New Delhi : The Indian Medical Association (IMA) wrote a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman requesting an exemption from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) for healthcare services. The letter by the IMA points out to the dual recommendation of the 47th GST council which will make health facility costlier to common man.
In the 47th GST council meeting recommendation of taxing the healthcare sector was taken. The 47th GST Council meeting has recommended that “like the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Programs (CTEPs), common bio-medical waste treatment facilities for treatment or disposal of biomedical waste shall be taxed at 12 per cent so as to allow them an Input Tax Credit (ITC).” Also, the 47th GST Council meeting also recommended that “room rent, excluding ICU, exceeding Rs 5,000 per day per patient charged by the hospital will also be taxed at 5 per cent, without ITC.”
The IMA in its letter to the finance minister has urged to withdraw GST on the healthcare sector as it would increase the cost of treatment drastically. The letter, undersigned by IMA president Dr Sahajanand Prasad Singh, suggested that it would be correct to keep healthcare away from GST. “If not possible, the input tax credit is a must to curtail the rise in healthcare costs. The application of GST is pushing healthcare towards a business model away from a service-centric one.”
In the meantime, IMA also requested an urgent meeting on these serious issues and a hold on GST imposition on room rent and biomedical waste.
