The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council to respond to a petition that claims authorities have effectively scrapped the concessional GST framework for persons with disabilities (PwD) seeking to purchase cars.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notices to the Union government and other respondents, directing them to file their replies within four weeks. “Issue notice, returnable within four weeks,” the bench said while hearing the plea filed by a 100 per cent visually-impaired man.
Petitioner Seeks Restoration of Concessional GST Scheme
The plea, filed through advocate Sajal Jain, seeks restoration of the concessionary GST benefits in line with Section 41 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, which obligates the State to ensure access to transportation for persons with disabilities.
According to the petition, a series of administrative actions and shifting positions adopted by authorities between 2021 and 2025 have “in effect extinguished” the concessional GST benefits that were earlier available to eligible PwD for purchasing motor vehicles.
Claim of Arbitrary and Unequal Treatment
The petition highlights that PwD applicants across India are now facing inconsistent outcomes due to contradictory positions taken by the Union ministries before various high courts. The petitioner himself applied online in December 2024 for a GST concession certificate for buying a car in Pune, only to have it rejected on January 1, 2025, on the ground that the scheme was restricted to permanent orthopaedic disabilities.
The petitioner challenged the decision before the Bombay High Court. During those proceedings, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment initially stated that its committee supported extending GST concessions to all persons with benchmark disabilities and asked the finance ministry to formulate a policy. Within two weeks, however, the ministry changed its stance, the petition claims.
“These shifting and contradictory stands before different high courts highlight the lack of a consistent policy and have led to unequal treatment of similarly placed PwD across jurisdictions,” the plea states.
Long History of Tax Relief for Differently-Abled Car Buyers
The petition traces the origin of concessional tax treatment back to 1999, when the Ministry of Heavy Industries reduced excise duty on cars driven by or designed for persons with disabilities. The policy was liberalised further in 2007.
After the rollout of the GST regime in 2017, a concessional GST rate of 18 per cent was prescribed for vehicles meant for differently-abled persons, lower than the rate applicable to other vehicles.
This distinct fiscal treatment, the petitioner argues, has now been eroded. The plea notes that in September and October 2025, authorities issued notices discontinuing the GST exemption certificate scheme altogether and stopping the issuance of certificates even to orthopedically disabled applicants.
Allegation of Arbitrary Withdrawal of Benefits
The petitioner contends that the withdrawal of a long-standing beneficial scheme, without any assessment or alternative mechanism, violates constitutional principles.
“By equating PwD with non-disabled purchasers in terms of GST burden, withdrawing a long-standing beneficial scheme without any rational basis, impact assessment or successor mechanism, and denying reasonable accommodation for personal mobility, the respondents have acted in a manifestly arbitrary, discriminatory and disproportionate manner,” the plea says.
The matter will be taken up after the Centre and the GST Council file their responses.
