Among the so many useful derma conferences being organised in India, it is a big challenge for the organisers to sustain with newer sessions and practical useful content, at CDCON we are no different but a dedicated team of 40+ Dermatologists striving to make it a NOT TO MISS CONFERENCE and in three years time we are encouraged to make it to a multi-state level and raise the bar. CDCON 2017, a conference for Dermatologists, was held during September 09-10, 2017 at Ahmedabad. We aptly defined it as “a conference designed to uplift your practice to the next level” because there were insightful sessions on significant issues pertaining to the domain of Dermatology. Spread over two days, the Conference addressed some of the key aspects of Dermatology practice. The sessions were conducted by some of the leading Dermatologists in the field.

While double chin correction with Deoxycholic Acid fascinated the audience with actionable ideas and interesting case studies, practical sessions on marketing and
up lifting practice also WOWed the audience. A whole dedicated day allotted to Dermatologists’ staff Soft Skills Development and Motivational training became talk of the town among the delegates, as the efficiency and effectiveness of support staff have a bearing on the overall functioning of a clinic and as such training is of vital significance for every Dermatologist’s practice.

All scientific sessions followed by very interactive and knowledge sharing panel discussions at CDCON, as we strongly believe the best knowledge would be shared out of interactive Q & A and panel discussion. Presentations on ‘Art of Communication & Counselling’, ‘Tips to Buy Laser Machines’, ‘Smart Marketing’ and ‘How to Balance Aesthetic and Clinical Practice’ were quite enlightening and interesting.

Among all the interactive-practical important sessions, I found the session on
Goods and Services Tax by Mr. Nilesh Suchak on Day 2 particularly informative and useful and I thought all the dermatologists should be benefited by that GST session what better way could be to share the key points of the session by sharing it to medium of DERMATALK magazine. Here are the key points:

The session on GST addressed many of the queries that Dermatologists had. As our schedule as a Dermatologists are quite hectic and do not permit sufficient time to study the implications of GST for us, the session on GST helped clarify some of the assumptions and queries. The presentation on GST dwelt upon the structure of GST and the way it is calculated. It clarified as to when the GST Registration becomes a mandatory requirement.

While ‘healthcare services’ are included in the services ‘exempt’ from GST, it was interesting to learn about the way GST defines ‘healthcare services’. It is important to study this definition as it has implications for Dermatologists. Healthcare services are defined as follows:

“health care services” means any service by way of diagnosis or treatment or care for illness, injury, deformity, abnormality or pregnancy in any recognized system of medicines in India and includes services by way of transportation of the patient to and from a clinical establishment, but does not include hair transplant or cosmetic or plastic surgery, except when undertaken to restore or to reconstruct anatomy or functions of body affected due to congenital defects,
developmental abnormalities, injury or trauma.

As it is clear, the treatments such as hair transplant or cosmetic or plastic surgery are not included except in the special circumstances/conditions as mentioned in the clause. In addition, terms such as ‘clinical establishment’ have also been defined for Dermatologists to study them in detail. The presentation went on to enlist the kind of returns are to be filed in the event of an excess to the aggregate turnover. GST has clearly articulated the classification of healthcare services which affects the community of Dermatologists and should be studied in great
detail.

The presentation listed the following scenarios for the same:

• When aggregate practice exceeds Rs. 20 lakhs, a dermatologist should take GST Number.
• It is a dual-tax method-CGST + SGST – 9% each, total 18%

1. It is clear from above discussion that all dermatologists who are doing only consultation & clinical practice and their annual income is below 20 Lakhs, need not apply for GST number, but if it crosses 20 Lakhs, one has to take GST number. Once GST number is applied they are supposed to file a return, though their income is exempted under health care service – nil return is a must in this case.
2. All those dermatologists who are doing MIX PRACTICE – Dermatological & Cosmetological, they are supposed to take GST Number, irrespective of their annual income.

3. Once GST Number is applied and taken then they are supposed to file 37 RETURNS annually, 3 returns monthly and 1 annually.
4. There is a special proforma to generate GST bill & it should be printed and changed accordingly.
5. Procedures which are because of medical diseases are exempted from GST. As they are included under “Health Care Services”, like wart removal.
As a Dermatologist, it was an enriching experience to not only attend the conference but also acquire an in-depth understanding and knowledge of GST and its implications on my practice. While it is not possible to fully internalize all legal implications of GST at present, it is at least clear to me, thanks to the session on GST, how GST will affect my practice and how I need to make the transition
to the new taxation system namely GST. In a one-hour presentation, it was truly possible for me to experience how I can take my Dermatology “practice to the next level” with respect to GST, as the Conference tag line goes…

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