My Indian client's foreign parent is paying my invoice: is it an export?

This situation is common with Indian subsidiaries of US, UK and European groups. A Pune marketing consultant signs with "Acme India Private Limited", but the invoice is paid by "Acme Inc." in Delaware, in dollars. The money comes from abroad, so it feels like an export. Under GST, who receives the service matters more than who pays.

Is it an export of services under GST?

Usually not, because condition (ii) of section 2(6) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Act needs "the recipient of service" to be located outside India.¹ The location of the recipient under section 2(14) is the registered place of business or fixed establishment where the supply is received.¹ If your contract, statement of work and invoice name the Indian company, the recipient is in India.

Payment in dollars satisfies only condition (iv). All five conditions must be met.¹

So what GST applies?

When both supplier and recipient are in India, section 12 of the IGST Act decides the place of supply. For a supply to a registered person, it is the location of that person.² If you are GST-registered, you charge GST as on a domestic invoice: CGST and SGST if the client is in your State, IGST if it is in another State. If you are below the registration threshold and unregistered, you charge no GST at all. See place of supply for export of services.

What changes if I bill the foreign parent instead?

Then the parent is the recipient, and the supply can be an export if the parent is located outside India, the place of supply is outside India and the other conditions hold.¹ This works only if the parent actually contracts for the work. A real change of contracting party needs a new agreement, not just a new name on the invoice.

How does the RBI view the receipt?

Under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), "export" covers services provided from India to a person outside India, so a supply to the Indian company is not an export for your bank either.⁴ A foreign remittance against a domestic invoice will still pass through your bank's checks: regulation 4 of the 2026 Regulations requires it to be satisfied the transaction is genuine.³ Tell your bank in advance and show the invoice and the group's payment instruction. For true exports paid by a related company, regulation 8 lets the bank permit third-party receipts; see third-party payments for exports.³

What about income tax?

Income tax is unaffected by the GST label: the fee is your business or professional income either way. Before you invoice, confirm with a chartered accountant which entity is your client, because that one fact decides the GST treatment.