First, Know What Is Taxable
Core healthcare services provided by a clinical establishment or an authorised medical practitioner, and diagnostic services, are generally exempt from GST. But clinics often sell things that are not: over-the-counter product sales, certain cosmetic and aesthetic procedures, room rent above the notified threshold, equipment hire, and some wellness services. Your software must let you mark each service line as exempt or taxable and apply the correct rate.
This article is a practical overview, not tax advice. Confirm the current position for your services with your chartered accountant.
What a Compliant Invoice Needs
- Clinic legal name, address and GSTIN, where registered.
- A unique, sequential invoice number and date.
- Patient name, and for taxable B2B supplies the recipient's GSTIN.
- Description of each service, with HSN or SAC code.
- Taxable value, rate, and CGST/SGST or IGST split.
- Clear separation of exempt and taxable lines on the same bill.
Software Features to Check
- Per-service tax mapping: exempt versus taxable, with the right rate and SAC code stored once.
- Mixed bills: one invoice can carry an exempt consultation and a taxable product, each computed correctly.
- Sequential numbering: no gaps, no duplicates, even across counters and branches.
- Credit notes: refunds and cancellations issued as linked credit notes, not edits to the original.
- Reports: taxable turnover, exempt turnover, and tax collected, ready for your GSTR filings.
- Branch handling: correct GSTIN and series per registered location.
Reconciliation
At month-end you should be able to pull total exempt supply, total taxable supply, and tax by rate in a few clicks, and hand it to your accountant. If assembling that needs a spreadsheet every month, the software is not doing its job.
Keep It Clean
Set tax mapping once, at setup, with your accountant present. Lock it so front-desk staff cannot change a service's tax status mid-day.