Goods and Services Tax Industry Issues
Health Industry Partnership

Herbal formulae supplied by an acupuncturist

• Please note that the PDF version is the authorised version of this ruling.
  This publication is extracted from the Health Industry Partnership - issues register. See issue 2.b.4 of that register. This publication should be read in conjunction with the related content of that register where further context is required.

This publication provides you with the following level of protection: This publication (excluding appendixes) is a public ruling for the purposes of the Taxation Administration Act 1953. A public ruling is an expression of the Commissioner's opinion about the way in which a relevant provision applies, or would apply, to entities generally or to a class of entities in relation to a particular scheme or a class of schemes. If you rely on this ruling, the Commissioner must apply the law to you in the way set out in the ruling (unless the Commissioner is satisfied that the ruling is incorrect and disadvantages you, in which case the law may be applied to you in a way that is more favourable for you - provided the Commissioner is not prevented from doing so by a time limit imposed by the law). You will be protected from having to pay any underpaid tax, penalty or interest in respect of the matters covered by this ruling if it turns out that it does not correctly state how the relevant provision applies to you.

A person is qualified as a recognised professional in both Acupuncture and Naturopathy (or Chinese herbal medicine). The patient is treated with a range of approaches, sometimes involving the use of acupuncture and sometimes not. A herbal formulae is usually customised and dispensed at each treatment. Herbal medicine is part of the scope of practice of acupuncture, but this practitioner has further skills and is recognised in their own right as a herbalist/naturopath as well. Is the herbal formulae always GST-free by virtue of the recognised professional being an acupuncturist?

1. It is acknowledged that a person may be a *recognised professional in more than one of the services listed in the table in section 38-10(1). Therefore where a *recognised professional in both acupuncture and naturopathy (or Chinese herbal medicine) supplies a patient with a herbal formulae, the GST status of the formulae depends on which service is being provided.

2. If a herbal formulae is supplied by a *recognised professional of acupuncture who is trained in supplying herbal medicine, and it would be generally accepted in the acupuncture profession as being necessary for the appropriate treatment of the recipient of the supply, then based on the information in this question that Herbal medicine is part of the scope of Acupuncture, the herbal formulae will fall within the scope of a supply of acupuncture and will be GST-free where the elements of section 38-10(3) are satisfied.

3. If the herbal formulae is supplied by a person in their professional capacity as a naturopath or Chinese herbalist, the herbal formulae will be GST-free where the elements of section 38-10(4) are satisfied.

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