Do we have to pay GST on ICU beds, crematorium services?

On Tuesday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said there is no Goods and Services Tax on ICU beds at hospitals, crematorium, funeral, burial or mortuary services.

Sitharaman, addressing the Rajya Sabha in reply to a price rise debate, said she was attempting to clear up misinformation over issues related to the imposition of the levy on various products and services.

This comes after the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament has witnessed several disruptions by the Opposition after GST was imposed on several pre-packed and labelled essential items.

Let’s take a closer look at what Sitharaman said:

On crematorium, funeral, burial services

“The GST Council is accused of having levied charges on the crematorium. You are going to bury your dead, you are being charge…No,” Sitharaman said.

She added the GST is only applicable on the construction of new crematoriums.

“So let’s please not be led by misinformation,” the finance minister said.

She reiterated that there is no GST on funeral, burial, or mortuary services.

GST has been levied only on hospital rooms whose daily rent is over Rs 5,000 and not on hospital beds or ICU, Sitharaman added, as per News18.

On chequebooks, cash withdrawals

She specifically explained the GST issues around bank chequebooks and cash withdrawals.

“I would like to say there is no GST on withdrawing of cash from a bank,” Sitharaman, replying to a short discussion on price rise in the Rajya Sabha.

On the Opposition’s claims of burdening people by imposing GST on cheque books, she said the levy is in relation to purchase of cheque books by bans from printers, not for the public.

“I want you to kindly take into cognisance that as regards the consumer or the bank client who takes the money, withdraws the money, there is no charge on him,” Sitharaman said.

“More I listen to issues related to GST, I have a concern that probably the right information is not reaching. And as a result, there’s quite a lot of misconception and I would today attempt to clear some of these misconceptions,” Sitharaman said.

In her reply to the debate, she sought to address concerns raised by Opposition members, including on imposition of GST on essential items, like pulses, buttermilk, and curd.

‘Lowered cess on several items’

As per Mint, Sitharaman said that there is no GST on loose food items. “The five per cent tax is only on pre-packed and labelled items”.

“All states at the GST Council agreed to the proposal to levy five per cent GST on pre-packed, labelled food items; not one person spoke against it," Sitharaman added.

“They are not alone when they’re inside the GST Council, they sit with their officers as well. So, it’s not as if it’s possible for anyone to say something about some other state outside and get away with it,” she said, as per ANI.

She also told the House that said the government has adopted a targeted approach, based on ground-level inputs, to tackle retail inflation which is ruling at around seven per cent.

Sitharaman, comparing  on items pre  and post GST, claimed that her government has lowered the cess on several items of which public is unaware of including hair oil, soap, tooth powder, footwear, paint and sugar, as per Mint.

She also said the government has contained prices of tomato, onion, and potato, while comparing rates with those prevailing in November 2013.

Almost every state, including West Bengal, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Kerala, imposed levies on items like pulses, flour, curd, paneer, and buttermilk before the GST regime kicked in on 1 July, 2017.

The GST Council has not imposed any new tax on essential items, the minister said while replying to a short-duration debate on price rise in the Rajya Sabha.

“…every state had one or the other tax on all these items,” she said and cited taxes on items like pulses, flour, buttermilk, and paneer.

‘Fundamentals of economy are strong’

Sitharaman added that the Indian economy is in a much better position than many other developed economies, as per Economic Times.

“The Indian economy, compared to the situation prevailing in many of our peer groups & in many of developed economies, is definitely much better,” the finance minister said in Rajya Sabha.

She stressed that India’s macroeconomic fundamentals are stronger than many other countries and pointed to the fact that Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka had asked for loans to tide over the economic crisis.

With inputs from agencies

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