Kolkata

A white paper released by the India Autism Centre (IAC) in Kolkata has recommended exempting disability support services, such as therapy, rehabilitation, and community-based care, from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), arguing that taxing these services creates a structural barrier to accessing care and puts families into a long-term financial burden.

The first chapter of the report, “Financial Sector Reforms to Empower Persons with Disabilities“, recommended a 0% GST rate on all disability support services and argued that the current tax framework fails to recognise the multidisciplinary nature of disability care. While exemptions exist for healthcare, education, and certain charitable activities, many non-profit disability service providers fall outside these categories, leaving essential services taxable.

“Autism and disability are lifelong conditions. You need lifelong care, therapy, support, and more. One parent generally has to quit their job and look after the child if they cannot afford additional help. This increases the cost of living to take care of the child, but one person’s income stops. There are organisations like us (IAC) who can offer this ecosystem to families so they get the support they need, but we are being charged GST if the person with disability is not at the extreme end of the spectrum. There is a gap between law and implementation,” said Sreerupa Chakraborty, Strategy Lead at IAC and co-author of the white paper.

A structural barrier

The current GST framework creates a structural barrier to accessing essential disability support services, the report added. It noted that services such as therapy, rehabilitation, education and community-based support are often subject to GST despite being essential.

Speaking about the broader policy landscape, Nipun Malhotra, Strategic Lead — Advocacy and Partnerships at IAC and founder of the Nipman Foundation, said disability cannot be treated as the responsibility of a single department.

“Disability is an intersectional issue. No one Ministry can be blamed. Whether it is housing laws, technology regulations or fire safety norms, the question should always be: Are people with disabilities being considered when policies across different sectors are framed?” Mr. Malhotra told The Hindu. 

The report argued that the existing GST exemption is linked to a narrow definition of “charitable activities”, which applies only to persons with “severe” disabilities. The authors argued that this creates an arbitrary divide, excluding many people with disabilities who require sustained support but do not meet the prescribed threshold.

The researchers recommended shifting from a provider-based classification, where tax liability depends on the type of institution offering the service, to a service-based classification, where exemption is determined by the essential nature of the service itself.

According to the paper, neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and specific learning disabilities require lifelong, multidisciplinary interventions, making severity-based classifications inadequate. “A single numerical severity score is insufficient to capture the multidimensional and evolving support needs associated with such conditions,” it stated.

Cost factor

Therapy costs in metropolitan cities can reach ₹30,000 a month, excluding expenses on caregivers, transport, education, and assistive devices. Citing available data, the report added that disability-related expenses account for 20.32% of household monthly consumption expenditure, while 57.1% of such households experience catastrophic health expenditure.

The report said that countries like Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom have adopted service-based tax frameworks that treat disability support as an essential public good rather than discretionary consumption. It argued that as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, India should similarly ensure that access to essential disability services is not determined by tax policy.

For Mr. Malhotra, the conversation should also extend to equal citizenship for persons with disabilities. “Does a person with disability (PwD) keep proving their disability for a lifetime? Welfare is important, especially for those from vulnerable communities. However, what is integral and often forgotten is ensuring PwDs get a level playing field in society,” he said.

Among its recommendations, the white paper called for amending GST notifications to explicitly exempt disability support services provided by eligible non-profit organisations, removing severity-based eligibility criteria, and broadening the exemption to cover therapy, rehabilitation, education, vocational training and community support services.

Published - August 01, 2026 06:53 pm IST