The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has operationalised a set of comprehensive reforms to streamline e-commerce exports as well as broader courier-based imports and exports to enhance ease of doing business from April 1. The reform includes removal of Rs 10 lakh cap on courier export consignments to boost e-commerce exports.
Simultaneously, the Finance Act, 2026 has delivered a major relief to India’s service export sector by removing intermediary services clause under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Act, 2017. With the amendment under the Finance Act, 2026, the place of supply for intermediary services shifts to the location of the recipient.
What do experts say?
According to the experts, the Finance Act has introduced an amendment by omitting clause (b) of Section 13(8) of the IGST Act, 2017. Earlier, intermediary services were taxed based on the location of the supplier. Accordingly, such services, even when provided to foreign clients, effectively could not qualify as exports.
With this clause now removed, the general rule under Section 13(2) now applies which states that the place of supply is the location of the recipient, Amit Maheshwari, Tax Partner at AKM Global, said. “Intermediary services supplied to foreign clients can now qualify as zero-rated exports and refunds can be taken pursuant to such exports. Services received from foreign intermediaries will now attract GST against which ITC can be claimed,” Maheshwari said.
Manoj Mishra, Partner and Tax Controversy Management Leader at Grant Thornton Bharat, said the omission of the place of supply provision for intermediary services marks a decisive and long-overdue course correction in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) framework. “Over the years, this provision had emerged as one of the most contentious and litigated areas, with industry exposure approx. Rs 4,000 crore, particularly impacting the IT/ITES sector, GCCs and cross-border service providers”, he said.
Meanwhile, the reforms to streamline e-commerce exports and courier-based imports and exports include the complete removal of the Rs 10 lakh value cap per consignment on courier exports, the introduction of a streamlined framework for handling returned and rejected parcels and a legally backed Return to Origin (RTO) mechanism for uncleared shipments, the CBIC said.
As part of these reforms, the existing value limit of Rs 10 lakh for commercial export consignments through courier mode has been removed. This measure is expected to significantly boost exports, especially for e-commerce exporters, by allowing greater flexibility in shipment value and enabling seamless exports through the courier mode, the CBIC said.
To address congestion and delays in disposal of uncleared or unclaimed imported goods at International Courier Terminals, CBIC has introduced a Return to Origin (RTO) facility. Under this facility, goods that remain uncleared or unclaimed for more than 15 days and are not prohibited, restricted or under enforcement hold may be returned to the origin following a simplified procedure.