ease of breathing, they can very easily include air purifiers in this notification,” he said.
Responding to this submission, the court said, “Then we will have to direct ministry of health first and then based on that GST council will have to consider. What we propose to do today is noting your concerns, we will ask nodal officer to place all this before GST council and within which they will take a decision and then they will come back on Monday or day after tomorrow.”
The court took note of the petitioner’s contention that air purifiers qualify as medical devices under the February 2020 notification issued under Section 3 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.
Issuing notice on the plea, the bench said, “Our attention is drawn to a report submitted by parliamentary standing committee (on climate change) submitted to both houses. The standing committee has recommended that the government shall either abolish or lower GST on air purifiers. Having regards to the concerns raised in petition and recommendation of committee, we direct that the issue of lowering or abolishing of GST on air purifiers shall be decided by GST council at earliest.”
The bench further noted, “We are informed that GST council is a pan India body, and thus convening the meeting may take some time. We are conscious of the configuration of GST council and we also appreciate that convening meeting may take time. However, taking into consideration the air quality situation in Delhi and nearby areas, it will be appropriate to require the GST council to meet at the earliest.”