Indian Medical Association (IMA) national president and member of National Medical Commission, Sahajanand Prasad Singh urged the Union government to withdraw 5% GST on the hospital room services since it would ultimately put additional burden on the patients across India.
In an exclusive interview to The Hindu over telephone from New Delhi, he said that GST would be a big burden on the hospitals as they had already been facing many financial problems with steep hike in maintenance cost due to upward revision of hospital overall rents, electricity charges, salaries of doctors and staff.
IMA, which was established in the Year on December 28, 1928 in Calcutta (now Kolkata), is the premier body for doctors. It has four lakh members across India. The association plays a key role in bringing the issues of medical fraternity to the notice of the government. IMA is strongly opposing 5% GST on hospital room rents, exceeding ₹5000 per day per bed without giving Input Tax Credit (ITC).
