Large infrastructure projects often involve international consortiums where members collaborate across borders. While commercially efficient, these arrangements can lead to complex Goods and Services Tax (GST) issues, particularly concerning the 'import of services'. This article examines how financial and administrative support provided by an overseas lead member to an Indian consortium member can trigger GST liability under the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM). It details the three conditions for classifying a service as an 'import of services' and explains the tax consequences for the Indian recipient.
Beyond Borders - The Commercial Story Behind the Consortium
In today's infrastructure landscape, most large public projects are rarely executed by a single organisation. The scale, technical complexity, and financial magnitude of such projects usually require the combined strength of multiple speci
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FAQ :
The main GST challenge in international consortium projects arises when services flow between members located in different countries, leading to complexities in determining the place of supply, import of services, and reverse charge liability.
The three cumulative conditions are: the supplier of the service is located outside India, the recipient of the service is located in India, and the place of supply of the service is determined to be in India.
This condition is met if the supplier has a fixed establishment with sufficient permanence and an appropriate organisational structure outside India from which the services are systematically carried out.
This condition is met if the recipient receives the services at their registered place of business in India, and the services are connected with their Indian operations, unless there's a clear overseas nexus.
For general support services that don't fall into specific categories, the default rule under Section 13(2) of the IGST Act applies, stating that the place of supply is the location of the recipient.
The recipient of the service in India is liable to pay GST under the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM), as per Notification No. 10/2017–Integrated Tax (Rate).