CORAA

GST on Royalty & IP Licensing Compliance Checklist

Place of supply for licensing/assigning IP rights, the RCM test for cross-border royalty payments, and how the GST treatment interacts with the TDS already deducted on the same payment under the Income-tax Act.

Free · CORAA original — SA-aligned
Updated 28 Jul 2026
Nature
Supply of service, not goods, under GST
Cross-border
RCM on the Indian recipient, cash-only, independent of TDS
Common miss
Treating TDS deduction as covering the GST RCM liability
Format
Microsoft Word (.docx)
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GST ON ROYALTY & IP LICENSING COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST

Entity: ___ · GSTIN: ___ · Financial year ended: ___

A. Nature of the transaction

Licensing or assigning the right to use IP (patent, trademark, copyright, know-how, franchise) is a supply of service under GST, not a supply of goods, even where the underlying IP is embodied in a physical medium. The temporary or permanent nature of the transfer determines the applicable rate/classification (SAC code) — verify whether the arrangement is a licence (temporary right to use) or a permanent transfer/assignment, since these are treated differently.

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Common questions

FAQs.

If TDS was already deducted on a royalty payment to a foreign licensor, is GST RCM still payable?
Yes. Income-tax TDS and GST reverse charge are entirely separate obligations under different statutes, computed on different (though related) bases. Paying TDS on the royalty does not discharge or reduce the GST RCM liability on the same import of service — both must be accounted for independently.
Can RCM on cross-border royalty be paid using available ITC?
No — reverse charge liability must always be discharged in cash (via the electronic cash ledger), never by utilising input tax credit, regardless of how much eligible ITC balance the recipient otherwise holds. The credit for the RCM-paid tax itself becomes available as ITC only after the RCM payment is made, in a subsequent step.
Does it matter whether the IP right is licensed temporarily or permanently assigned?
Yes — the classification affects the applicable SAC code and, in some cases, the rate. A temporary licence to use IP and a permanent transfer/assignment of ownership in the IP are treated as distinct categories of supply; confirm which one the specific agreement actually creates rather than assuming based on how the parties label it.
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