Is GST charged when a foreign client pays me through Upwork?

A React developer, a ghostwriter or a voice-over artist who finds clients on Upwork often assumes the platform changes the tax picture. For GST in India it mostly does not. What matters is the underlying supply: who the client is, where they are, and how the money reaches you.

When is Upwork work an export of services?

Upwork work is an export of services when all five conditions in section 2(6) of the IGST Act are met:¹

1. You, the supplier, are located in India.
2. The client is located outside India.
3. The place of supply is outside India. For most remote work, section 13(2) makes it the client's location.²
4. You are paid in convertible foreign exchange, or in Indian rupees where the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) permits.
5. You and the client are not merely establishments of the same person.

When those hold, the supply is zero-rated under section 16 of the IGST Act.³ A registered freelancer then files a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) and invoices without GST. An unregistered freelancer does not charge GST at all.

Who is my client when Upwork sits in the middle?

Your client for GST is the person you supply the service to, and that depends on the platform's contract structure. The Upwork and Fiverr GST guide reads Upwork's User Agreement and explains why the client, not the platform, is treated as your customer there. Fiverr and other marketplaces can be structured differently, so read each platform's terms.

The client's location is a factual test. Section 2(14) of the IGST Act looks at the establishment receiving the service, or the client's usual place of residence if there is none.¹ An Upwork client with a US billing address who is a company in Texas is located outside India. A client who is an Indian company, or who receives the work at an Indian office, is not.

What if the client's location is not clear?

The proviso to section 13(2) says that if the recipient's location is not available in the ordinary course of business, the place of supply is the supplier's location, which is India.² Keep the client's country, company name and billing details from the contract page and payment records for each job.

What else should I check?

Check two things outside GST. First, set a services purpose code when you withdraw; see purpose code for Upwork payments. Second, your Upwork income is part of aggregate turnover for the ₹20 lakh registration test.⁴ If you mix Indian and foreign clients on the platform, a chartered accountant (CA) can confirm which invoices are exports.