In spite of India generating 1.85 million tonne of electronic waste annually and being ranked among the top five countries of e-waste generation, e-waste has not been categorised separately under the new GST regime.
Today, India has 1 billion mobile subscribers, around 57 million computers along with other gadgets and consumer electronics users. But only 1.5 percent of the e-waste generated here gets recycled, according to Assocham and KPMG’s study of 2016.
Akshay Jain, director, Namo e-waste, said that GST rate on scrap is 18 percent and for computer and electronics, it is 28 percent. There is no mention of e-waste or computerIT scrap in the list of items under GST and hence, there’s no clarity.
Currently, e-waste players have to pay 10 percent extra tax and take a refund from the government after 90 days, which makes the entire ordeal complicated. Jain also adds that noting India is the fifth largest producer of e-waste and is also a major importer of e-waste from leading generating regions such as USA, China, and the EU, GST should have been clearly defined for this sector.
