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Start with the legal identity of the overseas recipient—not the refund form. Under Indian GST, services supplied by an Indian company to its own unincorporated overseas branch or representative office generally do not qualify as export of services. The export conditions exclude a supplier and recipient that are merely establishments of a distinct person, and a CBIC clarification specifically applies that exclusion to an Indian company’s own overseas branch or representative office that is not incorporated under the host country’s law.
If the overseas recipient is a separately incorporated company, the branch conclusion does not automatically apply. You must still test every statutory export condition and the actual entity, contract, place-of-supply, and payment facts before claiming a zero-rated supply refund.
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Can you claim an export-of-services GST refund for work billed to an overseas branch?
Usually not if the Indian supplier and the overseas office are establishments of the same legal person. Under section 8 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, a person carrying on business through a branch, agency, or representative office in a territory is treated as having an establishment there; establishments in India and outside India are treated as distinct persons for purposes of the Act. CBIC has clarified that services supplied by an Indian company to its own overseas branch or representative office that is not incorporated under the host country’s law cannot be treated as export of services.
A foreign address, local registration, foreign-currency payment, or separate accounting for the office does not, by itself, establish that it is a separate legal recipient. The key issue is whether the overseas operation is an establishment of the Indian company or a different legal person.
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When the overseas operation is a branch or representative office
Apply the distinct-establishment exclusion before considering LUT, IGST payment, or a refund claim. If the Indian company supplies its own unincorporated overseas branch or representative office, do not claim an export-of-services refund on the assumption that the transaction is an export.
When the overseas recipient is separately incorporated
A separately incorporated foreign company may present a different supplier-recipient analysis from an unincorporated branch. Do not assume that it qualifies automatically: establish the legal parties and test all five export conditions below. The official materials do not settle every possible cross-border structure or contract arrangement.
Checklist 1: identify the supplier and recipient
- Identify the Indian supplier. Check the legal entity named in the contract and invoices, the entity recording the supply, and the relevant GST registration.
- Identify the recipient in law and in practice. Confirm which legal person receives the service. A foreign office address or local registration alone does not show that the office is a separate person.
- Classify the overseas operation. Determine whether it is a branch, agency, or representative office of the Indian company, or a separately incorporated company. Review incorporation and branch documents alongside the contract and service records.
- Record the conclusion before filing. If the recipient is the Indian company’s own unincorporated overseas branch or representative office, the CBIC clarification says the supply is not an export of services. If it is another legal person, continue to the full export test rather than treating separate incorporation as sufficient by itself.
Checklist 2: test all five export-of-services conditions
For a service to meet the statutory definition of export of services under the IGST Act, all five conditions must be satisfied:
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors- The supplier of the service is located in India.
- The recipient of the service is located outside India.
- The place of supply of the service is outside India.
- Payment is received in convertible foreign exchange, or in Indian rupees where permitted by the Reserve Bank of India.
- The supplier and recipient are not merely establishments of a distinct person.
Keep evidence for each condition. Foreign-currency receipt does not cure a failure of the distinct-establishment test, and a place of supply outside India does not by itself make a branch transaction an export.
Checklist 3: separate export eligibility from the tax treatment of the supply
If the export test fails because the parties are establishments of the same person, that failure does not, by itself, mean there is no supply. Schedule I of the CGST Act includes supplies between distinct persons in the course or furtherance of business even when made without consideration. Assess the resulting tax and valuation treatment separately using the transaction’s facts and the rules applicable to the relevant tax period. Do not label the transaction a zero-rated export merely to pursue an export refund.
Checklist 4: choose a refund route only after export eligibility is established
For a qualifying zero-rated supply, the IGST Act describes two routes. The appropriate route depends on the claimant’s circumstances; the statutory routes do not establish one universally preferable option.
| Route | IGST payment | Refund sought | Practical consideration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply under bond or Letter of Undertaking (LUT) | No IGST is paid on the supply under this route. | Refund of eligible unutilized input tax credit (ITC), subject to the Act and rules. | Requires the applicable service-turnover and Net ITC computation for the claim period. |
| Supply on payment of IGST | IGST is paid on the supply. | Refund of IGST paid, subject to the Act and rules. | Requires evidence and a claim supporting the IGST paid and the applicable refund conditions. |
For either route, check the current legislation, notifications, refund rules, and GST portal requirements for the tax period in question. Do not rely on historical LUT eligibility conditions reproduced in older FAQs as if they were current.
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Checklist 5: prepare the refund application and supporting file
The refund rules provide for electronic filing of FORM GST RFD-01 in the general case. For a refund on account of export of services, the rules specify a statement with invoice numbers and dates and the relevant Bank Realisation Certificates (BRC) or Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates (FIRC), as applicable. Officials are also instructed to verify relevant remittance evidence and the refund computation.
Prepare and reconcile a working file containing:
- Service invoices and an invoice-to-return reconciliation.
- The service contract, statement of work, and records showing what was supplied and to which legal person.
- Documents establishing the supplier’s and recipient’s identities and locations, including incorporation or branch documents relevant to the distinct-establishment test.
- Remittance evidence reconciled to the invoices; confirm which BRC, FIRC, or other permitted evidence applies to the payment route.
- LUT or bond evidence for a without-payment claim, where required by the current rules.
- The ITC ledger, supporting input and input-service invoices, refund calculation, and period reconciliation.
- Filed returns and portal acknowledgements relevant to the claim.
This is a practical preparation list, not a statement that every item is independently required as an RFD-01 attachment in every case. Check the formal evidence requirements for the specific refund category and filing period.
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Checklist 6: calculate service turnover using the rule’s measure
For a zero-rated supply made without payment of tax under bond or LUT, Rule 89 provides a prescribed refund formula involving zero-rated turnover, Net ITC, and adjusted total turnover. For services, the rule-defined turnover measure takes account of:
- Payments received during the relevant period for services supplied.
- Qualifying completed services paid for in advance in an earlier period.
- Advances received for services not completed during the relevant period, which are deducted under the rule’s measure.
Do not substitute invoice value for service turnover without checking the relevant period and payment facts. Confirm the current formula, eligible Net ITC, and applicable restrictions before filing.
Quick Recap
Before submitting: final eligibility and filing checks
- Have you established whether the overseas recipient is the Indian supplier’s own branch or a separate legal person?
- If relying on export treatment, can you document each of the five statutory conditions?
- If the recipient is a same-person overseas establishment, have you assessed the supply and its tax and valuation treatment separately from an export refund claim?
- For a qualifying export, have you selected the applicable refund route and matched the evidence and calculation to that route?
- Have you checked the legislation, rules, notifications, RBI payment permissions, and portal requirements that apply to the relevant tax period?
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