Health and wellness
A nursing home's in-patient care, deliveries, surgeries and nursing are exempt health care. Its bills still need care: a non-ICU room charged above ₹5,000 a day attracts 5% GST without input tax credit, and medicines sold to outpatients are taxable at 5%. A nursing home bill should show admission and discharge times, room type and daily rate, the treating doctor, package details for deliveries and surgeries, and a clear split between treatment, taxable room charges and any pharmacy sales.
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Or create these invoices in software, free| Description | HSN/SAC | Qty | Rate (₹) | Taxable (₹) | GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal delivery package (2 days, semi-private) | 999313 | 1 NOS | 35,000.00 | 35,000.00 | 0% |
| Paediatrician visit — newborn | 999312 | 2 VISIT | 800.00 | 1,600.00 | 0% |
| Nursing charges | 999314 | 2 DAY | 1,000.00 | 2,000.00 | 0% |
| Deluxe room upgrade (₹5,500 per day, non-ICU) | 999311 | 2 DAY | 5,500.00 | 11,000.00 | 5% |
| Iron and calcium tablets sold at discharge (strip of 10) | 3004 | 4 STRIP | 90.00 | 360.00 | 5% |
| Taxable value | ₹49,960.00 | ||||
| GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state) | ₹568.00 | ||||
| Invoice total | ₹50,528.00 | ||||
Sample prices are illustrative. Check the GST rate for your exact item or service before billing.
Rule 46 of the CGST Rules applies to every tax invoice, including this one:
Read more: Tax Invoice vs Bill of Supply: Which One Should You Issue? · Reverse Charge Mechanism Under GST: When the Buyer Pays the Tax · HSN Codes and GST Rates for Medicines and Pharma Products
A nursing home is a clinical establishment, and its health care services, including childbirth, surgery, nursing and in-patient care, are exempt. Food, medicines and consumables provided during the stay are part of the composite exempt service. The exemption applies regardless of the bill size. A nursing home offering only exempt services need not register for GST, but most have a pharmacy or private rooms that bring taxable income into the picture.
Room charges above ₹5,000 per day per patient, other than ICU, CCU, ICCU or NICU, are taxed at 5% without input tax credit. Once the daily room charge exceeds ₹5,000, tax is on the whole room charge for that day. In a delivery package priced as a lump sum, the room component must still be identified, so packages that include premium rooms need a room-rate breakdown. Nurseries and NICUs remain exempt.
Insurers and the tax rules both look at what a package contains. Prepare packages with a stated room category and number of days, so the taxable room portion, if any, can be worked out. Where the package is on a general or semi-private room under ₹5,000, the entire package is exempt. Where the patient upgrades, bill the upgraded room days with GST separately.
Medicines and products sold to outpatients or discharged patients to take home are goods at 5% under HSN 3004 from 22 September 2025. A nursing home with such sales must register when aggregate turnover crosses the threshold. Credit on pharmacy stock used for in-patients must be reversed, so track in-patient issues separately from counter sales.
A registered nursing home may have to pay tax under reverse charge on services such as security from a non-body-corporate agency, legal services from advocates, and rent paid to an unregistered landlord for commercial premises. As its output is mostly exempt, this tax cannot be recovered through credit and becomes a cost, so budget for it.
Health care services include transporting a patient to and from a clinical establishment. A nursing home that runs its own ambulance and charges for it as part of the patient's care can treat the charge as exempt. Show it as a separate line on the final bill. Ambulances bought by the nursing home attract GST as vehicles, which cannot be credited against exempt fees.
No. Childbirth and related in-patient care are exempt. Only non-ICU room charges above ₹5,000 per day and outpatient medicine sales attract GST.
No. NICU, ICU, CCU and ICCU charges are exempt regardless of the tariff.
Only if they have taxable supplies, such as room rent above the threshold or pharmacy sales, and aggregate turnover crosses the registration limit.
999311 for in-patient services, 999313 for childbirth and related services, 999314 for nursing and 999312 for doctor visits.
Transport of a patient to or from the nursing home, provided by the nursing home as part of care, falls within health care and is exempt. Show it as a separate line.
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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