Export of service treatment for referral and student-recruitment services to foreign universities excludes service tax and intermediary classification.

Services rendered in India to foreign universities on the provider's own account, where the recipient is located outside India and payment is received in convertible foreign exchange, are treated as export of service and fall outside service tax. The intermediary definition does not apply where the provider is not merely arranging or facilitating a supply between two other persons, but is itself rendering the contracted service. The place-of-provision framework and export-of-service conditions were read together to reach this result.

---

---

Issues: Whether referral and student-recruitment services provided to foreign universities against commission received in convertible foreign exchange constituted export of service and were outside the charge of service tax, and whether such services could be treated as intermediary services.

Analysis: The service provider was located in India, the recipient universities were located outside India, the consideration was received in convertible foreign exchange, and the contractual arrangement showed that the services were rendered on the provider's own account to the foreign universities. The place-of-provision framework, the export-of-service conditions, and the statutory definition of intermediary were considered together. On the facts, the activity satisfied the export-of-service conditions and did not amount to merely arranging or facilitating services between two other persons. The exemption relating to educational services was also noted, but the core determination rested on the export-of-service character of the activity.

Conclusion: The services were export of service and were not liable to service tax; the intermediary characterization was rejected, and the appeal succeeded in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Services rendered in India to a foreign recipient on the provider's own account, where the recipient is outside India and payment is received in convertible foreign exchange, constitute export of service and do not attract service tax; such activity is not intermediary service unless the provider merely arranges or facilitates a main service between two other persons.

---