New Delhi: Flagging the “cumulative tax burden” on imported devices used in critical care, the Medical Technology Association of India (MTaI) has urged the government to ease customs duty in the upcoming union budget for FY2026–27.
The MNC industry body in a statement noted, “current tax levels directly inflate the cost of critical care and the tax burden—Basics Customs Duty, Health Cess, Surcharge, and GST—on essential medical devices reaches up to 30 per cent in some segments.”
“With rising input costs due to supply-chain disruptions, calibrated duty reductions are no longer a concession, but a public health imperative to ensure affordability,” it added.
In India, medical devices are levied a 5 per cent GST, and inputs used for producing finished devices are taxed 18 per cent under the rationalized framework announced last year.
Meanwhile, imported devices are subject to customs duties between 7.5 per cent and 10 per cent, depending on the category and country of export.
Notably, nearly 70 per cent of medical technology demand in India is met through imports, with most multinational players relying heavily on imported devices to fulfil their supply.
