The climate in the southern hemisphere has only gotten severe over the past few years. And summers are when a lot of the rubrics of basic human existence are put to a gruelling test. Multiple tranches of heatwaves have swept across the sub-continent in the past months (April-May). The mercury scaled the summit of high temperatures fervently, with many cities and towns witnessing temperatures as high as a burning 50 degrees celsius.
In the middle of this May mayhem, the need for power and particularly the need for air-conditioning systems has come to focus. ACs once a sign of luxury has come to become a necessity for many, from offices and commercial establishments to now houses.
In the recent past many have demanded a change in the tax regime on important items like Air conditioners. Air conditioners, along with other consumer durable items like refrigerators are marked in the highest GST slab of 28 per cent. | Representative Image
In the recent past many have demanded a change in the tax regime on important items like Air conditioners. Air conditioners, along with other consumer durable items like refrigerators are marked in the highest GST slab of 28 per cent. These products notably are in the company of 'sin products' like BMW cars, cigarettes and aerated drinks.
Some have taken their concerns online, as many have urged the government to these out of the tax bracket, to make them more affordable and thereby accessible.
A user on X, formerly Twitter, sighted instances of heatwaves and asked the government to slash the tax.
Others on the platform, tagged the likes of the union finance minister to say that these items are not luxury products anymore, and therefore needed to be brought out of the regime.
One user expressed his umbrage and called these taxes unjustifiable.
Meanwhile, one of the users demanding for espousing the use of air coolers instead.
Previously, senior Congress leader and Supreme Court advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi had raised similar demands. Singhvi even went on to term the tax on the item as 'criminal'.
On another social media platform, Reddit, users expressed similar concerns over the GST prices. Some of them even demanded for other rudimentary services likes insurance also to be removed from the high tax bracket.
