TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (9) TMI 1649
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....epresentative of foreign universities in India and provides student-recruitment services in connection with the admission of prospective students to programmes offered by such universities. The applicant operates pursuant to agreements entered into with the foreign universities and performs various activities associated with the recruitment of prospective students. These activities include recruiting students for different programmes offered by the universities, assisting students in securing admission, providing guidance regarding payment of tuition fees and other associated charges, furnishing information regarding accommodation options and assisting students in relation to their departure from India and arrival in the destination country. 4.2. The applicant receives commission from the foreign universities in convertible foreign exchange for the recruitment of each student. The applicant's claim is that, the recipient of service, i.e., foreign universities are located outside India and the benefit of the service also accrues outside the country. The applicant therefore contends that the services supplied to the foreign universities constitute independent supplies made on ....
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....issioner, CGST. According to the applicant, the Hon'ble Bombay High Court in KC Overseas Education Pvt. Ltd. held that services supplied by education consultants in connection with the recruitment of students for foreign universities do not constitute intermediary services and qualify as export of services. The applicant further submits that the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in Ernst & Young Ltd. clarified that services independently supplied on one's own account to overseas entities cannot be treated as intermediary services merely because the services may benefit another person. The applicant also relies on the decision in Medway Educational Consultant Pvt. Ltd., wherein, according to the applicant, student-recruitment consultancy services supplied directly to foreign universities on the service provider's own account were held to constitute export of services and not intermediary services. 5. Comments of the Jurisdictional Officer: The application was forwarded to the jurisdictional officer in accordance with the provisions of Section 98(1) of the CGST Act, 2017. The jurisdictional officer submitted that the applicant acts as a representative of foreign universi....
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....ted outside India; (iii) the place of supply of service is outside India; (iv) the payment for such service has been received by the supplier of service in convertible foreign exchange 1[or in Indian rupees wherever permitted by the Reserve Bank of India]; and (v) the supplier of service and the recipient of service are not merely establishments of a distinct person in accordance with Explanation 1 in section 8; 7.3 From the facts of the case placed on record, there is no dispute as to the first two conditions specified above, i.e., (i) the location of supplier of service is in India and (ii) the location of the recipient of service is outside India, are satisfied with respect the activity of the applicant. However, it needs to be seen if the third condition, i.e., place of supply should be outside India, is satisfied or not in case of the applicant in light of the applicable provisions for Place of supply provided in Section 13 of the IGST Act, 2017. In this connection, it is imperative to ascertain the nature of services discernible from the agreement executed by the applicant with Griffith University (hereinafter referred to as "University"). The....
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....ointed as an Agent of the University in India which is evident from caption of the agreement as "International Agent Agreement" and mentioning of the applicant as the University's "Representative" in India. b) the applicant's authority is restricted as evident from the clauses on bar on collection of fees from the students & incurring obligation without prior written consent. Such restriction on the applicant's authority signifies that the applicant is acting under the control of the principal (University) and not supplying the services, if any, on their own account; c) Further, the applicant's mandate to disclose to the students that the commission in question was to be paid to it directly by the University show its representative capacity to the third persons (the students); d) the applicant's remuneration remains contingent upon the successful consummation and continuation of enrolment of the student with the university and not the recruitment services as claimed by the applicant. This may bring an absurd situation that when there is no new enrolment facilitated by the applicant, no consideration is payable to them even though they ....
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....goods or services or both between the two principals while the second is the second is the supply of arranging or facilitating such main supply. Illustration I to CBIC Circular No. 159/15/2021-GST dated 20.09.2021 provides that a person who identifies and facilitates prospective customers for a supplier and receives commission upon completion of the underlying supply would qualify as an intermediary where such person does not supply the underlying goods or services on his own account. The facts of the case in hand show that the above illustration is squarely applicable to it as the applicant identifies and facilitates prospective students for the University and receives commission from the University for each completed admission on receipt of the tuition fees prescribed & fulfilment of other conditions. In the instant the case, the main supply is educational services by the University to the students and the applicant acting as a bridge between the University & the students, facilitate the admission related process of the University. The applicant neither offer the educational courses nor undertake any part of the teaching, academic instruction or delivery of educational service....
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....y arrangement and distinguishable from the decisions quoted by the applicant. 7.9 The decision in Medway Educational Consultant Put. Ltd. v. Commissioner, CGST, Delhi-West [2024 (3) TMI 1178 (CESTAT, New Delhi)], relied upon by the applicant is also distinguishable from the present proceedings as the same was based on prevailing Service Tax regime which lacked a comprehensive definition of intermediary analogous to Section 2 (13) of the IGST Act, 2017 which has been further clarified by Circular No. 159/15/2021-GST dated 20.09.2021. 7.10. The foregoing discussion show that the arrangement satisfies the essential elements of intermediary services and the applicant is an "intermediary" as defined by Section 2(13) of the IGST Act vis-à-vis the services provided by them to the University. 7.11 The place of supply for the intermediary services for the period upto 29.03.2026, was governed by the now omitted clause (b) of Section 13 (8) of the IGST Act which said that the place of supply in such cases would be the location of supplier. Since, the location of the supplier is in India, the place of supply should also be India for the period upto 29.03.2026 and the services s....