GST for clinics, labs, pharmacies and optical shops

Treatment is exempt

Healthcare services by a clinical establishment or an authorised medical practitioner are exempt from GST (Notification 12/2017, entry 74). That covers consultations, treatment and diagnostic tests, including at a pathology lab.

Cosmetic and plastic procedures that aren't to restore or reconstruct are taxable, usually at 18%. In a dental clinic that means teeth whitening and purely aesthetic veneers, for example.

Goods are taxed

Rates change: keep them as editable data in your software, not printed on a chart on the wall.

• Most medicines: 5% since the rate changes of 22 September 2025.
• Corrective spectacles and spectacle lenses: 5%. Sunglasses are taxed higher (18%).
• Medicines given as part of an in-patient package are part of the exempt service.

Do you need to register?

A clinic whose turnover is only exempt services doesn't need GST registration. Once you also sell taxable goods or services (a medicine counter, cosmetic work, spectacles), registration is needed above the threshold (₹20 lakh for services in most states; lower in some special-category states), and many suppliers and payment providers will ask for a GSTIN anyway.

Billing mixed businesses

• Keep exempt and taxable lines apart on the same bill, each with its own tax treatment.
• Print HSN or SAC codes on taxable lines.
• A clinic with a pharmacy counter bills medicines from the pharmacy's GSTIN and drug licence.

Check with your CA

This guide is general information, checked against the rules as of late 2025. Confirm the rates and your registration with a chartered accountant, especially if you sell cosmetic services or run more than one kind of business.