GST taxability on hostel services provided to foreign university students

[TEAM GST]

Dear Experts, Seek your opinion on the GST taxability of hostel accommodation services provided by an Indian University to students of a foreign university who are staying in India.

The students fulfil the following conditions:

• The accommodation is provided for a minimum continuous period of 90 days; and
• The hostel accommodation charges do not exceed Rs. 20,000 per person per month.

In this regard, we would appreciate your views on the GST treatment for the following periods:

1. Period prior to 15 July 2024: Whether the benefit of exemption is available for the period from 1 July 2017 to 14 July 2024 in view of the regularization of GST liability on an "as is where is" basis for qualifying accommodation services under Circular No. 228/22/2024-GST dated 15 July 2024.
2. Period from 15 July 2024 onwards: Whether the hostel accommodation services qualify for exemption under Notification No. 4/2024-Central Tax (Rate) dated 12 July 2024, subject to fulfilment of the prescribed conditions relating to the monthly value of accommodation and minimum continuous period of stay.

particularly considering the fact that the recipients are students of a foreign university, while the hostel accommodation is provided by an Indian University in India.

[Sanjeev Agarwal]

I would support the University's exemption position.

For 1 July 2017-14 July 2024: the qualifying hostel accommodation is covered by the specific "as is where is" regularisation in paragraph 9.4 of Circular No. 228/22/2024-GST.

From 15 July 2024: the qualifying hostel accommodation falls squarely within Entry 12A, subject to the Rs. 20,000/person/month and 90-continuous-day conditions.

The fact that the occupants are students of a foreign university, rather than students of the Indian University, should not by itself affect the exemption, because Entry 12A does not impose such a recipient-status condition.

The principal residual risk would therefore not be the foreign-university status of the students. It would be factual: whether the supply is genuinely an accommodation service, whether the Rs. 20,000 threshold is correctly determined, and whether the 90-day continuous-period requirement is demonstrably satisfied.

The official CBIC Circular is particularly clear on both the prospective exemption and the retrospective regularisation.

Risk assessment: Strong / reasonably defensible, subject to the above documentation and assuming there are no bundled services or unusual contractual arrangements.

AI Summary

GST exemption for hostel accommodation depends on qualifying stay duration, monthly charges, and treatment of foreign university students.
GST treatment of hostel accommodation supplied by an Indian university in India to students of a foreign university is considered where the stay is for at least 90 continuous days and monthly charges do not exceed Rs. 20,000 per person. The issue covers regularisation of GST liability on an "as is where is" basis for the earlier period and exemption from 15 July 2024, subject to the monthly-value and continuous-stay conditions.