Health and wellness

GST invoice format for a hospital

Hospital treatment is exempt health care, but a hospital bill is never fully tax-free. Room rent above ₹5,000 per day in a non-ICU room is taxed at 5% without input tax credit, and medicines sold to outpatients from the hospital pharmacy are taxable goods at 5%. The bill needs an IP or UHID number, admission and discharge dates, room category, the treating consultant, and a split between exempt treatment, taxable room charges and pharmacy items so insurers and TPAs can settle it.

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Sample hospital invoice

Description	HSN/SAC	Qty	Rate (₹)	Taxable (₹)	GST
Surgeon's fees — laparoscopic appendectomy	999311	1 NOS	45,000.00	45,000.00	0%
ICU charges	999311	1 DAY	9,000.00	9,000.00	0%
Private room rent (₹6,000 per day, non-ICU)	999311	2 DAY	6,000.00	12,000.00	5%
Laboratory investigations during stay	999316	1 NOS	4,500.00	4,500.00	0%
Discharge medicines from hospital pharmacy (antibiotic tablets)	3004	3 STRIP	180.00	540.00	5%
Taxable value				₹71,040.00
GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state)				₹627.00
Invoice total				₹71,667.00

Sample prices are illustrative. Check the GST rate for your exact item or service before billing.

Extra fields a hospital invoice needs

UHID / IP number: Every admitted patient has a unique hospital ID and in-patient number. Printing them ties the final bill to the medical record, the TPA pre-authorisation and any interim bills raised during the stay.
Admission and discharge dates and times: Room charges run per day, and the 5% room-rent rule is tested per day. Exact dates and times on the bill show how many room-days were charged and prevent disputes with insurers.
Room category and daily tariff: Show whether the patient was in general ward, semi-private, private, deluxe or ICU, and the daily rate. This determines whether the ₹5,000 threshold is crossed and whether GST applies to the room line at all.
Treating consultant and department: Insurers and patients want to know who treated the patient. Naming the consultant and department also helps internal revenue sharing with visiting doctors.
TPA / insurer and policy details: For cashless claims, the insurer, TPA, policy number and authorisation number let the claims team match the bill quickly. Show the amount payable by insurer and by patient separately.
Package name, if any: Many surgeries are billed as fixed packages. Naming the package and listing what it includes avoids arguments over items charged outside it.

Standard GST invoice fields

Rule 46 of the CGST Rules applies to every tax invoice, including this one:

Supplier name, address and GSTIN
Consecutive invoice number (max 16 characters, unique for the year)
Date of issue
Customer name, address and GSTIN (if registered)
Place of supply with state name
HSN/SAC code per item
Description, quantity and unit
Taxable value after discounts
GST rate and CGST + SGST or IGST amounts
Signature or digital signature

GST rules that matter for a hospital

Treatment is exempt, including medicines used during the stay

Health care services by a clinical establishment are exempt under Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). Medicines, implants, consumables, food and nursing supplied to an admitted patient as part of treatment are part of a composite supply whose main element is health care, so they share the exemption. The hospital does not charge GST on them on the in-patient bill. Medicines sold to outpatients or visitors over the pharmacy counter are a separate supply of goods and taxed at 5% from 22 September 2025.

Room rent above ₹5,000 a day is taxable at 5%

From 18 July 2022, room charges above ₹5,000 per day per patient, other than ICU, CCU, ICCU and NICU, were taken out of the exemption and taxed at 5% without input tax credit. The tax applies to the full room charge for each day it exceeds the limit, not just the excess. ICU and similar critical care rooms stay exempt whatever their tariff. Show the room line with its own rate so the patient and insurer can see the tax.

Separate GSTIN for the pharmacy is not required, but separate tracking is

A hospital pharmacy can operate under the hospital's own GSTIN. It must, however, separate taxable outpatient sales from medicines issued to in-patients. Input tax credit on pharmacy purchases is available only in proportion to taxable sales, so the hospital has to reverse credit attributable to exempt in-patient use under Rules 42 and 43. Keeping issue records by patient type makes this calculation possible.

Visiting consultants and reverse charge

When a hospital pays a visiting consultant, the consultant's service to the hospital is often treated as health care. Where the consultant is an employee, salary is outside GST altogether. Services such as security from a non-body-corporate agency, or legal advice from an advocate, can attract reverse charge for a registered hospital. Since the hospital's output is mostly exempt, reverse-charge tax paid is usually a cost.

E-invoicing applies to B2B bills only

A hospital with aggregate turnover above ₹5 crore must issue e-invoices for B2B taxable supplies, such as corporate health contracts with taxable components. Bills to individual patients are B2C and do not need an IRN. Exempt supplies are outside e-invoicing. Check which corporate and insurer bills carry taxable lines and route only those through the invoice registration portal.

Common billing mistakes

Charging 5% only on the room rent above ₹5,000 instead of on the full daily room charge once the limit is crossed.
Applying the room-rent tax to ICU or NICU beds, which remain exempt at any tariff.
Billing in-patient medicines at 5% GST when they are part of the exempt treatment.
Claiming full input tax credit on pharmacy purchases without reversing the share used for exempt in-patient care.
Giving TPAs a single lump-sum bill without the room, treatment and pharmacy split they need to settle the claim.

Hospital GST invoice: FAQ

Is GST charged on hospital bills in India?

Treatment and in-patient care are exempt. GST applies at 5% to non-ICU room rent above ₹5,000 per day, and at the product rate to pharmacy items sold to outpatients. Cosmetic procedures for appearance are also taxable.

Is GST charged on ICU room charges?

No. ICU, CCU, ICCU and NICU charges are exempt regardless of the daily tariff. The 5% tax applies only to other rooms charged above ₹5,000 per day.

Can a hospital claim input tax credit on room-rent tax?

No. Room rent above the threshold is taxed at 5% on condition that no input tax credit is taken on the inputs and input services used for it. Price the room accordingly.

What SAC codes appear on a hospital bill?

Inpatient services use 999311, laboratory and imaging 999316, and nursing or physiotherapy 999314. Medicines carry their HSN, usually 3004. Showing codes per line helps insurers and your own GSTR-1.

Sources: GST Council — Notification 03/2022-Central Tax (Rate), hospital room entry · GST Council — PIB press release on 56th Council rate rationalisation (3 Sep 2025) · CBIC — Tax information portal (rate and exemption notifications)

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