Even though private healthcare services aren’t supposed to charge their patients the Goods and Services Tax (GST), they’re still able to raise their consultation fees to cover the new costs – and you might not even see it in your bill.
Customs GST division senior assistant director II Norazura Hashim told The Star that doctors who embed their GST costs into consultation fees would not be committing an offence.
“As long as they do not have a separate GST fee indicated in their invoice, they are not doing anything wrong by passing on the cost to patients,” she said.
Norazura added that doctors in private practices might have to pay extra GST costs when stocking up on medical supplies, but would not be able to claim the the tax, as private healthcare falls under the new tax’s exempt supplies list.
“Due to this, doctors or clinics may in turn raise their consultation fees to cover whatever GST payment they make.”
She also said that there will be an expected increase of between 3% and 4% in healthcare costs after the introduction of the GST on April 1, and advised patients who notice a sharp increase in their medical bills to lodge a complaint with the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry.
We wonder what other legal loopholes are out there for traders and services to exploit when they’re faced with higher operating costs due to GST, but can’t explicitly charge their customers for it.
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