GST on Foreign Participants: Exempt or Chargeable?

Admission to an exhibition held in Maharashtra is generally taxable in India; foreign attendees and USD billing/payment do not, by themselves, make it an export. Under section 12(6) of the IGST Act, the place of supply for admission to an event is where the event is actually held. Since the event is in Maharashtra, the place of supply is Maharashtra. For a supplier located in Maharashtra, the supply is therefore ordinarily intra-State: charge CGST and Maharashtra SGST, not IGST. The attendees’ unregistered status does not change this result.

An export of services requires, among other conditions, the place of supply to be outside India. On the facts stated, the supply would not qualify as export or as a zero-rated supply, even though payment is received in USD. The LUT does not alter the place-of-supply rule; do not report this admission supply as an LUT export. If the contract includes distinct services besides admission (for example, event management or a service supplied to an overseas organiser), assess those separately based on their actual nature and recipient.

ITC: Input tax credit on eligible business inputs and input services used for this taxable event is generally available, subject to the usual section 16 conditions and blocked-credit rules. It is not a zero-rated supply, so export-related refund of unutilised ITC would not follow merely from the LUT.
Confirm who is contractually supplying the admission and whether any separate supplies are bundled with it before finalising the invoice and return treatment.

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