Looking for expert help with Medical equipment GST rate and HSN code? The team at Tax Garden, based in Kondapur, Hyderabad, helps Indian SMEs stay compliant. End-to-end filings, notices, and deadline tracking, all in one place.
Key Takeaways
- Most medical, surgical and dental instruments and apparatus are 5% GST from 22 September 2025: headings 9018, 9019, 9020, 9021, medical X-ray apparatus under 9022, medical thermometers and medical analysis apparatus (Notification 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I).
- Hospital beds, operating tables and examination tables (9402) are 18%. So are thermometers, lab analysers and X-ray machines that aren't for medical use.
- Hearing aids are nil-rated (Notification 10/2025-CT(R), S. No. 160). Glucometers, test strips, diagnostic kits, surgical gloves, sutures and medical oxygen are 5%.
- Repairs and AMCs are 18% even on a 5% device. Rentals take the rate of the goods rented.
- Government hospitals deduct 2% GST TDS on contracts above Rs 2.5 lakh (Section 51, CGST Act). Large private hospitals may deduct 0.1% income tax TDS on purchases above Rs 50 lakh.
What is the GST rate and HSN code for medical equipment? Medical, surgical, dental and veterinary instruments and apparatus under HSN 9018 to 9021, and medical X-ray equipment under 9022, attract 5% GST (2.5% CGST plus 2.5% SGST) under Schedule I of Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate), in force from 22 September 2025. Hospital furniture under HSN 9402 is 18%, and hearing aids are nil-rated.
You run a surgical showroom near the district hospital, a distributorship that supplies patient monitors and consumables to nursing homes, or a home-care business that rents out oxygen concentrators and hospital beds. Your counter has goods at three different rates, your biggest customer may be a government hospital that pays you net of tax, and your service team bills AMCs at a rate that surprises customers. This post covers those points for medical and surgical equipment dealers, distributors and rental businesses, with the Income-tax Act 1961 rules for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27) and the Income-tax Act 2025 sections that apply from 1 April 2026.
Which GST rate applies to each product on your shelf?
Start with the device's use, not its material. The tariff gives medical versions of thermometers, analysers and X-ray machines their own 5% entries, while the general-purpose versions sit in the 18% schedule.
Tax Rate Chart
GST for Medical and Surgical Equipment Dealers (from 22 September 2025)
Medical, surgical, dental and veterinary instruments and appliances, electro-medical apparatus, sight-testing instruments (9018)
9/2025-CT(R) Sch I, S. No. 483
Oxygen therapy, respiration, ozone and aerosol therapy apparatus, massage and mechano-therapy appliances (9019)
Sch I, S. No. 484
Orthopaedic appliances, splints, implants, artificial body parts, intraocular lenses (9021, other than hearing aids)
Sch I, S. No. 486
X-ray and radiation apparatus for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary use (9022)
Sch I, S. No. 487
Medical thermometers (9025) and medical analysis apparatus (9027)
Sch I, S. Nos. 488 and 489
Hospital beds with mechanical fittings, operating and examination tables, dental chairs (9402)
9/2025-CT(R) Sch II, S. No. 611
Hearing aids (9021)
10/2025-CT(R), S. No. 160
Source: Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) and 10/2025-Central Tax (Rate), both dated 17 September 2025, effective 22 September 2025
Consumables and mobility aids sold alongside the equipment mostly sit at 5% too:
| Product | HSN | GST | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medicated bandages, dressings, adhesive plasters | 3005 | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 235 |
| Sterile sutures, surgical catgut, tissue adhesives | 3006 | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 236 |
| Diagnostic kits and reagents | 3822 | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 263 |
| Surgical and medical examination rubber gloves | 4015 | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 275 |
| Medical grade oxygen | 2804 40 10 | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 212 |
| X-ray film for medical use | 3701 | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 257 |
| Glucometers and test strips | 90 or any chapter | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 475 |
| Coronary stents and stent systems | 90 | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 473 |
| Wheelchairs and carriages for disabled persons | 8713 | 5% | Sch I, S. No. 457 |
| Rubber gloves for other uses | 4015 | 18% | Sch II, S. No. 141 |
| Non-medical thermometers, lab analysers, industrial X-ray | 9025, 9027, 9022 | 18% | Sch II, S. Nos. 574, 576, 571 |
Example. You supply a nursing home in your own State with two hospital beds at Rs 60,000 each, one patient monitor at Rs 1,50,000 and ten boxes of examination gloves worth Rs 5,000. GST is 18% of Rs 1,20,000 (Rs 21,600), plus 5% of Rs 1,50,000 (Rs 7,500), plus 5% of Rs 5,000 (Rs 250). The invoice totals Rs 2,75,000 plus Rs 29,350 GST, or Rs 3,04,350. One rate across the whole bill would be wrong either way.
None of the 2026 rate notifications issued so far (Notifications 01/2026 to 10/2026-Central Tax (Rate)) change these entries.
Rentals, AMCs and warranty work
Rentals. Home-care rental is a big line for many dealers. Leasing or rental of goods without transfer of title is taxed at "the same rate of central tax as applicable on supply of like goods involving transfer of title in goods" (Notification 11/2017-CT(R), S. No. 17, heading 9973). An oxygen concentrator rented at Rs 6,000 a month carries 5% (Rs 300). A hospital bed rented at Rs 4,000 a month carries 18% (Rs 720). If you bill both on one monthly invoice, show them as separate lines.
AMCs and paid repairs. Servicing, calibration and repair are maintenance and repair services under heading 9987, taxed at 18% (Notification 11/2017-CT(R), S. No. 25). The 5% device rate doesn't carry over to the service. A Rs 40,000 annual maintenance contract on a 5% ultrasound machine is billed at 18%, so Rs 7,200 GST.
Brand warranty work. If you're an authorised dealer and fix a device free under the manufacturer's warranty, charging the customer nothing, no GST is payable on that repair (CBIC Circular 195/07/2023-GST, S. No. 3). If you invoice the brand for the part or the labour, GST is payable on that invoice and the brand takes the credit (S. Nos. 4 and 5).
Why hospitals push back on price. Health care services by a clinical establishment are exempt (Notification 12/2017-CT(R), S. No. 74). A hospital that only supplies exempt health care can't use the GST you charge as input tax credit (Section 17(2), CGST Act), so the GST on your bill is a real cost to it. That's why hospitals compare the 5% and 18% lines closely.
Selling to government hospitals: GST TDS
Government hospitals, medical colleges and health departments are often the largest buyers. Section 51 of the CGST Act requires a department or establishment of the Central or State Government, a local authority or a government agency to deduct tax "at the rate of one per cent" from the payment where the total value of supply under a contract exceeds Rs 2,50,000. With State tax, that's 1% CGST plus 1% SGST. The value is taken excluding GST.
Step-by-Step Guide
How GST TDS Works on a Government Hospital Order
Contract value crosses Rs 2.5 lakh
Deduction applies when the total value of supply under the contract, excluding GST, exceeds Rs 2,50,000 (Section 51(1)).
Hospital deducts 2% from your payment
1% CGST plus 1% SGST on the taxable value. No deduction if your location and the place of supply are in a different State from the hospital's registration (proviso to Section 51(1)).
Hospital deposits and files GSTR-7
The deducted amount is paid to the Government within ten days after the end of the month (Section 51(2)) and reported in the deductor's return.
You use the credit
The amount reflected in the deductor's return is credited to your electronic cash ledger (Section 51(5)). Use it to pay your GST or claim a refund.
Source: Section 51, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
Example. A district hospital orders an ultrasound machine for Rs 8,00,000 plus 5% GST of Rs 40,000. The contract exceeds Rs 2.5 lakh, so the hospital deducts 2% of Rs 8,00,000, which is Rs 16,000 (Rs 8,000 CGST and Rs 8,000 SGST), and pays you Rs 8,24,000. You still report the full Rs 40,000 output tax in GSTR-3B and use the Rs 16,000 credit from your cash ledger towards it. Track each deduction so the credit isn't left unused in the ledger.
Registration and the composition scheme
Section 22(1) of the CGST Act sets the registration limit at Rs 20 lakh (Rs 10 lakh in special category States). A supplier that sells only goods can go up to Rs 40 lakh under Notification 10/2019-Central Tax, but not in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura and Uttarakhand. Rentals, AMCs and repairs are services, so a dealer with any of them is on the Rs 20 lakh limit everywhere. A dealer selling only hearing aids, which are nil-rated, isn't required to register (Section 23(1)(a)). Our registration limit guide has the detail and our GST registration service files the application.
Composition. With previous-year turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore (Rs 75 lakh in some States, Notification 14/2019-Central Tax), a trader can pay 1% of turnover and file quarterly. For a medical dealer the scheme fits less often than it seems:
Comparison
Regular Scheme vs Composition for a Medical Equipment Dealer
| Parameter | Regular scheme | Composition scheme |
|---|---|---|
| Tax on sales | 5%, 18% or nil per item, charged on the bill | 1% of turnover, paid from your margin |
| Input tax credit on stock | Allowed | Not allowed |
| Rentals, AMCs, repairs | No limit | Up to 10% of last year's turnover in the State or Rs 5 lakh, whichever is higher (second proviso to Section 10(1)) |
| Supplies to hospitals in other States | Allowed | Not allowed (Section 10(2)(c)) |
| Selling through online marketplaces | Allowed | Not allowed (Section 10(2)(d)) |
| Document you issue | Tax invoice | Bill of supply |
Source: CGST Act Sections 10(1), 10(2) and 22(1); Notifications 10/2019 and 14/2019-Central Tax
A rental business or a dealer with a service team usually crosses the services cap in the first year. See our composition scheme guide before you opt in.
Income tax for medical equipment dealers
Section 44AD. A resident individual, HUF or partnership firm (not an LLP) can declare 6% of turnover received through banking or digital modes and 8% of the rest. The limit is Rs 2 crore, or Rs 3 crore where cash receipts don't exceed 5% of turnover. For FY 2025-26 that's Section 44AD of the 1961 Act. From tax year 2026-27 it's Section 58(2), Table Sl. No. 1 of the Income-tax Act 2025, with the same rates and limits.
Example. A sole proprietor's turnover for tax year 2026-27 is Rs 1,80,00,000, of which Rs 6,00,000 is cash (3.3%, within 5%). Deemed profit is 6% of Rs 1,74,00,000 (Rs 10,44,000) plus 8% of Rs 6,00,000 (Rs 48,000), a total of Rs 10,92,000. Our Section 44AD guide covers the five-year lock-in under Section 58(7).
TDS by large hospitals on purchases. A buyer whose turnover exceeded Rs 10 crore in the previous year deducts 0.1% on the amount by which its purchases from you in the year exceed Rs 50 lakh (Section 194Q of the 1961 Act; Section 393(1), Table Sl. No. 8(ii) of the 2025 Act). If a hospital chain buys Rs 80 lakh of equipment from you in tax year 2026-27, it deducts 0.1% of Rs 30 lakh, which is Rs 3,000. Check that it shows in your tax credit statement on the e-filing portal before you file. Our Section 194Q guide explains the threshold.
Cash from patients' families. Don't accept Rs 2 lakh or more in cash from one person in a day, on one bill or for one event, other than by account payee cheque, draft or bank transfer (Section 269ST of the 1961 Act; Section 186 of the 2025 Act). The penalty equals the amount received (Section 451 of the 2025 Act). This comes up with implants and home-care equipment paid for at the counter.
Deadline Timeline
Dates Coming Up for Medical Equipment Dealers
Government hospital deposits GST TDS
Advance tax, third instalment
Advance tax for 44AD dealers
Source: CGST Act Section 51; Income-tax Act 2025 Sections 58 and 408
Common mistakes medical equipment dealers make
- Billing hospital beds at 5%. Heading 9402 furniture is 18%, even when sold with a 5% monitor on the same invoice.
- Charging GST on hearing aids. They're nil-rated, so a 5% line on the bill overcharges the patient.
- Billing AMCs at the device rate. Repair and maintenance under 9987 is 18%.
- Using the general 18% entry for medical thermometers or medical lab analysers. Medical versions are 5% under S. Nos. 488 and 489.
- Forgetting GST TDS credits. Match every 2% deduction by a government hospital to its credit in your electronic cash ledger and use it.
- Taking cash of Rs 2 lakh or more for one implant or bed. The penalty equals the cash received.
How Tax Garden helps medical equipment dealers
We map every device, consumable and piece of hospital furniture in your item master to the right HSN code and rate, separate sales from rentals and AMCs, and reconcile GST TDS from government hospitals every month through our GST return filing service. We keep your books through our accounting and bookkeeping service, check purchase TDS deductions against your tax credit statement, and file your return through our ITR filing service. Call or WhatsApp us on 9640290977.
Related reading: GST on medicines and medical devices | Pharmacists and medical shop owners guide | GST on healthcare services | Diagnostic lab owners guide
