The circular clarifies the place of supply for data hosting ...

Indian Data Hosting Services to Overseas Cloud Providers Clarified as Export; Not Intermediary or Property-Linked.

September 16, 2024

Circulars     GST

The circular clarifies the place of supply for data hosting services provided by Indian service providers to overseas cloud computing service providers. It addresses three issues: whether the data hosting service provider qualifies as an intermediary, whether the services relate to goods made available by the recipient, and whether they directly relate to immovable property. The key points are: 1) Data hosting service providers do not qualify as intermediaries facilitating supply between cloud providers and end-users, as they provide services on a principal-to-principal basis. Hence, place of supply cannot be determined u/s 13(8)(b) of IGST Act. 2) Data hosting services cannot be considered provided in relation to goods made available by cloud providers, as the service providers own/lease premises, hardware, software, and handle operations independently. Therefore, Section 13(3)(a) is not applicable. 3) Data hosting services are not directly related to immovable property but involve comprehensive services like operating data centers, ensuring power supply, connectivity, backup, monitoring, etc. Hence, Section 13(4) cannot be invoked. 4) As the services do not fit specific provisions, the default Section 13(2) applies, determining the place of supply as the location of the recipient. Services provided to overseas cloud providers will be considered exports u/s 2(6) of IGST Act, subject to conditions.

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