The International Road Federation (IRF) on Wednesday urged the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council and the Ministry of Finance to reduce the tax on helmets from 18 per cent to nil to encourage the use of the safety gear.
IRF, in a statement, said two-wheeler riders are most vulnerable during road accident fatalities, and lowering GST rates on helmets will help make helmets more affordable for the masses amid increasing road accident fatalities.
Citing a Bosch Report, IRF said India accounts for about 12 per cent of road accident deaths worldwide, and the economic loss is about USD 15.71–38.81 billion to the Indian economy.
"The two-wheeler riders, being most vulnerable, constitute almost 31.4 per cent of road accidental deaths primarily due to head injuries. One of the most effective measures to reduce two-wheeler accident injuries and fatalities is the use of standard helmets," said IRF president emeritus K K Kapila.
Kapila added that the helmet usage in India has been found to be low, as it has been noticed that most of the two-wheeler riders fall into economically weaker and lower income groups and prefer to purchase helmets that are cheaper and inferior in quality.
Currently, the applicable rate of GST on helmets is 18 per cent which is a life-saving device.
"IRF strongly recommends that there should be no GST on helmets," Kapila said, adding that this will help in making the standard helmets more affordable for the masses and will discourage them from buying helmets of sub-standard quality.
As per Section 129 of the Central Motor Vehicle Act, 1988, wearing helmets is mandatory for two-wheeler riders.
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