Overview
- The Delhi High Court recorded the Centre’s assurance that it will process a parliamentary committee’s recommendation to lower or abolish GST on air purifiers once it reaches the Department of Revenue, and listed the case for 19 March.
- The petition by advocate Kapil Madan seeks to classify air purifiers as medical devices and reduce the GST from 18% to 5%, citing severe pollution and a February 2020 notification.
- In a detailed affidavit, the Centre argued that directing GST changes would breach separation of powers and bypass the GST Council’s mandate under Article 279A, undermining cooperative federalism.
- The government said reclassifying purifiers as medical devices would trigger Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Medical Devices Rules compliance, risk restricting market entry, and that a ‘medical device’ tag does not itself dictate tax rates.
- Officials noted air purifiers are presently under tariff heading 8421 at 18%, medical devices under 9018–9022 attract 5% after a 2025 rationalisation, the court has urged consideration of relief, and the petitioner was asked to file a rejoinder within a week.