DIMAPUR, JULY 3 (MExN): Standing in solidarity with disability groups across the country, Connect Ability Network Nagaland (CAN-Nagaland) has demanded rollback of GST on disability aids and appliances.
Questioning the wisdom of the government in taxing the disabled and making life more difficult for them, Diethono Nakhro, CAN-Nagaland in a press statement demanded that aids and appliances for all types of disabilities be made available and affordable.
It pointed out that under the GST, taxes ranging from 5-18% on goods used by people with disabilities have been approved. So far, these goods were exempt from any form of excise and customs duty. Now, all these goods are set to become more expensive.
As per rates approved by the GST council on May 18, 2017, 18 per cent tax has been imposed on Braille typewriters and cars for the physically disabled, 12 per cent on Braille paper, 5 per cent on carriages for the disabled, wheelchairs and assistive devices, and 12 per cent on hearing aids.
The most essential goods and services are supposed to attract nil rate of GST under Exempted Categories. Assistive appliances and other aids are most essential and a necessity not a luxury for people with disabilities, it stated. For example, for a person with a hearing impairment, a hearing aid is essential, for someone with a locomotor disability, a wheelchair is indispensable, and for the visually impaired, books in Braille are part of daily life.
The CAN-Nagaland also pointed out that many people with disabilities come from economically weaker sections, and hence the government decision would be a huge impediment to their education and employability and general quality of life.
“This decision of the GST Council comes as more of a shock as it blatantly violates the provisions of the recently enacted Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016 which talks about promotion of the personal mobility of persons with disabilities at affordable cost,” it said.
