Tax treatment of printed publications depends on ownership of...

Tax treatment of printed publications depends on ownership of the content. Where the customer supplies the text or usage rights and the printer uses its own physical inputs, the principal supply is printing service classifiable under SAC 9989, and the supply is taxable at 18% GST. Where the applicant owns the content and supplies printed books from its own materials, the transaction is a supply of goods classifiable under HSN 4901, and the printed books are exempt from GST. This applies to books, booklets, open-sale publications, special-edition books, admission booklets, and similar printed material on the same ownership basis.