WITHDRAWAL OF GST EXEMPTION ON HOSPITAL
EQUIPMENT: A BOON OR BANE FOR PATIENTS?
The import of equipment by
government hospitals and
those run by societies will
be now subject to the full
rate of Intra-State Goods &
Service Tax (IGST), as existing
concessional rate of 6 percent
Countervailing Duty (CVD) will
not be available from July 1,
2017.
From the first angle,” Dr Dharminder Nagar MD, Paras
Hospital says, “it is certainly bad news for hospitals that
import equipment as this will get costlier now”On the other
hand,” he adds, “the decision seems to have taken with an
intent to encourage hospitals to buy locally manufactured
equipment which will boost the indigenous medical
manufacturing sector.”
For the healthcare sector and the common people, in general,
more important vis a vis GST is the need to place medical
devices such as pacemakers, implantable cardioverter
defibrillator (ICDs) and diagnostic equipment under lower tax
slabs to allow treatment facilities become more affordable.
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