Diagnostic services for conducting blood tests which assists in early detection of cancer fall out of the periphery of ‘Healthcare services’, Maharashtra’s Authority for Advance Ruling (MAAR) has ruled. This means such a service will not be exempted from GST.
Epigeneres Biotech Private Ltd had moved MAAR seeking advance ruling on whether the provision of diagnostic services would qualify for exemption from GST.
“The primary activity is research and experimental development of Cancer Prognostic and Diagnostic Technologies,” MAAR said while ruling that it is not eligible for the benefit of exemption. The quails judicial body observed that diagnostic test is still in its developmental stage and is not yet validated by the medical regulatory bodies. It noticed that applicant has not produced any license or certificate from Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation or any approval from Indian Council for Medical Research . It also said: “Tests cannot be treated as a proper diagnostic test but is more in the nature of clinical research and development and as a result it does not qualify as a Health Care Service.”
According to an tax expert the said ruling highlights a crucial distinction between approved healthcare diagnostics and new, tech-driven testing methods. It clearly states that not all laboratory tests are automatically exempt from GST. If a test is still in the experimental stage and lacks approvals from regulatory bodies like ICMR or CDSCO, it will be treated as research and subject to GST.
This is a key takeaway for diagnostic start-ups and labs using advanced technologies like genome sequencing or AI-based testing. Therefore, “to qualify for GST exemption under healthcare services, obtaining proper medical licenses and regulatory approvals is essential,” he said.
