Notice on Square, Apollo hospitals to stop VAT collection

A notice was served yesterday on Square Hospitals Limited and Apollo Hospitals asking them to stop collection of value added tax (VAT) from patients within 24 hours as per the High Court (HC) directives.
Earlier on July 14 this year, the HC declared illegal the imposition of VAT on citizens for providing health services to them.
It also declared illegal and unconstitutional the provision of Value Added Tax (VAT) Act 1991 for realising VAT from patients for making any prescription or doing pathological tests.
The HC came up with the verdict upon a public interest litigation jointly filed by three Supreme Court lawyers.
Petitioners' Counsel Advocate Manzill Murshid sent the notices to the hospitals authorities stating that if the VAT collection is not stopped within the next 24 hours, legal steps will be taken against them.
He also attached a copy of the HC judgment with notices.
Manzill yesterday told The Daily Star that he would take legal actions against other big private hospitals and clinics in the capital to stop VAT collection from patients.
He said he served earlier legal notices on 15 big private hospitals including Square Hospitals Limited and Apollo Hospitals in the capital, requesting them to stop vat collection from the patients as per the HC directives.
But the authorities of these hospitals, excluding Square Hospitals Limited and Apollo Hospitals, have not responded to the legal notice, he said.
Meanwhile, EE Yusuf Siddique, manager (accounts) of Square Hospitals yesterday told The Daily Star, “We are in trouble. We are just playing as an agency to charge VAT from patients for National Board of Revenue (NBR) or the government. If the government or NBR says to stop charging VAT from the patient, we will follow the order.”
NBR Chairman Nasiruddin Ahmed said, “NBR has already moved to file an appeal with the Supreme Court against the HC verdict.”
A member of NBR also informed that the NBR did not impose the tax on patients, it is a decision imposed by parliament.