The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is likely to make a proposal that will force hospitals to split medicines and hospitalization charges, which are typically bundled together. It has been suggested that this measure may also benefit consumers as it will make the bills more transparent. According to the tax authorities, medicines and consumables attract GST, with some under the maximum retail price (MRP) regime, however, hospitalization services usually do not face the tax.
They suspect that patients are sometimes charged full MRP for medicines that may have been even procured for less by the hospitals. Tax authorities had visited a few big hospitals in some cities including Mumbai and sought information on various practices followed by hospital chains. Moreover, they are also concerned that hospitals could be charging in-patients for GST on medicines, which may not be reaching the…
