Will air purifiers become cheaper in Delhi-NCR? Delhi High Court seeks a response from the central government within 10 days.

The Delhi High Court heard a petition on Friday seeking a reduction in GST on air purifiers. During the hearing, the Delhi High Court expressed its displeasure over the continuously deteriorating air quality in the capital.

Considering the air quality, the Delhi High Court directed the central government to file a detailed response within 10 days to the petition seeking a reduction in GST on air purifiers.

A vacation bench of Justices Vikas Mahajan and Vinod Kumar gave the central government 10 days to file its response to the petition. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for January 9.

Time sought to file a response

The central government's lawyer informed the court that the GST Council meeting can only be held physically and that it is not possible to convene a meeting via video conferencing. Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, representing the central government, sought time to file a detailed response.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to the central government to classify air purifiers as "medical devices" and reduce the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to the five percent slab. Currently, air purifiers attract an 18 percent tax.

The petition, filed by advocate Kapil Madan, argued that in view of the "extreme emergency crisis" caused by severe air pollution in Delhi, air purifiers cannot be considered luxury items.

On December 24, the court had directed the GST Council to hold a meeting as soon as possible and consider reducing or eliminating the GST on air purifiers.