Place of Supply of Services — Section 12 (General Rule & Immovable Property)
# Place of Supply of Services — Section 12 of IGST Act
Section 12 applies where both supplier and recipient are located in India. It contains a general (default) rule and several specific (overriding) rules for particular categories of services.
## Section 12(2) — General Rule
### (a) Supply to a Registered Person
Place of supply = location of such registered recipient.
### (b) Supply to an Unregistered Person
If address of recipient exists on records → Place of supply = location of recipient (address on record).
If address is not available on records → Place of supply = location of the supplier.
## Section 12(3) — Services in Relation to Immovable Property
Applies to services such as:
Architects, interior decorators, surveyors, engineers, estate agents, other experts
Grant of rights to use immovable property
Carrying out / coordination of construction work
Lodging accommodation by a hotel, inn, guest house, home stay, club, campsite (including house boat / vessel)
Accommodation for marriages, official, social, cultural, religious or business functions, including services ancillary thereto
Rule: Place of supply = location at which the immovable property (or boat / vessel) is located or intended to be located.
### Special Case — Immovable Property Located Outside India
If the immovable property (or boat / vessel) is located outside India:
Place of supply = location of the recipient.
## Quick Summary
Recipient Type
Place of Supply (General Rule)
Registered person
Location of registered recipient
Unregistered – address on record
Address of recipient
Unregistered – no address
Location of supplier
Immovable Property Located
Place of Supply
In India
Location of property
Outside India
Location of recipient
Worked example
### Example 1
General Rule – Registered: A consultancy firm in Maharashtra provides advisory services to a registered company in Karnataka. Place of supply = Karnataka (location of registered recipient). Inter-State supply → IGST.
### Example 2
General Rule – Unregistered with address: A CA in Delhi files ITR for an individual whose address on record is Haryana. Place of supply = Haryana.
### Example 3
General Rule – Unregistered, no address: A CA in Delhi consults an unregistered walk-in client without recording any address. Place of supply = Delhi (location of supplier).
### Example 4
Immovable Property: An architect based in Mumbai designs a building located in Goa. Place of supply = Goa (location of immovable property), irrespective of where the architect/recipient is located.
### Example 5
Hotel Accommodation: A guest from Punjab stays at a hotel in Rajasthan. Place of supply = Rajasthan (location of hotel/immovable property).
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Defaulting to 'location of supplier' for B2B services — for registered recipients, place of supply is always the recipient's location.
Treating architect / interior designer services like ordinary consultancy — these are immovable-property services and place of supply follows the property.
Ignoring the special rule when the immovable property is outside India — in that case, place of supply shifts to the recipient's location.
For unregistered recipients, forgetting that the existence of an address on the invoice/record changes the place of supply.
Applying Section 12 when one of the parties is outside India — Section 12 applies only when both supplier and recipient are in India; otherwise Section 13 applies.
Bare-Act text Section 12(2) & 12(3) · IGST Act, 2017 · click to expand
Section 12(2) of IGST Act: The place of supply of services, except the services specified in sub-sections (3) to (14), — (a) made to a registered person, shall be the location of such person; (b) made to any person other than a registered person, shall be, — (i) the location of the recipient where the address on record exists; and (ii) the location of the supplier of services in other cases. Section 12(3): The place of supply of services, — (a) directly in relation to an immovable property, including services provided by architects, interior decorators, surveyors, engineers and other related experts or estate agents, any service provided by way of grant of rights to use immovable property or for carrying out or co-ordination of construction work; or (b) by way of lodging accommodation by a hotel, inn, guest house, home stay, club or campsite, by whatever name called, and including a house boat or any other vessel; or (c) by way of accommodation in any immovable property for organising any marriage or reception or matters related thereto, official, social, cultural, religious or business function including services provided in relation to such function at such property; or (d) any services ancillary to the services referred to in clauses (a), (b) and (c), shall be the location at which the immovable property or boat or vessel, as the case may be, is located or intended to be located: Provided that if the location of the immovable property or boat or vessel is located or intended to be located outside India, the place of supply shall be the location of the recipient.