GST Council Decisions To Spur Tech Exports, Enhance Ease Of Business: Nasscom
The industry body welcomed the setting up of GST Appellate Tribunal, which is set to become operational, with appeals opening by September 2025 and hearings commencing by December 2025.
Hailing the GST Council's decisions as a boost for IT services and e-commerce, Nasscom on Thursday said the measures — aimed at easing compliance, improving cash flows, and minimising disputes — will buoy India's technology exports and enable greater ease of doing business.
The industry body welcomed the setting up of GST Appellate Tribunal, which is set to become operational, with appeals opening by September 2025 and hearings commencing by December 2025. The tribunal will speed resolution, and its Principal Bench, acting as the national advance ruling authority, will reduce state-wise divergence, it said.
"On September 3, 2025, the GST Council took important decisions to benefit IT-enabled services and e-commerce by easing compliance, releasing working capital and reducing disputes. These measures bolster India's tech industry export engine while reinforcing the momentum toward greater ease of doing business," Nasscom said in a statement.
The Council recommended the omission of section 13(8)(b) of the Integrated GST (IGST) Act, which previously stipulated that the place of supply for intermediary services would be the location of the service provider.
This means that the 'place of supply' for intermediary services will now be determined by the customer's location, restoring the export status and refund eligibility for IT-ITES services delivered from India.
"This restores export status and refund eligibility for services delivered from India and aligns the regime with international practice, removing the misclassification risk. This has been a major issue for disputes, litigation and denial of refund of input credit for our industry, especially IT enabled services," Nasscom said.
To boost e-commerce growth and market access for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, the Council has also approved a simplified registration process for small suppliers selling goods through e-commerce platforms across states. This will significantly reduce the need for multiple registrations, lowering entry barriers and enhancing market access.
Furthermore, the Council has clarified the treatment of post-sale discounts.
Allowing value reductions through credit notes with matching input tax credit adjustments, together with guidance on promotional schemes, will bring predictability for supply chains, Nasscom said.
"This matters for e-commerce promotions and channel programmes as it will reduce disputes and reconciliation effort for platforms, sellers and brand owners. It will also help IT and ITES firms that sell software or subscriptions domestically," it noted.
The GST Council has also established clear rules to address confusion surrounding local delivery services booked via e-commerce platforms.
For last-mile services, if a delivery partner is unregistered, the e-commerce platform will collect and pay 18% GST. If the partner is registered, they will handle the GST payment themselves.
The industry body said that keeping these services outside freight/GTA avoids overlap, and gives simpler compliance and consistent pricing across hyperlocal and same-day delivery.
Nasscom said it will continue to engage on the broader reform agenda across taxation, SEZ operations, and labour frameworks, including addressing distortions in the treatment of the onsite branch model for exports, to further enhance India's global competitiveness.
