About India's Goods and Services Tax (GST)
From October 2018, Facebook ads in India will be sold by Facebook India, billed and paid for in Indian rupees and subject to a goods and services tax (GST) of 18% and Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) of 2%. This update affects all ad accounts that have their business country set to India.
To continue advertising on Facebook, go to your account settings and ensure that:
- a payment method has been added to your account;
- your business name, address and Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN) have been updated.
- Note: Entering a GSTIN isn't mandatory. However, if you're registered for GST and would like to take Input Tax Credit (subject to the fulfilment of other criteria under applicable law, where applicable), enter the GSTIN of your main state of operations or where your business is headquartered.
Please note that if you're an advertiser that resides in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), you may be certified with the government as GST-exempt. If this applies to you, contact client services to provide us with your valid SEZ certificate.
GST and TDS are added whenever you're charged for your ads. The amount charged includes TDS, but you're still required to pay TDS to the government as per local law. Once you've provided Facebook with a TDS certificate from the government as evidence of payment, a TDS refund in the form of a Facebook ads coupon will be granted. To read more about TDS, visit the website of the Indian Tax Authority.
As an example, let's say that you were recently charged USD 100 because you reached your USD 100 billing threshold. The subtotal for the charge will be for USD 100 in ad costs, and then an 18% GST will be added on top of that, so you'll pay USD 118 in total for that charge (USD 100 + USD 18 = USD 118). Please note, you're responsible for paying the USD 2 TDS for the ad costs directly to the government. Facebook will refund your USD 2 TDS once the TDS certificate you submit has been validated. Because GST is added on top of charges, you won't reach your billing threshold faster, but you may be charged more than your billing threshold amount.
Bear in mind that as Facebook isn't able to give tax advice, we suggest that you contact your country's tax authority for more help and information.
More India GST resources
* Nguồn: Facebook