Finin2min · GST Law Library
IGST — Section 13: Place of supply of services where location of supplier or location of recipient is outside India
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
Law checked: 27 Jul 2026Status: CURRENTOfficial law prevails
Finin2min Summary — Section in 2 Minutes
IGST section 13 deals with place of supply of services where location of supplier or location of recipient is outside india.
- Identify supplier and recipient location before rate analysis.
- Test the statutory place-of-supply rule for the exact transaction.
- Determine inter-State/intra-State result and tax head.
- Retain contract, invoice, movement/event/delivery evidence supporting the conclusion.
Why this section matters
This provision is part of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. It should be read as a legal decision point, not as an isolated definition: identify the factual trigger, effective date, connected subordinate law and evidence before applying it.
Current-law and effective-date control
CURRENT — Use the consolidated Act text together with subsequent subordinate law and effective-date controls.
official statutory reference
13. Place of supply of services where location of supplier or location of recipient is outside
India.––(1) The provisions of this section shall apply to determine the place of supply of services where
the location of the supplier of services or the location of the recipient of services is outside India.
(2) The place of supply of services except the services specified in sub-sections (3) to (13) shall be the
location of the recipient of services:
Provided that where the location of the recipient of services is not available in the ordinary course of
business, the place of supply shall be the location of the supplier of services.
(3) The place of supply of the following services shall be the location where the services are actually
performed, namely:—
(a) services supplied in respect of goods which are required to be made physically available by
the recipient of services to the supplier of services, or to a person acting on behalf of the supplier of
services in order to provide the services:
Provided that when such services are provided from a remote location by way of electronic
means, the place of supply shall be the location where goods are situated at the time of supply of
services:
[Provided further that nothing contained in this clause shall apply in the case of services supplied
in respect of goods which are temporarily imported into India for repairs or for any other treatment or
process and are exported after such repairs or treatment or process without being put to any use in
India, other than that which is required for such repairs or treatment or process;]
(b) services supplied to an individual, represented either as the recipient of services or a person
acting on behalf of the recipient, which require the physical presence of the recipient or the person
acting on his behalf, with the supplier for the supply of services.
(4) The place of supply of services supplied directly in relation to an immovable property, including
services supplied in this regard by experts and estate agents, supply of accommodation by a hotel, inn,
guest house, club or campsite, by whatever name called, grant of rights to use immovable property,
services for carrying out or co-ordination of construction work, including that of architects or interior
decorators, shall be the place where the immovable property is located or intended to be located.
(5) The place of supply of services supplied by way of admission to, or organisation of a cultural,
artistic, sporting, scientific, educational or entertainment event, or a celebration, conference, fair,
exhibition or similar events, and of services ancillary to such admission or organisation, shall be the place
where the event is actually held.
(6) Where any services referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) is supplied
at more than one location, including a location in the taxable territory, its place of supply shall be the
location in the taxable territory.
(7) Where the services referred to in sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) are supplied
in more than one State or Union territory, the place of supply of such services shall be taken as being in
each of the respective States or Union territories and the value of such supplies specific to each State or
Union territory shall be in proportion to the value for services separately collected or determined in terms
of the contract or agreement entered into in this regard or, in the absence of such contract or agreement,
on such other basis as may be prescribed.
(8) The place of supply of the following services shall be the location of the supplier of services,
namely:––
(a) services supplied by a banking company, or a financial institution, or a non-banking financial
company, to account holders;
(b) intermediary services;
(c) services consisting of hiring of means of transport, including yachts but excluding aircrafts
and vessels, up to a period of one month.
Explanation.––For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression,––
1. Subs. by Act 32 of 2018, s. 6 for the second proviso (w.e.f. 1-2-2019)
(a) “account” means an account bearing interest to the depositor, and includes a non-resident
external account and a non-resident ordinary account;
(b) “banking company” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it under clause (a) of
section 45A of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934);
(c) ‘‘financial institution” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (c) of
section 45-I of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934);
(d) “non-banking financial company” means,––
(i) a financial institution which is a company;
(ii) a non-banking institution which is a company and which has as its principal business
the receiving of deposits, under any scheme or arrangement or in any other manner, or
lending in any manner; or
(iii) such other non-banking institution or class of such institutions, as the Reserve Bank
of India may, with the previous approval of the Central Government and by notification in the
Official Gazette, specify.
* * * * *
(10) The place of supply in respect of passenger transportation services shall be the place where the
passenger embarks on the conveyance for a continuous journey.
(11) The place of supply of services provided on board a conveyance during the course of a passenger
transport operation, including services intended to be wholly or substantially consumed while on board,
shall be the first scheduled point of departure of that conveyance for the journey.
(12) The place of supply of online information and database access or retrieval services shall be the
location of the recipient of services.
Explanation.––For the purposes of this sub-section, person receiving such services shall be deemed to
be located in the taxable territory, if any two of the following non-contradictory conditions are satisfied,
namely:––
(a) the location of address presented by the recipient of services through internet is in the taxable
territory;
(b) the credit card or debit card or store value card or charge card or smart card or any other card
by which the recipient of services settles payment has been issued in the taxable territory;
(c) the billing address of the recipient of services is in the taxable territory;
(d) the internet protocol address of the device used by the recipient of services is in the taxable
territory;
(e) the bank of the recipient of services in which the account used for payment is maintained is in
the taxable territory;
(f) the country code of the subscriber identity module card used by the recipient of services is of
taxable territory;
(g) the location of the fixed land line through which the service is received by the recipient is in
the taxable territory.
(13) In order to prevent double taxation or non-taxation of the supply of a service, or for the uniform
application of rules, the Government shall have the power to notify any description of services or
circumstances in which the place of supply shall be the place of effective use and enjoyment of a service.
Clause-by-clause Finin2min decode
- Trigger: identify the facts that bring section 13 into play.
- Legal consequence: apply the operative words of “Place of supply of services where location of supplier or location of recipient is outside India” rather than a commercial label.
- Subordinate-law layer: test Rules, Forms, notifications, rate instruments or portal procedure authorised by the Act.
- Evidence layer: preserve records capable of proving each statutory condition and the relevant date.
Act–Rule–Form–Notification bridge
Finin2min decision path
- Identify supplier and recipient location before rate analysis.
- Test the statutory place-of-supply rule for the exact transaction.
- Determine inter-State/intra-State result and tax head.
- Retain contract, invoice, movement/event/delivery evidence supporting the conclusion.
Practical case studies
Case 1
A supplier and customer are registered in different States but the goods are delivered to a third location—test the statutory deeming rule before choosing IGST.
Case 2
A service is performed across several States—allocate value only if the relevant provision/rule requires an allocation method.
Case 3
A cross-border service appears export-like, but one export condition fails—retest place of supply and zero-rating separately.
Accounting, ERP & portal touchpoints
- Use a tax code that reflects the correct statute/head and effective date; ERP labels cannot override the Act.
- Reconcile statutory classification to invoice/return/payment data and preserve system audit trails.
- Where portal functionality implements the provision, retain acknowledgements, ARN/challan/order references and downloaded evidence.
Notice, litigation & evidence risk
- Do not rely on a current summary for an earlier tax period without checking the historical amendment position.
- Distinguish binding Supreme Court/High Court/GSTAT decisions from fact-specific AAR/AAAR outcomes.
- Preserve contemporaneous documents; post-facto explanations are weaker than transaction-time evidence.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Reading the section without its effective-date or commencement status.
- Using a GST Council recommendation as though it were a notified law.
- Stopping at the Act and ignoring the Rule/Form/notification that controls implementation.
- Assuming a portal outcome itself proves the legal position.
Questions professionals actually ask
What does IGST section 13 cover?
It covers Place of supply of services where location of supplier or location of recipient is outside India. Start with the statutory text, then apply the linked Rules/notifications and the factual trigger.
What date should I test?
Use the transaction, tax period, machine/process, order or filing date relevant to the issue. Current wording must not be back-cast into an earlier period.
Can I rely only on this summary?
No. Finin2min explains the provision, but the official Act, Rules, notifications and judicial position control the legal outcome.
What evidence should I retain?
Keep source documents proving the factual trigger, computation, filing/payment, portal acknowledgement and any officer communication relevant to the provision.
Finin2min evidence checklist
- Official Act version and amendment trail saved for the relevant date.
- Contract/invoice/transaction or machine/process records supporting the factual trigger.
- Return/payment/refund/appeal records where applicable.
- Portal acknowledgements and officer communications.
- Working paper documenting why this provision and not an alternative provision applies.