GST Is Payable On Substance Use Disorder As It Is Out Of Ambit Of Health Care Services: Rajasthan AAR
Mariya Paliwala
12 Jun 2023 12:13 PM IST
The Rajasthan Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) has held that Goods and Service Tax (GST) is payable on substance use disorder as it is outside the ambit of health care services.The Bench of Umesh Kumar Garg and Mahesh Kumar Gowia has observed that services for the prevention and treatment of substance misuse and substance use disorders have traditionally been delivered separately from...
The Rajasthan Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) has held that Goods and Service Tax (GST) is payable on substance use disorder as it is outside the ambit of health care services.
The Bench of Umesh Kumar Garg and Mahesh Kumar Gowia has observed that services for the prevention and treatment of substance misuse and substance use disorders have traditionally been delivered separately from other mental health and general health care services. Because substance misuse has traditionally been seen as a social or criminal problem, prevention services are not typically considered a responsibility of health care systems. People needing care for substance use disorders have had access to only a limited range of treatment options that are generally not covered by insurance.
The applicant, M/s Sanjeevani Psychiatric Clinic, is registered as a partnership firm and is a clinical establishment. The clinical establishment is registered to provide medical services as a single specialty under the Allopathy System of Medicine by Dr. Rinet Sonia Dsouza (MBBS, MD). The applicant is providing treatment for patients suffering from substance use disorder (SUD) (addiction to drugs) in the state of Rajasthan.
As per the National Institute of Mental Health, substance use disorder (SUD) is a mental disorder that affects a person's brain and behavior, leading to a person's inability to control their use of substances such as legal or illegal drugs, alcohol, or medications. Symptoms can range from moderate to severe, with addiction being the most severe form of SUD.
Currently, the applicant is involved in providing the outpatient facility. A patient is treated as an outpatient, where the patient is not admitted; however, the treatment is provided at the clinical establishment as an outpatient for treatments and procedures that require no admission.
The applicant has sought an advance ruling on the issue of whether the supply of services by treatment of patients suffering from SUD as outpatients is exempt under entry 74(a) of notification no. 12/2017 CGST Rate dated June 28, 2017.
The AAR noted that well-supported scientific evidence shows that substance use disorder treatment and mental health services in mainstream health care have traditional separation.
The AAR held that substance use disorder is out of the ambit of health care services, and the supply of services by treatment of patients suffering from SUD as out-patients does not fall under the definition of health care services, so it is not exempt under entry 74(a) of notification no. 12/2017 CGST Rate dated June 28, 2017.
Applicant’s Name: M/S Sanjeevani Psychiatric Clinic
Date: 25/04/2023
