Place of supply in case of international courier services

[8] The place of supply of services by way of transportation of goods, including by mail or courier to,-

[a] a registered person, shall be the location of such person;

[b] a person other than a registered person, shall be the location at which such goods are handed over for their transportation.

13 [9] The place of supply of services of transportation of goods, other than by way of mail or courier, shall be the place of destination of such goods.

[2] The place of supply of services except the services specified in sub-sections [3] to [13] shallots be the location of the recipient of services: Provided that where the location of the recipient of services is not available in the ordinary course of business, the place of supply shall be the location of the supplier of services.

Provided that where the transportation of goods is to a place outside India, the place of supply shall be the place of destination of such goods

The above proviso Inserted by The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 (No. 32 of 2018) – Brought into force w.e.f. 01st February, 2019

As per Section 12(8) of the IGST Act, the place of supply for the transportation of goods to a place outside India is considered to be the destination of such goods. Therefore, in this case, since your client (in Karnataka) is engaging an international courier agency for the transportation of goods to a place outside India, the place of supply will be the destination country where the goods are being shipped to, and not the location of the service receiver (i.e., your client's location in Karnataka). Hence, the courier company's stand is correct.

I was trying to understand the place of supply for international courier services because it is important for GST and billing. From what I learned, it depends on where the service is provided and who is receiving it. Knowing this can help avoid confusion when sending parcels or documents to another country.

While searching for information, I also came across Atlantic International Express, which provides international courier services and shares useful details about overseas shipping. 

In international courier services, the “place of supply” is important because it decides how GST is applied.

For services like courier and logistics, the general GST rule says that the place of supply is usually the location of the recipient of the service. This means where the customer who is paying for the courier service is located.

If the courier service is provided to a person or company outside India, then the place of supply is considered outside India. In such cases, it may be treated as an export of service, depending on conditions like payment in foreign currency and service provider being in India.

But if an Indian exporter is using an international courier service to send goods abroad, the situation is different. Even though the goods go outside India, the service recipient is still in India (the exporter), so the place of supply is usually India.

In simple terms, for courier services, the destination of goods is not the main factor. The important point is who is receiving and paying for the service.

Understanding this helps in applying GST correctly and avoiding confusion in cross-border shipments.