Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W · Reviewed on 7 October 2026
The two rates, and which applies
Most clinic and diagnostic equipment — examination tables, dental chairs, X-ray and imaging machines, lab analysers — falls in the general plant-and-machinery block at 15% on written-down value. The Appendix I list of life-saving medical equipment — ventilators, defibrillators, heart-lung machines, cobalt-therapy units and other notified items — earns 40%. The classification is by the notified list, not by how critical the machine feels, so check the item against the list before claiming 40%. Depreciation continues under the Income-tax Act, 2025 from Tax Year 2026-27 on the same block-of-assets logic.
Block of assets and the 180-day rule
Depreciation runs on the block, not the individual machine: all 15% assets form one block, all 40% assets another. Equipment put to use (not merely purchased) for less than 180 days in the acquisition year earns half the rate that first year — buy in October 2025 for FY 2025-26 and the first-year claim is 7.5% or 20%. Additional depreciation under section 32(1)(iia) belongs to manufacturing — a clinic or hospital rendering services does not get it.
The presumptive-taxation catch for doctors
A doctor on section 44ADA presumptive taxation cannot claim depreciation separately — the 50% deemed profit is treated as covering all deductions, and the equipment’s WDV is deemed reduced each year anyway. In a year of heavy equipment purchase, regular books with actual depreciation can beat the presumptive rate — worth computing both ways before filing, which is exactly what our tax filing practice does for medical professionals.