IDP Education India Private Limited Vs Union of India (Punjab And Haryana High Court)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court disposed of two writ petitions together, as both involved identical questions of law and facts. The petitioner, a subsidiary of an Australian publicly listed company, had entered into an agreement dated 01.07.2017 with its parent entity to assist Indian students seeking admission to universities in Australia. Under this arrangement, the petitioner provided support services to the parent entity and, in return, received a percentage of the “student placement service fee” collected by the parent entity. The relationship between the petitioner and the parent entity was on a principal-to-principal basis. The petitioner did not have any contractual relationship with foreign universities or students, nor did it make final admission decisions, which rested solely with the parent entity.
The petitioner treated the services rendered as “export of services” under Section 2(6) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and therefore did not discharge GST on such transactions. The tax authorities, however, issued a show cause notice and demand, contending that the petitioner qualified as an “intermediary” under Section 2(13) of the IGST Act. On this basis, the authorities asserted that the place of supply was in India under Section 13(8)(b) of the IGST Act, making the services taxable.
