NEW DELHI, Dec 26— The Delhi High Court on Friday gave the Centre 10 days to file its response to a plea seeking a reduction in GST on air purifiers, observing that the issue requires consideration amid severe air pollution in the capital.
The direction came from a vacation bench of Justices Vikas Mahajan and Vinod Kumar, which posted the matter for further hearing on Jan. 9.
The public interest litigation urges the central government to classify air purifiers as medical devices and lower the GST rate from the current 18% to 5%.
Representing the Centre, Additional Solicitor General N. Venkataraman told the court that the GST Council must meet physically to take any decision and that a virtual meeting was not feasible.
The bench was informed that the matter had been listed to apprise the court of when the GST Council could meet and whether it could do so through video conferencing.
Earlier, on Dec. 24, the high court had directed the GST Council to convene at the earliest to examine the demand for reducing or abolishing GST on air purifiers.
Advocate Kapil Madan, who filed the petition, argued that air purifiers should not be considered luxury items in the face of what he termed an “extreme emergency crisis” caused by Delhi’s air pollution.
The court will hear the matter again after the Centre files its reply.
