GST on OIDAR Services (Digital Imports)

Online Information Database Access and Retrieval (OIDAR) services are defined in Section 2(17) of the IGST Act: services delivered over the internet or an electronic network, essentially automated with minimal human involvement — e.g., cloud computing, e-books, digital content, online games, SaaS/PaaS platforms. For B2C OIDAR: the foreign supplier must register on the GST portal (simplified registration) and pay IGST directly. For B2B OIDAR: the Indian business recipient pays IGST under RCM (Section 5(3) IGST Act).

The foreign supplier (without a fixed establishment in India) registers under Rule 14 of the IGST Rules — a simplified non-PAN-based registration on the GST portal. GST rate: 18% on the transaction value (in INR). Returns: GSTR-5A — filed monthly by the 20th. Payment: in Indian rupees via designated banks. If the foreign supplier does not register, the Indian intermediary (payment gateway, OTT platform's Indian entity) becomes liable. No ITC is available to the foreign OIDAR registrant.

Section 13(12) IGST Act: for OIDAR services supplied by a person outside India to a non-taxable online recipient (individual in India), the place of supply is the location of the recipient (India). This determines that Indian GST applies to the transaction. For B2B (Indian registered business): place of supply is the location of the recipient (India) — but the recipient pays under RCM, not the foreign supplier. For cross-border B2B services by an Indian company: the place of supply is outside India — zero-rated if foreign exchange is received.

Export of services under Section 2(6) IGST Act: zero-rated if: (a) supplier and recipient are different entities; (b) supply is to a person outside India; (c) place of supply is outside India; (d) consideration received in foreign exchange. SaaS provided to a foreign company (IGST rules place of supply outside India) qualifies as export of services — 0% GST. The Indian company files LUT (Form RFD-11) and claims ITC refund on cloud/infrastructure costs. Form 15CA/15CB is not required for receiving foreign exchange for service exports.

Google Play and Apple App Store retain 15–30% as commission on app sales. Under OIDAR rules: the app store (Google Ireland/Apple Inc.) is the deemed supplier to Indian users for Indian revenue — they pay IGST on the sale price. The Indian developer receives the net amount (after commission). The Indian developer's receipt from Google/Apple is for export of services (developer agreement) — 0% GST, eligible for export refund on development costs. GST does not apply on the commission retained by the app store from the Indian developer's perspective — it is the app store's input cost.