The Delhi HC questioned the Centre’s failure to curb air pollution and suggested reducing or waiving the 18% GST on air purifiers as minimum relief for citizens.
BY PC Bureau
December 24, 2023: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sharply questioned the Centre over its failure to address the capital’s worsening air pollution and suggested that, at the very least, the government should reduce or temporarily waive the 18% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on air purifiers.
Hearing a petition filed by advocate Kapil Madan in Kapil Madan vs Union of India & Ors, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said that if authorities are unable to ensure clean air for citizens, easing the tax burden on air purifiers was the “minimum” relief that could be provided.
“If you can’t provide clean air, the least you can do is reduce GST. Give an exemption for 15 days on a temporary basis. Treat this as an emergency,” the Bench observed, directing the Centre’s counsel to seek instructions and report back by 2.30 pm the same day. Emphasising the health impact of pollution, the court remarked that an average person breathes around 21,000 times a day, underscoring the scale of harm caused by toxic air.
The court was considering a plea seeking directions to categorise air purifiers as “medical devices” and reduce the GST rate from 18% to 5%. The petition argued that air purifiers could not be treated as luxury items in a city facing an “extreme emergency crisis” due to hazardous air quality.
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Madan contended that taxing air purifiers at the highest GST slab makes them unaffordable for large sections of the population, imposing an arbitrary and constitutionally impermissible burden. Citing a 2020 central notification, the petition claimed air purifiers meet the criteria of medical devices as they enable safe respiration and mitigate life-threatening exposure to pollutants.
“Continued imposition of 18% GST on air purifiers, despite their medically recognised role in crisis situations, fails the test of reasonable classification and bears no rational nexus to public health objectives,” the plea stated.
The hearing comes amid severe pollution levels in Delhi, with several areas recording “very poor” air quality and GRAP Stage-IV restrictions in force across the Delhi-NCR region. The court said the matter would be listed during court vacation only for compliance, pending the Centre’s response.
