Private healthcare to see 2%-4% increase after GST
KUALA LUMPUR: Private healthcare operating cost will
likely increase from two to four per cent after the
implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
on April 1 due to mixed supply, said Pantai Holdings
Bhd Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Shahizam Mohd
Shariff.
He said for private hospitals not all supplies were
exempted from GST as certain items that they get
from contractors are under standard rated category
which is subject to six per cent tax.
“There will be incremental cost as most of it cannot
be passed on. Being hospital operators, most of the
activities charged to patients are tax exempted,
which means that there will be no claim back from
the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (Customs).
“However, the increase of two to four per cent in
cost is not big issue as it is fairly manageable,”
he told reporters on the sidelines of a briefing on
Khazanah-IHH Healthcare Fund. |
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In addition to GST issues,
Ahmad Shahizam said following a meeting between the
Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia and Customs
this morning, private independent consultant fees had
been clarified to be under standard rated supply and is
subject to six per cent levy.
This was a burning
question among the people in private hospitals
previously on the clarity of the fees charged by private
independent consultants who provide services in private
hospitals, he said.
While most of the bills in
private hospitals would be exempted from GST, the
component relating to consultant fees would be subjected
to the six per cent tax which will be levied to
patients, he added.
On Khazanah-IHH Healthcare
Fund, IHH Healthcare Bhd Managing Director and Chief
Executive Officer, Dr Tan See Leng, said the fund was
set up with RM50 million endowment from Khazanah
Nasional Bhd, which was set aside from realised and
targeted gains from its investment in IHH Healthcare.
Since it was set up two years ago, a total of RM20
million had been used to help more than 3,100 less
privileged, deserving patients across the group’s home
markets of Malaysia, Singapore and Turkey, either
partially or fully sponsored, he said.
Dr Tan
said the fund will disburse RM10 million a year over
five years through programmes run by IHH Healthcare
subsidiaries, out of which 70 per cent had been
allocated for Malaysia and the remaining to be split
between Singapore and Turkey.
The fund was
announced in July 2012 at the launch of IHH Healthcare
initial public offering and the disbursement began in
2013 after the framework were put in place to
systematically identify and match deserving patients.
Source:::
Free Malaysia Today , dated 21/03/2015.........
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