Circular, 2025

Text

Reproduced from the document India Code holds for this instrument. The Gazette prints Hindi and English side by side and this is the English; the Department's own PDF remains the authority.

Office of the Commissioner, State Tax, Uttar Pradesh (GST Section) Letter No. GST/2024-25/ | 6} /State Tax All Zonal Additional Commissioner, Additional Commissioner Grade -2 (S.I.B.) State Tax, Uttar Pradesh.

Sub: Clarification on place of supply of Online Services supplied by the suppliers of services to unregistered recipients-reg.

References have been received from field formations regarding non-compliance of provisions of mandatory recording of correct place of supply on the invoices by the suppliers in respect of online services provided by them, either themselves or through electronic commerce operators, to unregistered recipients due to wrong interpretation of provisions of section 12(2)(b) of Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as "IGST Act”) read with rule 46 of Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Rules, 2017 (hercinafter referred to as “UPGST Rules™) It has zlso been mentioned that though in such cases of taxable online supplies of s to unregistered recipients, registered suppliers arc required to mention State name of the recipient on the invoice, irrespective of the value of such supply, and declare place of supply of such services as the State of the recipient as per the provisions of clause (i) of section 12(2)(b) of 1GS Act but many suppliers are not recording the State name of the unregistered recipient on the invoice and are declaring place of supply of such services as the location of the supplier as per clause (ii) of section 12(2)(b) of IGST Act. This is resulting in wrong declaration of place of' supply, resulting in flow of revenue in respect of the said supply 10 the wrong State. Request has been made 1o clarify the issue so as to ensure correct declaration of place of supply by the suppliers of such services to unregistered recipients.

In order to clarify the issue and to ensure Ul th niformity in the implementation of the provisions 0 ¢ law across field formations, the Commissioner, I exercise of its powers conferred by sectic 168 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Act, 2017 (hereinafie ¢ referred to as “UPGS] Act”) hereby issues the following clarification.

3. Legislative provisions:

3.1 As per sub-section (17) of section 2 of the IGST Act, ‘online infor mation and database access or retrieval services’ means:

“services whose delivery is mediated by information technology over the internet or an electronic network and the nature of which renders their supply impossible to ensure in the absence of information technology and includes electronic services such as,—

(i) advertising on the internet;

(i) providing cloud services;

(iii) provision of e-books, movie, music, software and other intangibles through telecommunication networks or internet;

(iv) providing data or information, retrievable or otherwise, to any person in electronic form through a computer network;

(v) online supplies of digital content (movies, television shows, music and the like);

(vi) digital data storage; and

(vii) online gaming, excluding the online money gaming as defined in clause (80B) of section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017);" 312; The term 'electronic commerce' has been defined under section 2(44) of UPGST Act, as follows:

"electronic commerce" means the supply of goods or services or both, including digital products over digital or electronic network;

33 The term “electronic commerce operator' has been defined under section 2(45) of U¢GST Act, as follows:

"electronic commerce operator" means any person who owns, operates or manages digital or electronic facility, or platform for electronic commerce:

34 Sub-section (2) of section 12 of the 1GST Act, reads as follows: “(2) the place of supply of services, except the gervices specified in sub- section (3) to (14),- Page 20f6 Listered person shall be he location of such person (b) made 1o any pe rson other than a registered person shall be, -

(i) the locati il s ) the location of the recipient where the address on record exists; and

(ii) the location of the supplier of services in other cases.” RE) As per sub-section (2) of Section 31 of the UPGST Act, “(2) A registered person supplying taxable s ices shall, before or after the provision of service but within a prescribed period, issue a tax invoice, showing the description, value, tax charged thereon and such other particulars as may be prescribed:” 3.6 Rule 46 of UPGST Rules provides as below:

" 46. Subject to rule 54, a tax invoice referred to in section 31 shall be issued by the registered person containing the following particulars, namely,- () name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of the State and its code, if such recipient is unregistered and where the value of the taxable supply is less than fifty thousand rupees and the recipient requests that such details be recorded in the tax invoice;

Provided that in cases involving supply of online money gaming or in cases that where any taxable service is supplied by or through an electronic commerce operator or by a supplier of online information and database access or retrieval services 10 a recipient who is unregistered, irrespective of the value of such supply, a tax invoice issued by the registered person shall contain the name of the State of the recipient and the same shall be deemed to be the address on

4. Clarification:

4.1 Section 12 of the IGST Act provides that except in cases specified in sub-sections (3) to

(14) of the said section, when the services are supplied to a registered person, the place of supply of services shall be the location of the recipient and when the services are supplied to an unregistered person, the place of supply of the said services shall be the location of the recipient, if his address is available on record, and shall be the location of the supplier, if the address is not available on record, page 30f6 5 Cant] . ' 4.2 Section 31(2) of the UPGST Act provides that a registered person providin 1xal services must issuc a tax invoice with details like the service description. value. tax charged and such other particulars as may be prescribed.

43 Rule 46 of UPGST Rules provides the particulars required to be mentioned on the ta invoice. Clause (f) of the said rule provides for mentioning some details on the invoice in case of supplies made to unregistered recipient. Further, proviso to clause (f) of rule 46 of the 1'PGST Rules provides that in cases involving the supply of online money gaming or involving supply of any taxable services by or through an electronic-commerce operator or by a supplier of ¢ information and database access or retrieval services, to an unregistered recipient. irrespective the value of the said supply. the tax invoice issued by the registered supplier must contain the recipient's State name. It has also been provided in the said proviso that such State ns I me shall by deemed to be the address on record of the recipient.

4.4 A conjoint reading of clause (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 12 of the IGST Act sub- section (2) of Section 31 of the UPGST Act and proviso to rule 46(f) of UPGST Rules [e conclusion that in respect of supply of services made to unregistered persons, irrespective of value of the said supply, the supplier is required to mandatorily record the name of the Stat unregistered recipient on the tax invoice, in cases involving supply of online supply of taxable services by or through an clectronic commerce operator or supply of © information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) services. Recording of the name of the unregistered recipient on the tax invoice in respect of such supply of services shall be dee as the address on record of the recipient for the purpose of determination of place of su said services under scction 12(2)(b) of I1GST Act. Accordingly. of such services shall be considered as the location of the recipient of the services provisions of clause (i) of section 12(2)(b) of IGST Act.

n such cases, the place of < 4.5 It is also observed that a combined reading of the definitions of “electronic cor and ‘clectronic commerce operator’ as per section 2(44) and scction 2(45) of UPGST Act along with rule 46(f) of UPGST Rules, leads to an understanding that all services supplicd 1o unregistered recipients over digital or electronic networks cither by the supplier using his own digital or clectronic facility / platform or through any other clectronic or digital platform owned and operated by an independent clectronic commeree operator, Will be covered under proviso o e 46(f) of UPGST Rules.

Page a0l6 It s, accordingly, clarified that provisions of proviso to Rule 46(f) of UPGST s shall be applicable in respect of all the online supplies of services supplied to an unregisiered recipient, in addition to the supply of online money gaming and OIDAR services. Some of the examples of such services are subscription of e-newspapers and e-magazines, online subscription of entertainment services (e.g. OTT platforms), online telecom services, digital services through mobile applications etc. Therefore, in respect of supply of any such online/ digital services, OIDAR services and online money gaming to unregistered recipients, the suppliers are mandatorily required to record the name of the State of the recipient on the tax invoice, irrespective of the value of supply of such scrvices, and to declare place of supply of the said services as the location of the recipient (based on the name of State of the recipient) in their details of outward supplies in FORM GSTR-1/1A.

452 For the purpose of recording the name of the State of the recipient on tax i respect of such supplies made to nvoice in unregistered persons for such online services, supplier should devise suitable mechanism to ensure collection of such details from unregistered recipient before making any supplies to him. As mentioned above, recipicnt s in such cases, the name of the State of the o recorded shall be deemed to be the address of recipient available on record and thus, for determining place of supply of the said services, provisions of section 12(2)(b)(i) of IGST Act will be applicable as per which the place of supply shall be the location of the recipient. 453 It is also mentioned that if the supplier fails to issue invoice in accordance with the said provisions by not recording correct mandatory particulars, including recording of name of State of unregistered recipient in respect of such supplies, he may be liable to penal action under the provisions of section 122(3)(e) of UPGST Act.

5. It is requested that suitable trade notices may be issued to publicize the contents of this Circular.

6. Difficulty, if any, in the implementation of this circular may be brought to the notice of the Undersigned.

By Ordcr, 0&/"*{)(’\\\ A S Uttar Pradesh.

page 5016 Copy To:

1. Joint Commissioner (I.T.), State Tax HQ, Lucknow for uploading the Circular on the Departmental Website.

State Tax HQ, Lucknow.

Provisions this circular answers to

Read out of the instrument itself: an enabling provision is one it says it was made under, which is the power it rests on. The rest it names without resting on.

Other instruments under the same Act

All of the The Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017