Before treating services provided overseas as an export under Indian GST, establish whether the recipient is the Indian supplier’s own unincorporated branch or a separately incorporated foreign company. CBIC Circular No. 161/17/2021-GST says a supply to the Indian company’s own overseas branch cannot satisfy the distinct-person condition for export; a separately incorporated foreign company is a different legal person, but the supply must still meet every other export condition. Document the identity of the parties, the service and receiving establishment, the place-of-supply analysis, the invoice and payment evidence, and any LUT or refund records.
Start with the legal identity of the overseas recipient
“Overseas” describes a location, not an export result. Under section 2(6) of the IGST Act, 2017, export-of-services treatment depends on several cumulative conditions, including the supplier being located in India, the recipient being located outside India, the place of supply being outside India, qualifying receipt of payment, and the supplier and recipient not being merely establishments of a distinct person.
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CBIC Circular No. 161/17/2021-GST, dated 20 September 2021, distinguishes an overseas establishment of the Indian supplier from a foreign-incorporated company. The practical first step is therefore to identify the actual contracting and receiving legal entities—not just the office, team or group name shown on an invoice.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware match| Overseas recipient | Effect of the distinct-person condition | What to establish |
|---|---|---|
| The Indian company’s own unincorporated branch, agency or representative office | CBIC says the relevant establishments are of the same person, so the service cannot qualify as an export under the distinct-person condition. | Whether the overseas operation is legally an establishment of the Indian company rather than a separate body corporate. |
| A separately incorporated foreign company, including a group company | The separate legal identity means this particular restriction does not bar export treatment. It does not establish that the supply is an export by itself. | The foreign company’s incorporation and legal name, the contracting parties, and every remaining export condition. |
| A foreign company’s Indian branch supplying its overseas establishment | CBIC’s circular explains that the branch and the overseas establishment are distinct establishments of the foreign company; the supply cannot be treated as an export under the stated distinct-person condition. | Which legal person operates the Indian branch and which establishment actually receives the service. |
The circular says that supplies from an Indian-incorporated company to a foreign-incorporated body corporate may qualify as exports, subject to the other conditions in section 2(6) of the IGST Act. A separate foreign group company is not automatically an export recipient for every GST purpose or every transaction.
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Build an evidence file around each supply
There is no single official “overseas branch services” checklist that conclusively proves export status for every service. The file below is a practical way to substantiate the legal conditions, using the records and evidence addressed in CBIC’s circular, invoice rules, accounts material and refund rules. Organize it by invoice or service period so the legal analysis, work performed and payment can be reconciled.
1. Identify the supplier, recipient and receiving establishment
- Record the Indian supplier’s exact legal name and incorporation details and the overseas recipient’s exact legal name and legal form.
- Keep the contract or intercompany service agreement and any work order showing which entities contracted for the service.
- For a separately incorporated recipient, retain appropriate foreign incorporation evidence. For a branch or office, keep records showing which company it belongs to and whether it has a separate legal identity.
- Record which establishment actually received or used the service. The entity named in a group chart or email signature may not, by itself, establish the contracting or receiving party.
These are practical substantiation steps drawn from the legal distinction in Circular No. 161/17/2021-GST; the circular does not prescribe this exact document list.
2. Describe what was supplied and retain work evidence
- Keep the agreement, work order, service description and relevant correspondence for each service line or period.
- Retain available deliverables, work records or other evidence of performance and link them to the recipient establishment.
- Use a description precise enough to explain the actual work. A broad label such as “management services” may not reveal the service performed or help determine its place of supply.
- Maintain the service accounts and input-service details required by the applicable GST record-keeping rules.
The relevant evidence depends on the service and transaction. The official material cited here does not establish one universal set of deliverables or records for all types of services.
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3. Write a separate export-condition analysis
For each supply, record the conclusion and supporting evidence for every condition in section 2(6) of the IGST Act:
- Supplier location: establish that the supplier is located in India for the transaction.
- Recipient location: identify the recipient and relevant receiving establishment, and establish that the recipient is located outside India.
- Place of supply: apply the rule for the particular service and facts. Do not assume that the place of supply is outside India merely because the recipient is overseas. If the service may involve an intermediary, immovable property or another special place-of-supply rule, address that issue specifically.
- Payment: document receipt in the form permitted by the applicable law and retain invoice-linked payment evidence.
- Distinct persons: establish whether the supplier and recipient are separate legal persons or merely establishments of the same person.
The conditions are cumulative. A conclusion about legal identity does not answer the place-of-supply question, and the service category and facts are needed to determine that result.
Issue an invoice that matches the route used
Apply the GST invoice requirements relevant to the transaction, including the prescribed recipient, address and destination particulars. CBIC’s invoice-rules page describes these export endorsements:
- “SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT ON PAYMENT OF IGST”
- “SUPPLY MEANT FOR EXPORT UNDER BOND OR LETTER OF UNDERTAKING WITHOUT PAYMENT OF IGST”
Use the endorsement that corresponds to the route actually taken; an endorsement does not make a supply an export if the statutory conditions are not met. Keep the issued invoice with its contract, service records and export-condition analysis. CBIC’s general invoice material describes a 30-day rule for service invoices, subject to exceptions; check the current provision and transaction-specific timing rather than treating that period as universal.
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Rule 96A of the CGST Rules addresses a registered person choosing to supply services for export without payment of integrated tax. Under the cited CBIC-hosted compilation dated 24 September 2021, the supplier must furnish a bond or Letter of Undertaking in Form GST RFD-11 before export. For services, the rule text requires realization of payment within one year from the invoice date, unless the Commissioner allows further time. It also addresses receipt in Indian rupees wherever permitted by the Reserve Bank of India.
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For each invoice covered by this route, retain the filed LUT or bond and acknowledgement, record the invoice date and applicable realization deadline, and keep bank or other permitted payment-realization evidence and follow-up records together. Check the current rule and the permitted payment route before relying on the deadline or determining whether an extension is needed.
Reconcile accounts, payment evidence and any refund claim
CBIC’s accounts material requires service suppliers to keep accounts showing services supplied, goods used and input services used, and recognizes electronic records. Keep those records reconcilable to the service period and invoices rather than relying on a ledger entry alone to describe the supply.
For an export-of-services refund application, the cited refund rules identify a statement of invoice numbers and dates and relevant Bank Realization Certificates (BRCs) or Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates (FIRCs) as evidence. Organize invoice, service, accounting and payment records so that each can be matched. Confirm the current portal forms and refund procedure when filing.
Use the banking example only within its scope
CBIC’s Sectoral FAQs, question 54, gives a banking-sector example: services from a bank or a foreign bank’s Indian branch to its offshore branch or head office, when they are not intermediary or account-holder services, are inter-State supplies between distinct establishments and are not exports. This illustrates the distinct-establishment issue in that context; it should not be treated as a ruling on every service arrangement or as a substitute for the transaction-specific place-of-supply analysis.
Check current provisions before filing or adopting a treatment
The sources cited here include an enacted IGST Act text hosted by CBIC, the 2021 Rule 96A compilation, CBIC’s invoice and accounts/refund materials, and Circular No. 161/17/2021-GST. They support the distinctions and documentation approach described above, but do not establish that every subsequent amendment, circular or service-specific notification has been checked. Before issuing invoices, choosing an LUT/bond route or claiming a refund, verify the current consolidated provisions and any rules applicable to the particular service.
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