Sanitiser case: High Court seeks tax department’s response

The Gujarat High Court has asked the indirect tax department to submit its explanation after several companies that were importing a key raw material used in manufacturing sanitisers and disinfectants dragged the government to court following their inability to avail benefits under Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework.

Importers of “denatured ethyl alcohol,” a raw material used in hand sanitisers and disinfectants have been paying a lower or concessional rate of customs duty over the years as this was categorised as “excisable goods.”

The exporters in their petition told the court that under the GST framework a word “excisable goods” was added in the regulation that is causing certain issues in availing benefits.


“The concessional rate for import was made applicable in the public interest to boost domestic manufacturing of various such products in which this input is used and hence there is no supervening public interest to deny the benefit of concessional rate under the GST regime “, said Abhishek A Rastogi, partner at Khaitan & Co, who is arguing this issue in Gujarat and Bombay High Courts.

Till recently these importers have been only paying 2.5% duty on all their imports. Now, they have been asked to cough up an additional 2.5% duty on these imports.

Some of the companies had approached the Gujarat High Court and Bombay High Court in this regard.