Pollution pinch: Delhi High Court asks GST Council to consider lower tax on air purifiers

Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the GST Council to convene at the earliest to consider reducing or abolishing the goods and services tax (GST) on air purifiers, citing the worsening air quality in the national capital, news agency PTI reported.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela scheduled the matter for December 26, asking counsel for the authorities to inform the court about the timeline within which the council could meet.

Earlier in the day, the court expressed strong displeasure over the lack of action by authorities in granting tax relief on air purifiers during what it described as an “emergency situation”, noting that Delhi’s air quality index (AQI) continues to remain in the ‘very poor’ category.

The observations came while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the Centre to classify air purifiers as “medical devices” and bring them under the five per cent GST slab. Currently, air purifiers attract an 18 per cent GST.

The petition, filed by advocate Kapil Madan, argued that air purifiers cannot be treated as luxury goods in the face of an “extreme emergency crisis” caused by severe air pollution in Delhi, and stressed that access to clean indoor air has become essential for health and survival.

“Imposition of GST at the highest slab upon air-purifiers, a device that has become indispensable for securing minimally safe indoor air, renders such equipment financially inaccessible to large segments of the population and thereby inflicts an arbitrary, unreasonable, and constitutionally impermissible burden,” the plea said.