The Chhattisgarh Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) ruled that the supply of vaccines over the counter through a separate pharmacy run by a hospital is subject to GST.
Anju Parakh, the petitioner, requested a preliminary judgment about the application of Goods and Services Tax to vaccinations administered by doctors at their clinic (OPD).
The applicant is a licensed paediatrician who works in practice and administers vaccinations for the children who visit their clinic. For the aforesaid vaccination procedures done on the kids, the applicant charges a fee. The applicant argued that they qualify for an exemption in relation to the vaccination service provided by their clinic, asserting that it is covered by medical services.
The Central government vide Notification no. 12/2017-CT(Rate) on 28,.06.2017 exempted the intrastate supply of services through the health care services via the clinical establishment, an authorized medical practitioner, or para-medics from the GST liability, vide serial no. 74 under heading 9993 of the above notification.
Vaccines marketed and delivered through a separate pharmacy store owned by the clinic or hospital across the counter will be liable to GST as a supply of goods, at the applicable amount of GST, according to a two-member authority bench made up of Rajesh Kumar Singh and Sonal K. Mishra.
The Bench further highlighted that because there is no one, comprehensive contract for the aforementioned supply, it would be subject to GST if the clinic or hospital split the contract into two sections, one for the delivery of healthcare services and the other for the supply sale of vaccinations.
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The Bench further emphasized that when vaccines are used in the course of providing health care services to patients for treatment, they are naturally grouped together and used in conjunction with one another, qualifying them for exemption under St. no. 74 of Notification no. 12/2017- Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.6.2017 beneath the bracket of health care services, with the predominating factor being rendering.
