Amazon Development Centre India Private Limited Vs Additional Commissioner of Central Tax (Karnataka High Court)
In Amazon Development Centre India Pvt. Ltd. vs. Additional Commissioner of Central Tax, the Karnataka High Court examined whether Amazon’s pre-sale and post-sale support services to its foreign affiliates qualified as “intermediary services” under Section 2(13) of the IGST Act, 2017 or as export of services under Section 2(6). The petitioner sought quashing of the Order-in-Appeal dated 19 January 2024, which had denied refunds of ₹1,70,07,956 for October 2020–March 2021 and ₹1,55,51,450 for April 2021–September 2021, along with applicable interest.
The Court noted that the issue was already adjudicated in the petitioner’s favour in W.P. No. 13007/2024 (dated 17 September 2024), involving identical facts and legal questions. In that earlier case, the Court had held that the petitioner’s customer support services provided to foreign affiliates do not fall within the definition of “intermediary” under Section 2(13), relying on the CBIC Circular dated 20 September 2021. The Court clarified that these services qualify as export of services, as they are rendered on a principal-to-principal basis and the benefit accrues outside India.
Following its prior ruling and consistent judicial interpretation, including principles established in Vserv Global Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India (2021) and Expert Outsource Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India, the Court reaffirmed that entities providing backend or customer support to overseas affiliates are not intermediaries.
