Lower GST to make medicines and medical devices more affordable

“The GST reduction on life-saving and chronic therapies, medical devices, medtech items, and health insurance is expected to lower medicine costs, make treatment more affordable, and ease access to essential healthcare.Terming the GST reform “a welcome move and a landmark step", Sudarshan Jain secretary-general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA) said this will improve access and make medicines more affordable addressing public health concerns’’.Govt has exempted life-saving and cancer medicines from GST, “a step that will bring direct relief to patients and their families. Equally, the reduction in GST on a wide range of medicines from 12% to 5% will help ease the overall treatment burden and make essential therapies more affordable'', the IPA said in a statement.These reforms will improve the accessibility of medicines, ensure wider availability across healthcare settings, and contribute positively to the Government’s vision of affordable healthcare for all.Manoj Mishra, Partner and Tax Controversy Management Leader, Grant Thornton Bharat said: "The GST rationalisation brings a decisive win for patients and the pharma industry alike. By keeping formulations at just 5%, treatment costs for millions of households become more manageable, while nearly 36 life-saving drugs—from cancer therapies to medicines for rare diseases—are now fully exempted.

This isn’t just tax policy; it is a lifeline that puts affordability and public health at the forefront.

For pharma players, the clarity on a 5% slab and exemptions removes long-standing ambiguity, enabling transparent pricing and better market planning. The move will expand access in semi-urban and rural markets, ease litigation, and free up resources for innovation. Above all, it signals a shift in GST’s philosophy—where taxation aligns with social priorities, ensuring that access to critical medicines is never compromised by cost''.Welcoming the decrease in GST from 18% to 5% on a wide range of medical devices, diagnostic kits and medtech items, Ameera Shah, President, NATHEALTH and Executive Chairperson, Metropolis Healthcare said :By easing costs and improving affordability, the measure will enhance access to quality healthcare services, support early disease detection, and bring greater consistency by standardising GST rates across preventive, curative and rehabilitative care.

We also welcome the reduction of GST slabs on retail health products such as health insurance, glucometers and corrective spectacles, which will make essential healthcare services and products more affordable for citizens. These progressive measures will go a long way in advancing the vision of a Swasth Bharat underpinning a Samriddh Bharat''.Rajiv Nath, Forum Coordinator, AiMeD said: “We hope GST refunds will be available on GST paid on services and capital goods as is the case in other countries like Australia, Singapore and Canada to enable us to be globally competitive . We also hope a transition period is provided to switch packaging material to avoid persecution for profiteering though we intend to pass on the GST reduction to the end consumer by reducing MRP proportionately.

"