The Delhi High Court on Friday directed the Union government to file a detailed response to a petition seeking a reduction in the goods and services tax (GST) on air purifiers in light of the deteriorating air quality in the national capital.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Vikas Mahajan and Vinod Kumar granted the Centre 10 days to submit its reply and listed the matter for further hearing on 9 January.

During the proceedings, counsel for the Centre informed the court that meetings of the GST Council are required to be held physically and cannot be convened through video conferencing. Additional Solicitor General N Venkataraman, appearing for the Union government, sought time to place a comprehensive response on record.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by advocate Kapil Madan, which seeks directions to classify air purifiers as “medical devices” and bring them under the five per cent GST slab. At present, air purifiers attract a GST rate of 18 per cent.

The petition argues that air purifiers should not be treated as luxury items, especially in the context of what it described as an “extreme emergency crisis” caused by severe air pollution in Delhi.

On 24 December, the High Court had asked the GST Council to meet at the earliest to consider the issue of reducing or scrapping GST on air purifiers. The matter was listed on Friday for the Centre to apprise the court of the timeline for such a meeting and to clarify whether it could be held virtually if a physical बैठक was not feasible.

With PTI inputs