GST for education and edtech
An exemption drawn around a defined educational institution, and an entire industry that sits just outside it.
Education exposure sits in the boundary of the exemption for services provided by an educational institution, which is defined by reference to pre school and school education, education as part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by law, and approved vocational education courses. Coaching, test preparation, skill training and most edtech offerings are outside it and taxable. Ancillary supplies to institutions, hostel and transport services, and cross border online courses are the recurring questions.
Inside and outside the exemption
Services provided by an educational institution to its students, faculty and staff are exempt, and specified services provided to such an institution are exempt in the circumstances the notification prescribes.
Education as part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by any law in force is the operative limb, and a course that does not lead to such a qualification is outside the exemption however educational it is.
Coaching, test preparation, professional certification not recognised by law, and skill courses outside the approved vocational list are taxable.
Ancillary supplies to institutions — transportation, catering, housekeeping, security, admission and examination related services — are exempt only in the circumstances the entry specifies, and the entry differentiates by the level of education.
The edtech questions
Online courses to Indian consumers are taxable, and the platform question arises where a third party platform is used.
Online courses to consumers outside India raise the export of services analysis and, where the recipient is unregistered and abroad, the place of supply under Section 13.
A foreign platform supplying courses to Indian consumers is within the OIDAR analysis, which was widened by the 2023 amendments.
Hostel and residential accommodation, and the interaction with the exemption for renting of residential dwelling, which has been the subject of litigation and clarification.
Books, printed material and study kits bundled with a course, which raise the composite and mixed supply question and can change the effective rate.
The controls
A course level mapping to the exemption entry, with the recognition or approval evidence for each course claimed as exempt.
A composite supply note for every bundle of course, material and services.
A Rule 42 computation where both exempt and taxable courses are offered, which most institutions omit.
For cross border offerings, the place of supply and recipient status determination recorded per product.
What to do on Monday
Map every course to an exemption entry with the recognition evidence, or to a taxable position.
Write a composite supply note for every bundle of course, material and ancillary services.
Run the Rule 42 computation where exempt and taxable offerings coexist.
Record the place of supply and recipient status determination for cross border offerings.
This page states the general position. A reader with a specific question on their own facts may write to the GST practice at AMLEGALS.
Write to the GST practiceQuestions we are asked on this
Is coaching exempt?
No. The exemption is for education leading to a qualification recognised by law, and coaching does not fall within it.
Are hostel fees exempt?
The position depends on the entry relied on and has been litigated. Take a documented position on the specific facts.
Are online courses taxable?
To Indian consumers, yes. To recipients abroad, the export analysis applies.
Are services to a school exempt?
Specified services to an educational institution are exempt in the circumstances the entry prescribes, differentiated by level of education.
Do we need a Rule 42 reversal?
Where exempt and taxable courses are both offered, yes, and it is commonly omitted.
In this cluster
- GST for manufacturing: the exposure map
- GST for pharmaceuticals and life sciences
- GST for automotive and auto components
- GST for textiles and apparel
- GST for IT, SaaS and software exports
- GST for logistics, warehousing and transport
- GST for banking, NBFC and financial services
- GST for insurance after the individual policy exemption
- GST for hospitality, hotels and travel
- GST for healthcare and hospitals
GST Insights is published by AMLEGALS for general information. Law stated as on 3 September 2026. Not advice on any particular set of facts; not an advertisement or a solicitation under Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. Readers with a question on their own facts may write to the GST practice of their own accord.