Infodesk India Private Limited Vs Union of India & Ors. (Gujarat High Court)
The Gujarat High Court considered a writ petition challenging the rejection of a GST refund claim on the ground that the petitioner’s services to its foreign parent company were treated as “intermediary services” and that the refund was allegedly time-barred. The petitioner, a GST-registered Indian company, provided software consultancy, editorial, IT infrastructure, customer support, and related services exclusively to its US-based parent company under a service agreement. It raised invoices, received consideration on a cost-plus 8% markup basis, availed Input Tax Credit, and claimed refund treating the supplies as “export of services” under Section 2(6) read with Section 16 of the IGST Act.
The refund application was proposed to be rejected on two grounds: limitation under Section 54 of the CGST Act and classification of services as intermediary services under Section 2(13) of the IGST Act. The refund was rejected by the original authority and the appellate authority, leading to the writ petition, as the GST Appellate Tribunal was not constituted.
The High Court examined the statutory definitions of “export of services” and “intermediary.” It analysed the service agreement and noted that the petitioner provided services on a principal-to-principal basis, earned a fixed markup, bore all costs and taxes, and was an independent entity distinct from its parent company. The Court held that the petitioner was supplying services on its own account and not arranging or facilitating supplies between two or more persons. The bipartite nature of the agreement and absence of a third-party supply were found inconsistent with the concept of intermediary services.
