In re Allen Career Institute Private Limited (GST AAR Rajasthan)
In In re Allen Career Institute Private Limited, the Authority for Advance Ruling, Rajasthan examined whether online coaching services delivered through live and recorded digital platforms qualify as “online information and database access or retrieval services” (OIDAR) under HSN 998433 or as “commercial training and coaching services” under HSN 999293, and the applicable tax treatment when students are located outside Rajasthan. The applicant, a coaching institute providing offline and online education, argued that its digital courses—comprising live classes, recorded lectures, and online content—are technology-driven OIDAR services, thereby attracting IGST based on the recipient’s location under Section 12(2) of the IGST Act, 2017. It contended that online services lack a fixed place of performance and should be taxed accordingly.
However, the jurisdictional officer and the Authority disagreed. They held that OIDAR classification requires not only internet-based delivery but also that the service be impossible without information technology. Coaching services, which have traditionally existed offline, fail this test as the online mode merely changes the delivery channel, not the nature of the service. The Authority emphasized that classification must depend on the dominant nature of the service, which in this case involves structured, instructor-led coaching, including live interaction, doubt resolution, mentoring, mock tests, and performance tracking. The presence of significant human intervention and the dispatch of physical study materials further supported the conclusion that the service is not automated or purely digital.
