Bombay High Court Slams GST Classification on Sanitizers

The Bombay High Court has quashed the 2020 press release from the Centre that classified alcohol-based hand sanitisers as 'disinfectants' subject to 18% GST. The court emphasized that classification issues should be decided by judicial and quasi-judicial authorities, not the executive branch.

The Bombay High Court took a decisive step on Monday by nullifying the Centre's 2020 press release that categorized hand sanitisers as disinfectants, which attracted an 18% GST. According to the bench of Justices M S Sonak and Jitendra Jain, this classification decision falls within the domain of judicial and quasi-judicial authorities, not the executive.

The court, in its judgment, severely critiqued the Ministry of Finance for issuing a press release it saw as overstepping into judicial territory by suggesting the classification of alcohol-based sanitisers as disinfectants. Such a move, according to the court, compromised the independence of adjudicatory authorities.

The decision underscores the importance of keeping the executive from influencing judicial functions. The court supported Schulke India Pvt. Ltd's challenge to the classification, allowing judicial bodies to determine the appropriate tax category for hand sanitisers without executive interference.

(With inputs from agencies.)