The Vijayawada graphic designer and the GST foreign-export classification: Is it domestic supply or export if the client has an India office?
🎨 Sai, 34, is a graphic designer in Vijayawada. A Singapore-registered company with an India office in Bangalore hires her to design brand-identity collateral—logo refinement, brand guidelines, email templates. The invoice amount is ₹95,000. The ambiguity: is this a domestic supply (CGST 9% + SGST 9% = 18% total) or export-of-services (zero-GST, zero-rated)? The client is legally registered in Singapore but has an operational office in Bangalore. The IGST Act Section 13 rule depends on which interpretation applies. Different GST authorities read it differently.
🚨 The problem
Place-of-supply rules distinguish between (a) the client's registered office (Singapore = non-resident, zero-GST) and (b) where the service is used (Bangalore = India, standard GST). The IGST Act Section 13 rule says the place of supply for B2B services is where the recipient is established. "Established" usually means registered office. But GST authorities sometimes interpret "where the service is used" as the place of supply. Getting this wrong on the first invoice triggers reclassification and adjustment notices later.
🚀 How GabFORGE helped
Sai clarifies that the client is legally a non-resident (Singapore-registered, no India business registration—only an operational office). She files the invoice as export-of-services, zero-GST, with supporting documentation: client's Singapore registration certificate and proof that the client has no India registration (the operational office is not a registered business entity). She explains the place-of-supply rule to her GST accountant with reference to Section 13.
🔍 Verified the client's legal status: Singapore-registered, no India registration = non-resident.
💬 Named the rule: Section 13, place of supply is recipient's location (registered office, not operation site).
📞 Documented the classification: Invoice marked zero-GST with supporting certificates.
No GST query. No reclassification notice. The export classification held.
🇮🇳 Why this matters
Place-of-supply rules hinge on the client's legal registration status, not where they happen to operate. Getting this right on the first invoice prevents reclassification and adjustment notices later. Most designers invoice whoever hired them without understanding the distinction between registered office and operational site.
The long version has the dual-office structure, the Section 13 interpretation, the supporting documentation, and the moment Sai realized that classification on invoice 1 determines audit risk on invoices 101–500.