Import of services and reverse charge depend on place of supply, with intermediary services excluded from GST levy.

Commission paid to a foreign director for marketing and sourcing orders is treated as import of services where the recipient is in India and the place of supply is the recipient's location, so GST applies under reverse charge. Commission paid to foreign marketing agents for sourcing orders falls within intermediary services; because the place of supply is the supplier's location, the transaction does not qualify as import of services and is outside reverse charge. Charges paid to foreign clearing and forwarding agents for logistics-related services supplied from outside India are import of services, so GST is payable under reverse charge.

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Issues: (i) Whether commission paid to a foreign director for marketing and sourcing of orders constituted import of services and attracted GST under reverse charge; (ii) whether commission paid to foreign marketing agents for sourcing orders constituted import of services and attracted GST under reverse charge; (iii) whether charges paid to foreign clearing and forwarding agents for services performed outside India constituted import of services and attracted GST under reverse charge.

Issue (i): Whether commission paid to a foreign director for marketing and sourcing of orders constituted import of services and attracted GST under reverse charge.

Analysis: The director was located outside India, the recipient was in India, and the place of supply was the recipient's location under Section 13(2) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The commission was paid for services rendered to the applicant, and the supply satisfied the definition of import of services under Section 2(11) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The notified reverse charge entry applied to services supplied from a non-taxable territory to a person in taxable territory.

Conclusion: GST is payable on the commission paid to the foreign director, and the tax is chargeable under reverse charge.

Issue (ii): Whether commission paid to foreign marketing agents for sourcing orders constituted import of services and attracted GST under reverse charge.

Analysis: The foreign marketing agents arranged or facilitated the supply of goods for commission and therefore answered the description of intermediary services under Section 2(13) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. For intermediary services, the place of supply is the location of the supplier under Section 13(8) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, so the place of supply was outside India. The statutory condition of import of services under Section 2(11) was therefore not met.

Conclusion: GST is not payable on the commission paid to the foreign marketing agents under reverse charge.

Issue (iii): Whether charges paid to foreign clearing and forwarding agents for services performed outside India constituted import of services and attracted GST under reverse charge.

Analysis: The clearing and forwarding agents were located in a non-taxable territory and supplied logistics-related services on their own account. The recipient was in India and the place of supply was in India for purposes of import of services, bringing the transaction within Section 2(11) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The notified reverse charge mechanism applied to the services received from outside India.

Conclusion: GST is payable on the charges paid to the foreign clearing and forwarding agents, and the tax is chargeable under reverse charge.

Final Conclusion: The ruling holds that GST is chargeable on commission paid to the foreign director and on charges paid to foreign clearing and forwarding agents, while commission paid to foreign marketing agents is outside the reverse charge levy.

Ratio Decidendi: Services supplied by a person located outside India are taxable as import of services when the recipient is in India and the place of supply is in India, but intermediary services are excluded from import of services because their place of supply is the supplier's location.

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