TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
Classification of Printing of Content in Public Domain - Whether goods or services?
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....lassification of Printing of Content in Public Domain - Whether goods or services?<br> Query (Issue) Started By: - Mith Moh Dated:- 21-7-2026 Last Reply Date:- 27-7-2026 Goods and Services Tax - GST<br>Got 4 Replies<br>GST<br>A printer undertakes printing of religious books such as the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita, and extracts or translations thereof. The content is in the public domain and is eit....
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....her supplied by the customer or independently sourced by the printer. The printer supplies the paper, ink, plates and all other consumables, manufactures the finished books, and supplies them to churches, temples, mosques, educational institutions and charitable or religious organizations. The books are intended for use as study material, reference books, translated publications or religious liter....
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....ature. Circular No. 11/11/2017-GST dated 20.10.2017 clarifies that where only the content is supplied by the publisher or the person who owns the usage rights to the intangible inputs, while the printer supplies the physical inputs, the principal supply is printing and the transaction is classifiable as a service under Heading 9989. The Explanatory Notes to Group 99891 further state that the gr....
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....oup covers transfer of intangible inputs for outsourced production and that the service provider does not own or retain the usage rights to the intangible inputs. However, public-domain works have no exclusive copyright owner or publishing rights, and any person is legally entitled to reproduce and publish them. In this context,: • Can public-domain content be regarded as an "in....
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....tangible input" transferred by the customer for the purposes of Group 99891? • Does the expression "publisher or the person who owns the usage rights to the intangible inputs" in Circular No. 11/11/2017-GST include a person who merely has the legal right to reproduce public-domain content, or is it intended to apply only where the person owns or controls proprietary intellectual prope....
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....rty? • Where the printer supplies all physical inputs and ultimately supplies printed books, should the transaction be classified as a printing service under Heading 9989 or as a supply of printed books under Chapter 49 (Heading 4901)? Reply By Shilpi Jain: The Reply: In this case, it looks more like a printing services which is being provided and cannot be regarded as printed bo....
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....oks sale, unless you're able to prove that this is a book that you have printed and is being supplied to various persons and not custom made for a particular person and supply being made only to one person. So the facts, the contracts, the situation, etc. all that are going to make a lot of difference, on what is the final conclusion. Reply By Sanjeev Agarwal: The Reply: Public-domain cont....
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....ent cannot ordinarily be regarded as the "intangible input" contemplated under Group 99891. The Explanatory Notes and Circular No. 11/11/2017-GST envisage a situation where the customer transfers proprietary intangible inputs, such as copyrighted manuscripts or licensed content, while retaining ownership or usage rights. The printer merely undertakes outsourced production and does not acquire thos....
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....e rights. Public-domain works, however, stand on a different footing. No person owns exclusive copyright or publishing rights in the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad Gita or other public-domain texts. Every person is independently entitled by law to reproduce them. Therefore, when a customer merely provides a copy of such content, there is no transfer of proprietary intellectual property or exclusive usa....
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....ge rights, but only the furnishing of material that is already freely reproducible. Accordingly, the expression "publisher or the person who owns the usage rights to the intangible inputs" in Circular No. 11/11/2017-GST should be interpreted as referring to a person who owns or controls proprietary intellectual property, and not a person who merely enjoys the same legal right as everyone else t....
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....o reproduce public-domain works. Where the printer supplies the paper, ink, plates and all other consumables, manufactures the finished books and supplies them to customers, while the content is in the public domain and no proprietary rights are transferred by the customer, the transaction is more appropriately characterized as a supply of printed books classifiable under Heading 4901 of Chapte....
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....r 49, rather than as a printing service under Heading 9989. However, since the Circular does not expressly address public-domain works, the issue is not entirely free from doubt. A contrary departmental view may contend that any customer-supplied content constitutes an intangible input. Nevertheless, on a plain reading of the Circular and the Explanatory Notes, the stronger and more legally sus....
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....tainable view is that Heading 4901 applies where no proprietary intellectual property is supplied by the customer and the printer supplies finished books. Reply By KASTURI SETHI: The Reply: The aspect of composite supply in this scenario is worth examination. Reply By KASTURI SETHI: The Reply: To be on safer side, the querist may seek Advance Ruling under Section 97 (2) (a) (b) & (e) of ....
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