The presence requirement must be real
IGST Act section 13(3)(b) addresses services supplied to an individual, whether that individual is the recipient or acts on the recipient’s behalf, requiring that person’s physical presence with the supplier for the supply. Place of supply under subsection (3) is where the services are actually performed. A foreign customer address does not automatically displace this specific rule. First establish that the actual service requires the stated physical presence.
Read the applicable text: CBIC: IGST Act section 13(1), (3)(b), (6) and (7).
Identify the supply and the people involved
Record the contracting recipient, payer, individual receiving or attending the service, supplier and performance site. A foreign corporate payer can make the file more complex, but payer identity alone does not establish recipient identity or the relevant place. Keep the individual’s role and authority visible. Do not apply the rule to every service merely because an employee happened to attend a meeting.
Distinguish required presence from remote contact
A face-to-face service requiring the individual with the supplier differs from an email, telephone or video advisory engagement that can be performed without such physical presence. The supplier being physically at its own office does not by itself establish the individual-presence condition. Identify the actual contractual and operational requirements rather than using a calendar invitation as the legal conclusion.
Confirm cross-border scope and actual location
Section 13 applies when supplier or recipient is outside India. If both are in India, consider the actual section 12 rule instead. For section 13(3)(b), retain site, attendance and performance evidence. Where one supply spans several locations, including India, or more than one State, the additional statutory rules need separate review; the separate-supply examples below are not a substitute for that analysis.
Review taxability and export separately
A location conclusion does not decide exemptions, rates, valuation, payment timing or the full export-of-services conditions. Medical, educational or other services can raise their own classification and exemption issues. No example assumes that every personal service is taxable at one rate. A foreign payer and foreign currency receipt alone are insufficient evidence of an export conclusion.
Reconcile the service-event record
Link each actual supply to its recipient, individual, required-presence basis, place of performance and invoice. Preserve cancellations, non-attendance and changes. Fees for bookings and amounts for completed services need separate tax-timing analysis; attendance arithmetic does not decide the liability date or refund entitlement. This guide addresses individual-presence services, distinct from remote electronic work on goods.
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts are fictional. Calculations illustrate the stated assumptions, not a predetermined legal outcome.
Illustrative example 1: Performance in India
Assume a corporate service provider charges ₹50,000 for a separately established service within this branch, actually performed with the individual present in Delhi for a foreign recipient. Place of supply follows Delhi on these facts. Foreign payment of the ₹50,000 does not by itself establish export status.
Illustrative example 2: Required presence and a different remote engagement
Verified fees comprise ₹80,000 for an established required-presence service and ₹20,000 for a distinct remote advisory engagement requiring separate classification. Aggregate fees are ₹1 lakh. Do not apply subsection (3)(b) to the ₹20,000 solely because the same person attended another service physically.
Illustrative example 3: Attendance working is not tax timing
A supplier records six bookings at ₹2,000 each, total ₹12,000. Five services are actually performed, representing ₹10,000 of the stated booking values, and one ₹2,000 booking remains unresolved. This population bridge does not decide advance-taxability, cancellation fees or refund rights.
Illustrative example 4: Tax heads require a separate scope test
For a cross-border branch (b) illustration, assume supplier location Maharashtra, foreign recipient, actual performance Delhi and a hypothetical taxable value ₹1 lakh at 18%, with no exemption or other special facts. On these assumed inter-State facts, IGST is ₹18,000 and gross ₹1.18 lakh. For comparison, if supplier and recipient are both in Maharashtra and a separate section 12 analysis establishes an ordinary intra-State taxable supply there, the same hypothetical base and rate give ₹9,000 CGST and ₹9,000 Maharashtra GST, gross ₹1.18 lakh. That domestic comparison is outside section 13; do not infer its tax head for a cross-border supply merely because supplier and performance site share a State. Establish actual classification, exemptions and rates independently.
Illustrative example 5: Two independently identified supplies
A separate service within the branch is performed in India for ₹30,000 and another abroad for ₹20,000, with actual supply separation established. Total is ₹50,000 with different performance-location populations. This is not an allocation formula for one composite multi-location supply.
Illustrative example 6: Completed-event duplication
One actual ₹15,000 service appears in the appointment system and invoice register, creating a draft ₹30,000 total. Unique fee population is ₹15,000. A separate second service must be established before retaining both amounts.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm section 13 scope | Actual supplier and recipient locations. |
| 2 | Identify legal recipient and payer | Contract and payment records separately. |
| 3 | Identify the individual | Recipient or relevant person acting on its behalf. |
| 4 | Establish required physical presence | Actual service requirements. |
| 5 | Distinguish remote engagements | No assumption from incidental meetings. |
| 6 | Prove actual performance site | Attendance, work and location evidence. |
| 7 | Review multi-location cases separately | No arbitrary division of one supply. |
| 8 | Review taxability and export | Applicable exemptions, rates and full conditions. |
| 9 | Reconcile events and invoices | Bookings, performance, cancellations and unique supplies. |
| 10 | Approve the supported conclusion | Actual facts, unresolved items and corrections. |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Is every service involving a person covered?
No. The required physical-presence condition matters.
2. Can mere attendance at a meeting decide the branch?
Not by itself. Establish the actual supply requirements.
3. Can the individual act for a recipient?
The provision addresses that role as well as the individual as recipient.
4. Does foreign payment determine place of supply?
No. Identify the specific rule and performance facts.
5. Which location is relevant under subsection (3)?
Where the service is actually performed on the applicable facts.
6. Does the supplier sitting at its office prove physical presence?
No. The individual-presence condition still needs to be met.
7. Are video consultations automatically within this branch?
No. Assess their actual requirements and applicable rule.
8. When does section 13 apply?
When supplier or recipient location is outside India.
9. What if both parties are in India?
Review the actual section 12 provision.
10. Are medical services assumed taxable here?
No. Exemption and classification require separate analysis.
11. Does the 18% example establish a universal personal-service rate?
No. It is a hypothetical arithmetic input. Establish actual taxable facts, exemptions and rates independently.
12. Does attendance determine time of supply?
No. Payment and timing rules need separate review.
13. Can separate supplies have different performance locations?
Yes on actual established facts.
14. Can one multi-location service be split casually?
No. Review the additional statutory provisions.
15. Does a foreign address alone establish export?
No. Verify the actual export conditions.
16. What should the final file connect?
The supply, recipient, individual, presence requirement, performance site and invoice.