NEW DELHI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Monday appealed to the central government for complete exemption of GST on a broad category of essential and lifesaving drugs, including anti-cancer medications, anti-diabetic drugs, antihypertensives and cardiac medications.
The IMA, which has over four lakh doctors as members, also said that the government should consider reduction in GST on medical equipment as they form a vital backbone of healthcare delivery.
“A reduction in GST rates would significantly lower operational costs for hospitals and clinics, making treatment more affordable,” said a statement by IMA’s National President, Dr. Dilip Bhanushali, and Honorary Secretary General, Dr. Sarbari Dutta.
Apart from GST exemption on cancer and diabetic drugs, they also urged the government for complete exemption for drugs used for chronic kidney disease, collagen vascular diseases, thyroid disorders, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), osteoporosis, and serious infections, intravenous immunoglobulin and drugs used in hematological conditions like hemophilia and myelodysplastic syndromes.
In the statement, they also said that the centre should streamline GST and TAN Registration for IMA Branches.
“Various IMA state and local branches are facing procedural challenges in obtaining GST and TAN registrations due to nomenclature-related issues. IMA seeks the Council’s intervention to enable a smoother registration process across the country,” the statement added.
“Hospital beds are essential healthcare infrastructure and not a luxury item. IMA strongly recommends that GST be completely removed on hospital beds to ensure affordability of hospitalization,” they said.
They said that GST exemption on health insurance premiums be removed to ease the financial burden on individuals and families, particularly in times of medical emergencies.
“This would encourage wider adoption of health insurance and improve healthcare access. IMA once again extends its sincere thanks to the GST Council for its responsive and patient centric approach. We remain hopeful that the Council will give due consideration to the above pending matters, which are vital to strengthening India’s healthcare system and ensuring equitable medical access for all,” the statement added.