GST

How is the place of supply decided when you export services from India?

Author:: Editorial team, serviceexportguide.com
Verified by:: Editorial team
Published: 28 October 2026
Last modified: 30 October 2026
Reading time: 10 min read

Short answer

Section 13 of the IGST Act decides the place of supply when the supplier or the recipient is outside India.¹ The default rule in section 13(2) is the location of the recipient.¹ Sections 13(3) to 13(13) set exceptions, such as immovable property and events.¹ A service is an export only if its place of supply is outside India.²

Applies to	Governed by	Deadline	Penalty	Last verified
Services where the supplier or the recipient is outside India¹	IGST Act, 2017, section 13¹	Not applicable	If the place of supply is in India, the service is not an export and GST is payable²	28 October 2026
Remote work for a client located abroad (default rule)	IGST Act, 2017, section 13(2)¹	Not applicable	Not applicable	28 October 2026
Services on goods, physical presence, immovable property and events	IGST Act, 2017, sections 13(3) to 13(5)¹	Not applicable	Place of supply can fall in India, so GST is payable¹²	28 October 2026

The place of supply is one of the five conditions for an export of services under GST, and for most remote work it is simply where the client is located.¹² A handful of special rules in section 13 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Act can move the place of supply back to India even when the client is abroad and pays in dollars.¹

This guide covers section 13 clause by clause, with examples for designers, developers, consultants, trainers, architects and others. It reflects the law as of October 2026, including the omission of the intermediary rule in March 2026.¹

What is the place of supply for an export of services?

The place of supply for an export of services is the location that section 13 of the IGST Act assigns to a supply when the supplier or the recipient is outside India.¹ Section 2(6)(iii) of the IGST Act makes it a condition of export that "the place of supply of service is outside India".² If the place of supply is in India, the service is not an export, even if the other four conditions are met, and GST is payable.²

Export status: the place of supply decides whether condition (iii) of section 2(6) is met.²
Nature of the supply: under section 7(5)(a) of the IGST Act, a supply where the supplier is located in India and the place of supply is outside India is treated as an inter-State supply, which is why exports attract IGST.³

The place of supply therefore settles both whether you have an export and which GST law applies to it.

Who does section 13 of the IGST Act apply to?

Section 13 of the IGST Act applies when the location of the supplier or the location of the recipient is outside India.¹ Section 12 covers supplies where both are in India.

Section 2(14) defines the "location of the recipient of services" as the registered place of business where the supply is received, or a fixed establishment elsewhere, or the establishment most directly concerned with the receipt where there is more than one, and in the absence of these, the recipient's usual place of residence.² Section 2(15) applies the same tests to the supplier.²

Entity type	Section 13 applicable?	Why	Best for
Indian freelancer or agency billing a foreign company	Yes	The recipient is located outside India¹	Remote design, development, writing and consulting work
Indian supplier billing an individual abroad with no business establishment	Yes	The recipient is located where they usually live²	Tutors, coaches and creators with overseas individual clients
Indian supplier billing a client located in India	No	Both parties are in India, so section 12 applies¹	Domestic invoices, which are outside this guide
Indian SaaS or digital product seller with customers abroad	Yes, with section 13(12)	Section 13(12) sets the rule for online information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) services¹	Subscription software and downloadable products

For example, a US company with an office in Austin is located in the US. The client's contracting entity and its address on your contract and invoice are the starting point for every invoice.

How do you decide the place of supply for a service to a foreign client?

You decide the place of supply by fixing each party's location, checking the special rules in sections 13(3) to 13(13), and applying the default recipient-location rule in section 13(2) when no special rule fits.¹

Locations: work out where the recipient and the supplier are located using sections 2(14) and 2(15).²
Section 13 test: confirm that the supplier or the recipient is outside India, so section 13 applies.¹
Special rules: check whether the service falls under one of sections 13(3) to 13(13).¹
Default rule: if none applies, the place of supply is the location of the recipient under section 13(2).¹
Record: show the place of supply as outside India with the country name on the invoice, and keep evidence that matches the rule you applied.¹

The default rule in section 13(2) covers most remote work.¹ For example, a UI designer in Jaipur creating app screens for a Berlin startup, a content writer in Kolkata producing articles for an Australian publisher, a tax consultant in Mumbai advising a Singapore company by video call, and a web development agency in Pune building a site for a Canadian retailer all have a recipient outside India, so the place of supply is outside India.¹

The proviso to section 13(2) matters for anyone selling to clients they cannot identify: where the location of the recipient is not available in the ordinary course of business, the place of supply is the location of the supplier.¹ Keep the client's address on file for every invoice.

Which IGST section 13 rules and records apply to service exporters?

The section 13 rules that most often catch service exporters are the special rules in sections 13(3) to 13(13), listed below.¹

Section	Services covered	Place of supply	Example where the rule bites	Best for
13(3)(a)	Services on goods the recipient makes physically available to you	Where the services are actually performed	A lab in Hyderabad testing product samples couriered by a US client	Testing labs, repair and inspection services
13(3)(b)	Services that need the recipient (or someone on their behalf) to be physically present with you	Where the services are actually performed	A trainer in Chennai teaching a visiting team from a UK client, in a classroom	Trainers and in-person service providers
13(4)	Services directly related to immovable property, including architects, interior decorators and estate agents	Where the property is located or intended to be located	An interior designer in Delhi designing a client's flat in Gurugram, even if the client lives in London	Architects, interior designers and estate agents
13(5)	Admission to or organisation of events, and ancillary services	Where the event is held	An agency organising a conference in Goa for a European company	Event organisers
13(8)(a)	Services by banks, financial institutions and NBFCs to account holders	Location of the supplier	Not usually relevant to freelancers	Banks and NBFCs
13(8)(c)	Hiring of means of transport, excluding aircraft and vessels, up to one month	Location of the supplier	A car rental firm hiring out a car to a foreign tourist	Vehicle rental firms
13(10)	Passenger transportation	Where the passenger embarks	Not usually relevant to freelancers	Passenger transport operators
13(11)	Services on board a conveyance	First scheduled point of departure	Not usually relevant to freelancers	Onboard service providers
13(12)	OIDAR services	Location of the recipient	An Indian SaaS company with customers abroad	SaaS and digital product sellers

The same rules can work in your favour. For example, under section 13(4), an architect in Ahmedabad designing a villa to be built in Dubai supplies a service whose place of supply is Dubai, which can qualify as an export.¹ Under section 13(5), organising an event held in Singapore puts the place of supply in Singapore.¹

Two further rules apply when the service is performed partly in India. Section 13(6) says that if a service under 13(3), 13(4) or 13(5) is supplied at more than one location including one in India, the place of supply is the location in India. Section 13(7) splits supplies across Indian States in proportion to value.¹

Keep evidence that matches the part of section 13 you rely on:¹

Contract: the contract or engagement letter, naming the client entity and its address outside India.
Delivery evidence: for remote work, emails delivering files, a project management log or a hosting record, showing the work was done remotely.
On-site or event work: where the work took place. If any part was performed in India for a service under 13(3), 13(4) or 13(5), section 13(6) may pull the place of supply into India.¹
Invoice: the place of supply shown as outside India with the country name.

What happens if you get the place of supply wrong?

If the place of supply is in India, the service is not an export, even if the other four conditions in section 2(6) are met, and GST is payable on it.²

Wrong default: treating a section 13(3), 13(4) or 13(5) service as remote work can leave GST unpaid on a supply whose place of supply is in India.¹²
Missing client location: without the recipient's location in the ordinary course of business, the proviso to section 13(2) puts the place of supply at the supplier's location in India.¹

If a service sits near one of the exceptions, check the facts before invoicing it as an export.

Which IGST rules and changes govern the place of supply in 2026?

Section 13 of the IGST Act, read with the definitions in section 2 and the inter-State rule in section 7(5), governs the place of supply for exports, and two of its special rules have been removed.¹²³

Rule or change	Date	Plain meaning	Best for
Section 13(9), transportation of goods, omitted	With effect from 1 October 2023¹	Transport of goods follows the general section 13 rules	Logistics and freight businesses
Section 13(8)(b), intermediary services, omitted by section 157 of the Finance Act, 2026	With effect from 30 March 2026¹	Intermediaries follow the default recipient-location rule in section 13(2)	Agents and brokers with foreign clients
CBIC Circular No. 159/15/2021-GST, scope of intermediary	20 September 2021⁴	The tests for who is an intermediary, still relevant for older periods	Anyone reviewing pre-2026 intermediary invoices
57th GST Council recommendation to omit section 13(3)(a)	8 October 2026⁵	Services on goods would fall under the default rule, once Parliament amends the Act	Testing labs and repair services, to watch

For supplies from 30 March 2026, an Indian agent or broker arranging supplies for a foreign client follows the default rule in section 13(2).¹ Whether you are an intermediary still depends on the tests in CBIC Circular No. 159/15/2021-GST.⁴ See intermediary services under GST.

Are there exceptions within the section 13(3)(a) exception?

Yes, section 13(3)(a) of the IGST Act has two provisos.¹

Remote services on goods: if the service on goods is provided from a remote location by electronic means, the place of supply is where the goods are at the time of supply. For example, a Bengaluru engineer remotely monitoring a machine in a German factory supplies a service whose place of supply is Germany.¹
Temporary imports: section 13(3)(a) does not apply to services on goods temporarily imported into India for repairs or other treatment or process and exported afterwards without being put to other use in India.¹

The 57th GST Council meeting on 8 October 2026 recommended omitting section 13(3)(a) altogether. That needs an amendment by Parliament and is not law as of 28 October 2026.⁵

How does section 13(12) of the IGST Act apply to SaaS and digital products?

Section 13(12) of the IGST Act sets the place of supply of OIDAR services as the location of the recipient.¹ For an Indian SaaS company or digital product seller with customers abroad, that generally puts the place of supply outside India.

The Explanation to section 13(12) lists tests, such as billing address, IP address, card-issuing country and bank country, that deem a recipient to be in India if any two non-contradictory tests point there.¹ Use those signals to decide which customers are in India and which are abroad. See OIDAR services under GST.

What are the common mistakes with the place of supply for exports?

The common mistakes with the place of supply are assuming every foreign client means an export, and missing the rules that tie the place of supply to where work is physically done.¹

Hybrid training: part online, part in person. Section 13(3)(b) and section 13(6) can put the place of supply in India for the in-person part.¹
Goods shipped to you: remote-sounding work on equipment the client ships to India falls under section 13(3)(a).¹
Property in India: an overseas client does not change the rule for property located in India under section 13(4).¹
Old intermediary rule: applying section 13(8)(b) to supplies from 30 March 2026, after it was omitted.¹

Where the answer depends on the facts, check with a chartered accountant (CA) before invoicing the service as an export, or use the export of services checker for a first pass.

How did we verify this?

We checked this page against the sources below on 30 October 2026. Read our methodology or report an error.

Frequently asked questions

What is the place of supply for services to a foreign client?+

The place of supply for services to a foreign client is usually the location of the recipient, under the default rule in section 13(2) of the IGST Act. If the client is located outside India, the place of supply is outside India unless a special rule in sections 13(3) to 13(13) applies.¹

What if I do not know where my foreign client is located?+

The proviso to section 13(2) of the IGST Act says that where the location of the recipient is not available in the ordinary course of business, the place of supply is the location of the supplier. For an Indian freelancer, that puts the place of supply in India, so keep each client's address on file.¹

Is the place of supply for intermediary services still India?+

The place of supply for intermediary services is no longer India by default for supplies from 30 March 2026. Section 13(8)(b) of the IGST Act was omitted by section 157 of the Finance Act, 2026, so the default recipient-location rule in section 13(2) now applies to intermediaries.¹

Does designing a building abroad count as an export of services?+

Designing a building abroad can count as an export of services. Section 13(4) of the IGST Act puts the place of supply of services directly related to immovable property, including architects and interior decorators, where the property is located or intended to be located. For a site outside India, that is outside India.¹

Should I show the place of supply on an export invoice?+

Yes, an export invoice should show the place of supply as outside India with the country name, matching the section 13 rule of the IGST Act that you applied. The full list of fields an export invoice needs is in the export invoice format guide on this site.¹

Why do exports of services attract IGST?+

Exports of services attract IGST because section 7(5)(a) of the IGST Act treats a supply as inter-State where the supplier is located in India and the place of supply is outside India. Inter-State supplies are taxed under IGST, so CGST and SGST do not apply to them.³

This page is general information for Indian service exporters, not tax or legal advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your facts, so confirm with a chartered accountant before acting.

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