'Provide clean air or cut GST on air purifiers': HC raps Govt over Delhi pollution crisis

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre to consider giving relief in GST on air purifiers in view of the rising pollution levels.

The court, taking note of the ongoing pollution problem, stated that every citizen has a right to clean air. It said that if the authorities are not providing clean air, then they should at least temporarily exempt the GST on air purifiers, added, "This is the least the government can do."

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The court stated that there are emergency-like conditions in Delhi NCR, and the GST on air purifiers could be waived for at least a week or a month. The government lawyer stated in court that the matter was under consideration and that a decision would be made in due course.

The court expressed displeasure at the statement of the government lawyer and asked, "What does 'in due course' even mean? How much time does it take to make a decision when thousands of people are dying?" The High Court will hear the case again today at 2:30 PM.

The Delhi HC is hearing a plea seeking to declare air purifiers as “medical devices” and exempt them from GST. The petition seeks to reduce the GST rate from 18% to 5% (in line with medical devices), and it was filed by lawyer Kapil Madan.

The court said, “Let the purifiers be provided. That’s the minimum you can do. When will you come back? Even if it is temporary, give an exemption for the next week or one month. Consider this an emergency, only temporarily. Take instructions and come back."

It added, "We will place it before the vacation bench only for compliance. As we speak, 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."

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) continues to rise alarmingly. Amid such a scenario, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said he gets allergies because of the toxic air. He remarked, "I live here for two days, (and) I get allergies because of this pollution," and also said that the transport sector accounts for 40% of the pollution in the national capital.