{"id":329,"date":"2026-07-18T23:02:06","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T17:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/gst-on-telemedicine-and-healthcare-technology-applicability-tax-rates\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T11:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T06:10:08","slug":"gst-on-telemedicine-and-healthcare-technology-applicability-tax-rates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/gst-on-telemedicine-and-healthcare-technology-applicability-tax-rates\/","title":{"rendered":"GST on Telemedicine and Healthcare Technology: Applicability &#038; Tax Rates"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Healthcare in India enjoys wide GST exemptions, but the rise of telemedicine and health-tech platforms has created grey areas. Whether GST applies often depends on who is providing the service and how it is packaged. This guide explains the GST position on traditional healthcare, telemedicine, and healthcare technology products.<\/p>\n<h2>Traditional healthcare services are exempt<\/h2>\n<p>Under GST Notification No. 12\/2017, the following are <strong>exempt from GST<\/strong> when provided by authorised medical establishments:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Services by hospitals, clinics and doctors<\/li>\n<li>Ambulance services<\/li>\n<li>Nursing, midwifery and paramedical services<\/li>\n<li>Blood banks and organ donation services<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Telemedicine: the key distinction<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Teleconsultation by a registered medical practitioner<\/strong> \u2014 exempt from GST, just like an in-person consultation.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Teleconsultation through a non-medical platform (aggregator or app)<\/strong> \u2014 subject to <strong>18% GST<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The line turns on whether the platform merely facilitates the service (aggregator, taxable) or the healthcare is provided directly by a registered practitioner (exempt).<\/p>\n<h2>Healthcare technology products<\/h2>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Product category<\/th>\n<th>GST rate<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Diagnostic devices (glucometers, oximeters)<\/td>\n<td>12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ventilators, infusion pumps<\/td>\n<td>12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Hospital equipment (beds, examination tables, wheelchairs)<\/td>\n<td>18%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Essential \/ life-saving medicines<\/td>\n<td>5%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Vaccines and general medicines<\/td>\n<td>12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Ayurvedic \/ Homeopathic products<\/td>\n<td>12%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Bundled services<\/h2>\n<p>When telemedicine is packaged together with devices or other components, the whole bundle is generally taxed at the <strong>highest rate among the items \u2014 usually 18%<\/strong>. Structuring and describing the supply carefully matters.<\/p>\n<h2>Who needs GST registration<\/h2>\n<p>Hospitals and clinics providing only exempt services do not need to register for GST. However, diagnostic labs, telemedicine platforms and pharmacies must register once turnover exceeds <strong>Rs. 20 lakh<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2>The sector&#8217;s GST challenges<\/h2>\n<p>The main pain points are high input GST on devices (12\u201318%), the inability of hospitals offering exempt services to claim input tax credit (so that GST becomes a cost), and higher costs for digital health platforms taxed at 18%. Getting the classification and structuring right is essential to avoid both overpayment and non-compliance.<\/p>\n<h2>Need expert help?<\/h2>\n<p>TAXAJ\u2019s Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries and legal team handle this end-to-end for businesses and individuals across Delhi, Bengaluru, Goa and Bihar. <a href=\"\/community\/\">Ask a question in our Community<\/a> or get in touch with TAXAJ.<\/p>\n<p><em>This guide is general information and is not a substitute for professional advice. Rules, rates and deadlines can change \u2014 verify the latest position on the relevant official portal or consult a professional before acting.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How GST applies to telemedicine and healthcare technology in India \u2014 which services are exempt, when teleconsultation attracts 18% GST, device and medicine rates, bundling rules, and registration thresholds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,974],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-compliances","category-gst"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90690,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329\/revisions\/90690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.taxaj.com/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}