Kapil Madan Vs Union of India & Ors (Delhi High Court)
The writ petition was filed before the Delhi High Court as a public interest litigation raising issues relating to the classification and taxation of air purifiers under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Certain preliminary applications were disposed of, including an exemption application and a request for deletion and renumbering of parties, which was allowed. Notice was issued to the respondents and accepted on their behalf.
The principal prayers in the writ petition sought a declaration that air purifiers fall within the expanded statutory definition of a “medical device” as notified under Section 3(b)(iv) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, pursuant to Notification S.O. 648(E) dated 11 February 2020. Based on this classification, the petitioner further sought a declaration that the continued levy of 18% GST on air purifiers classified under HSN Code 84213920 is illegal, arbitrary, unreasonable, disproportionate, and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. A consequential direction was also sought to clarify that air purifiers should attract GST at the rate of 5%, as applicable to medical devices covered by the said notification.
The petitioner relied upon Notification S.O. 648(E) dated 11 February 2020 issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under Section 3(b)(iv) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940. The notification specifies that all devices intended for use in human beings or animals, which do not achieve their primary intended action by pharmacological, immunological, or metabolic means, but are intended for purposes such as diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, treatment or alleviation of disease, support of physiological processes, sustaining life, disinfection of medical devices, or control of conception, shall be treated as “drugs” with effect from 1 April 2020. According to the petitioner, air purifiers fall within this expanded definition and therefore should be treated as medical devices for tax purposes.
