Jamshedpur, June 1: Bihar Jharkhand Sales Representative�s Union (BSSR Union) under the banner of Federation of Medical and Sales Representatives Association of India (FMRAI) for the medical representatives staged Nukkad Sabha at Sakchi roundabout on Thursday evening demanding �No GST� on healthcare services.
Addressing the Nukkad Sabha, P R Gupta, president, BSSR Union, said, the union has been demanding for reduction in prices of medicines, pace makers and stents for cardiac angioplasty for the last 4 decades to all the central governments who have been in power. There is need to set the price of the medicines according to its production cost but due to the government order several medicines price is set according to the market price. This along with tax and GST is one of the reason why the medicine price is increasing, he added.
Gupta further said, with GST taking its effect from 1st July it will further increase the price of medicines and medical devices. So we are demanding for �No GST� on medicines and medical devices. A letter has been sent to the Prime Minister and finance minister in this regard, informed Gupta.
Addressing a Nukkad Sabha, Vishwajeet Dev, member of national working committee of FMRAI, said, during the meeting of NPPA that concluded on May 21, 2017 it was suggested that there should be NO GST on medicines.
He further said that there should be price control on all medicines and medical devices like pacemakers, stents and implants, etc based on their production cost.
There should be no GST on healthcare services provided directly or indirectly with a final purpose of providing healthcare by the hospitals, he added.
Another FMRAI member Abhishek Upadhyay said, any imposition of high GST on medical equipment would affect the overall cost structure of healthcare. Any increase in GST rate beyond the current tax structure, may dis-incentivize future investments in the private healthcare sector.
Members present were Abhishek Upadhyay, Vinay Laganjeet, Subroto Vishwas and others.