India Autism Center seeks GST exemption for disability support services, calls tax a barrier to inclusion
White paper released by IAC argues that taxing therapy and rehabilitation increases the financial burden on families and seeks a service-based approach instead of disability severity thresholds
A white paper by the India Autism Centre (IAC) in Kolkata has proposed exempting disability support services from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), arguing that taxation creates a barrier to access and imposes long-term financial burdens on families. The report suggests a 0% GST rate for all disability support services and criticizes the current tax framework for not recognizing the multidisciplinary nature of disability care.
Sreerupa Chakraborty, Strategy Lead at IAC, highlighted the long-term costs of care, which can force parents to leave their jobs, increasing living expenses. The GST framework currently taxes essential services like therapy, rehabilitation, education, and community-based support, according to the report. Nipun Malhotra, Strategic Lead — Advocacy and Partnerships at IAC, emphasized that disability is an intersectional issue and should not be the responsibility of a single department.
The paper recommends shifting from a provider-based to a service-based classification for determining GST exemption, reflecting the essential nature of the service. Neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability, and specific learning disabilities require lifelong, multidisciplinary interventions, making severity-based classifications inadequate.
The report cites high costs and expenditure on disability-related expenses, urging India to adopt service-based tax frameworks akin to those in Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The authors urge amending GST notifications to explicitly exempt eligible non-profit organizations providing disability support services, remove severity-based eligibility criteria, and broaden the exemption to cover various essential services.
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