Actual performance is the statutory location test
IGST Act section 12(4) places restaurant and catering, personal grooming, fitness, beauty treatment and health services including cosmetic and plastic surgery where they are actually performed. Unlike the training rule in section 12(5), subsection (4) does not introduce a registered-recipient location exception. A corporate purchaser’s GSTIN in another State therefore cannot, by itself, relocate a correctly classified physical fitness or grooming service.
Read the applicable text: CBIC IGST Act: sections 7, 8 and 12(4).
First establish the domestic scope
Section 12 concerns supplier and recipient located in India. Identify the actual service, contractual recipient and supplier establishment before selecting the subsection. This article addresses physical services genuinely within subsection (4); it does not decide online delivery, a bundled employment-benefit arrangement, property rentals, or cross-border services by analogy.
Corporate billing does not change the performance venue
For a physical fitness session procured by a company, retain the contract, session location, supplier-location analysis and delivery records. The invoice recipient and place of supply are separate fields. An invoice may correctly name the company and its relevant GSTIN while the place-of-supply analysis still follows actual performance under subsection (4).
Separate location, rate, exemption and credit
The location rule does not establish that every health or fitness supply has the same rate, nor does it decide exemption or input tax credit. Establish those separately for the actual service. In particular, describing a service as healthcare or employee welfare does not by itself resolve the applicable tax treatment. The examples assume taxable services at a hypothetical aggregate GST rate of 18% with no exemption, solely to illustrate arithmetic. Classification, the applicable rate and exemption must be checked separately for an actual supply; no universal 18% rate is asserted.
Then determine the tax head
Compare the established supplier location with place of supply under sections 7 and 8, considering relevant exceptions. The examples assume ordinary domestic supplies, exclude SEZ facts and assume the stated supplier location is legally correct. A supplier’s head-office mailing address is not sufficient proof of the establishment from which a service is supplied.
Control invoices spanning locations
Identify actual separate supplies and venue-specific values from the agreement and delivery evidence. Do not borrow an apportionment formula from an unrelated subsection merely because several venues appear. A genuine multi-location or composite supply needs its own analysis. Keep disputed location facts visible before invoicing rather than allowing the recipient master to silently choose the tax head.
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts are fictional. Calculations illustrate the stated assumptions, not a predetermined legal outcome.
Illustrative example 1: Mumbai fitness service
A Maharashtra supplier physically performs a qualifying fitness service in Mumbai for a Delhi company. Assumed taxable value ₹1,00,000 and aggregate rate 18% produce CGST ₹9,000 plus Maharashtra GST ₹9,000, invoice ₹1,18,000. This assumes ordinary intra-State facts despite the recipient’s Delhi GSTIN.
Illustrative example 2: Supplier in another State
Assume the legally established supplier location is Delhi and a qualifying physical service is performed in Maharashtra. On value ₹80,000 at assumed 18%, IGST is ₹14,400 and total ₹94,400. Check the actual supplying establishment before using this example.
Illustrative example 3: Inclusive price
An ordinary intra-State qualifying service has inclusive price ₹59,000 at assumed 18%. Base is ₹50,000 and total tax ₹9,000, split ₹4,500 each. Inclusive-price extraction does not establish the performance location.
Illustrative example 4: Separate venue contracts
A Karnataka supplier makes distinct qualifying supplies in Karnataka for ₹60,000 and Maharashtra for ₹40,000. Assumed tax is ₹5,400 CGST plus ₹5,400 Karnataka GST on the first and ₹7,200 IGST on the second, total ₹18,000. Separate facts support the split, not a universal allocation rule.
Illustrative example 5: Attendance pricing
One physical corporate fitness engagement covers 25 participants at ₹2,000 each. Value ₹50,000 generates ₹9,000 tax at assumed 18%. Different employee home States do not change the physical performance site for this correctly classified service.
Illustrative example 6: Correct a draft tax-head working
For a ₹1,00,000 service with verified ordinary intra-State facts, a draft wrongly shows ₹18,000 IGST solely from the customer GSTIN. The corrected pre-issue working shows ₹9,000 CGST and ₹9,000 State GST, same total ₹18,000. An already issued or reported invoice needs the applicable correction procedure; a working-paper edit alone does not amend returns.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Identify the service | Actual deliverables and subsection 12(4) classification. |
| 2 | Confirm domestic scope | Supplier and recipient located in India. |
| 3 | Identify the contractual recipient | Purchase order and billing responsibility. |
| 4 | Verify actual performance | Venue records and session confirmation. |
| 5 | Determine supplier location | Supplying-establishment evidence. |
| 6 | Test special facts | SEZ and other statutory exceptions. |
| 7 | Determine tax head | Sections 7/8 location comparison. |
| 8 | Check rate and exemption | Applicable service-specific authority. |
| 9 | Check credit separately | Recipient eligibility and restrictions. |
| 10 | Reconcile final billing | Venue conclusion, invoice fields and calculations. |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. Does a corporate GSTIN automatically control place of supply?
No. Section 12(4) uses actual performance for its covered services.
2. Is this the same rule as training?
No. Section 12(5) has a distinct registered-recipient branch.
3. Does the rule cover fitness?
Fitness is expressly included in subsection (4).
4. Does it include personal grooming?
Yes, personal grooming is included.
5. Are restaurant and catering services also listed?
Yes, but their rates and other consequences require separate review.
6. Is all healthcare taxable at 18%?
No. This article makes no such claim; check classification and exemptions.
7. Do the examples decide employee-welfare credit?
No. Credit eligibility is a separate question.
8. Does a venue invoice establish supplier location?
Not necessarily. Determine the actual supplying establishment.
9. Can a Delhi customer receive an invoice with Maharashtra place of supply?
Yes, when the applicable service and performance facts lead there.
10. Do employee home addresses decide the place?
Not for the physical services governed by subsection (4) discussed here.
11. Can online fitness use these examples automatically?
No. The delivery facts and applicable classification need separate analysis.
12. Does a multi-venue contract have an automatic headcount formula?
No such formula is established here.
13. Why separate two real venue contracts?
Each actual supply needs its own supported location and value analysis.
14. Does the location rule supply the GST rate?
No. The examples use an expressly assumed rate.
15. Can correcting a worksheet amend a filed invoice?
No. Apply the actual correction and reporting route.
16. What is the most useful invoice control?
Require service classification and performance evidence before a customer GSTIN defaults the tax head.