GST To Have Constructive Effect On The Pharma And Healthcare Sectors

Though healthcare and pharma sectors hailed the announcement of GST rates, by saying that GST will encourage local manufacturing sector to step into producing products that will be more affordable for the local consumers. But with introduction of GST ayurvedic medicines will be taxed at 12 per cent from the current tax rate of 7 per cent, which has disappointed the Ayurvedic medicines industry badly.

- Nitin Konde

 Though healthcare and pharma sectors hailed the announcement of GST rates, by saying that GST will encourage local manufacturing sector to step into producing products that will be more affordable for the local consumers. But with introduction of GST ayurvedic medicines will be taxed at 12 per cent from the current tax rate of 7 per cent, which has disappointed the Ayurvedic medicines industry badly.

India is a big hunting ground for the pharmaceutical sector; it is the largest producer of generic medicines and its pharmaceutical sector is ranked 3rd in terms of volume and 14th in terms of value. These stats clearly show the potential of this mammoth industry and with the continuous rise in population, pharmaceutical and healthcare sector of the country are expected to grow in multiple folds. According to the experts, this sector has seen a massive growth and it is expected to reach US $150 billion mark by end of 2017 from $80 billion in 2012. Government of India is all set to launch the much awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, 2017 and this regime might prove a game changer for all the sectors including pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

Presently, GST has become the centre of attraction for every sector, it has not only caught the eyeballs of business honchos but it has also revamped the entire tax structure of the country. The role out of GST would benefit most of the sectors and make the taxation process easier as it will replace a number of different taxes and duties.

The Indian Healthcare Industry is now among of the major sectors with respect to revenue and to employment. As the expenditure on the Healthcare increases, so do revenues from taxes. Recently, the Government of India decided for the implementation of GST, which would subsume various taxes of the complex tax system in the country into one uniform tax system.