GST · 26 June 2026
What Are OIDAR Services and Why Is GST Registration Mandatory?
OIDAR (Online Information Database Access or Retrieval) services are digital services delivered over the internet whose supply is essentially impossible without information technology, such as cloud storage, online advertising, streaming, and e-books. Section 2(17) of the IGST Act defines them. When the supplier sits outside India and the customer is an Indian consumer, Section 14 of the IGST Act and Section 24 of the CGST Act make GST registration compulsory regardless of turnover, so the usual ₹20 lakh exemption does not apply.
By Mrs. Swapna Patel
Last reviewed
26 June 2026
In this section
Answers
- What Are OIDAR Services and Why Is GST Registration Mandatory?
- What Is GSTR-1, the GST Return of Outward Supplies?
- What Is GSTR-3B, the Monthly GST Summary Return?
- What Is the Time of Supply Under GST, and When Does Tax Become Due?
- Advance Receipt Under GST: When Do You Issue a Receipt Voucher?
- Credit Note vs Debit Note Under GST: When Do You Issue Each?
- What Is GSTR-2B, and Why Does It Now Decide Your Input Tax Credit?
- What Is the Value of Supply Under Section 15 of the CGST Act?
- What Are the GST Rate Slabs in India After the GST 2.0 Reform?
- Exempt vs Nil-Rated vs Zero-Rated Supply: What Is the Difference?
If your turnover is below ₹20 lakh, you never need GST registration.
An overseas supplier of OIDAR services to Indian consumers must register under Section 24 of the CGST Act read with Section 14 of the IGST Act, so the ₹20 lakh threshold does not protect them.
What are OIDAR services?
Short answer
OIDAR services are digital services delivered over the internet whose supply is essentially impossible without information technology, as defined in Section 2(17) of the IGST Act.
The category covers cloud storage, online advertising, software and apps supplied as downloads or subscriptions, streaming of music and video, e-books, and online data or gaming. The common thread is that the service could not exist without information technology and is delivered to the customer over an electronic network. The definition was widened from 1 October 2023, so a service that fell outside it earlier may sit inside it now; confirm the current scope before deciding.
Why is GST registration mandatory below ₹20 lakh?
Short answer
Because Section 24 of the CGST Act lists compulsory-registration cases that override the ₹20 lakh threshold, and an overseas OIDAR supplier to Indian consumers is one of them.
- The ₹20 lakh aggregate-turnover exemption sits in Section 22 of the CGST Act and applies to ordinary suppliers, not to the Section 24 compulsory categories.
- An OIDAR supplier located outside India must take a simplified registration under Section 14 of the IGST Act and pay the tax itself.
- There is no minimum turnover for this. A single sale to an Indian consumer can trigger the obligation.
Who pays the GST, the supplier or the Indian customer?
Short answer
The customer decides it: an overseas supplier pays the GST on sales to Indian consumers, while a GST-registered Indian business pays it under reverse charge.
- Sale to a non-taxable online recipient (an individual consumer or an unregistered buyer): the overseas supplier registers under Section 14 and pays the GST.
- Sale to a GST-registered Indian business: the business accounts for the tax itself under reverse charge, so the overseas supplier need not register for that supply.
- This split is why your business GST number matters when you buy foreign software: it moves the liability to you.
Which digital services count as OIDAR in practice?
Short answer
Any automated online service, from a Figma subscription to a streaming plan, can be OIDAR if it meets the Section 2(17) test.
- Cloud and hosting, online advertising, and SaaS subscriptions are the most common business examples.
- Streaming, e-books, online courses with no live teaching, and in-app purchases are common consumer examples.
- A service genuinely delivered in person, or where information technology is only the communication medium, can fall outside OIDAR and follow the normal import-of-service rules.
References & related
Primary sources
- Section 2(17), Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 — CBICDefinition of Online Information Database Access or Retrieval (OIDAR) services.
- Section 14, Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 — CBICSpecial provision for payment of tax by a supplier of OIDAR services located outside India.
- Section 24, Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 — CBICCategories of persons liable to register compulsorily, irrespective of the threshold.
Last reviewed: 26 June 2026