9982 SAC Code: Legal & accounting services

Description

Services provided by- (a) an arbitral tribunal to Ð (i) any person other than a business entity; or (ii) a business entity with an aggregate turnover up to twenty lakh rupees (ten lakh rupees in the case of special category states) in the preceding financial year; (b) a partnership firm of advocates or an individual as an advocate other than a senior advocate, by way of legal services to- (i) an advocate or partnership firm of advocates providing legal services; (ii) any person other than a business entity; or (iii) a business entity with an aggregate turnover up to twenty lakh rupees (ten lakh rupees in the case of special category states) in the preceding financial year; (c) a senior advocate by way of legal services to- (i) any person other than a business entity; or (ii) a business entity with an aggregate turnover up to twenty lakh rupees (ten lakh rupees in the case of special category states) in the preceding financial year.

Notes

Arbitral tribunal, advocate firms and senior advocates enjoy exemption when supplying to non business recipients or to business entities below the specified turnover threshold. This threshold based legal-services exemption remains intact; only fee based legal services outside this entry are taxable at 18%.

Description

Services provided by an arbitral tribunal to “(iii) the Central Government, State Government, Union territory, local authority, Governmental Authority or Government Entity;

Notes

When the recipient is Government or a specified government-related body, arbitral tribunal services fall under a separate exemption entry. There is no change to this treatment in the 22 Sep 2025 rationalisation.

Description

Services provided by a partnership firm of advocates or an individual as an advocate other than a senior advocate, by way of legal services to“(iii) the Central Government, State Government, Union territory, local authority, Governmental Authority or Government Entity;

Notes

Advocacy services by individual advocates or firms (other than senior advocates) to Government / Government Authority / Government Entity remain exempt under the specific legal services exemption entry.

Description

Services provided by a senior advocate by way of legal services to“(iii) the Central Government, State Government, Union territory, local authority, Governmental Authority or Government Entity;

Notes

Similar to the above, senior advocate services to Government or specified government bodies are exempt. No change has been prescribed for this sub category in the post 22 Sep 2025 rate structure.

Description

Legal advisory and representation services concerning criminal law.

Notes

Legal-services schedules show 18% for this SAC in general, but the main notification also exempts certain legal services to specified government recipients and small entities, which effectively gives a 0% rate for those configurations. The 56th Council reforms did not change this legal-services structure; only the classification slabs around 12% and 28% were rationalised.

Description

Legal advisory and representation services concerning other fields of law.

Notes

Civil, commercial and other legal advisory/representation is generally at 18% with ITC, while specified services to government and certain recipients can be exempt. Post-22 Sep 2025 the same pattern continues; legal services are not moved into a different slab in the 56th-meeting decisions.

Description

Legal documentation and certification services concerning patents, copyrights and other intellectual property rights.

Notes

Documentation and certification around patents, copyrights, trademarks etc. is rated at 18% in legal-services rate tables, with narrow exemptions for specific government-related supplies. No change has been recommended for this SAC under GST 2.0.

Description

Legal documentation and certification services concerning other documents.

Notes

Similar to 998213, this code covers documentation for contracts, deeds and other legal instruments. Standard practice is 18% with ITC except where an exemption entry applies based on who the service is supplied to; that structure remains unchanged after 22 Sep 2025.

Description

Arbitration and conciliation services

Notes

Arbitration and conciliation services are listed at 18% in SAC-wise legal-service charts. The same notifications that exempt certain legal services to government allow narrow 0% cases; these continue post rationalisation, with no fresh 5% or 40% entry for arbitration.

Description

Other legal services n.e.c.

Notes

Residual legal services are taxed at 18% with ITC, with exemptions preserved for specifically described government-related services and small entities. The 56th Council’s press release and FAQ confirm the new structure (5% / 18% / 40%) without introducing a distinct slab for legal services, so the effective rate pattern stays as earlier.

Description

Financial auditing services

Notes

Listed at 18% in legal and accounting service rate tables and professional-services FAQs. No rate cut or slab shift proposed for auditing services in the 56th Council changes.

Description

Accounting and bookkeeping services

Notes

Consistently shown at 18% GST in multiple SAC-wise charts and CA-specific guidance notes. The new 5% / 18% / 40% structure keeps these services in the 18% bucket.

Description

Payroll services

Notes

Treated as a professional service under 9982 and taxed at 18%; FAQs on legal and accounting SAC codes also confirm 18% for payroll. No change notified in GST 2.0 proposals.

Description

Other similar services n.e.c

Notes

Residual category for accounting-type services. Guidance on legal and accounting services groups it with 998221–223 at 18%. No specific exemption or concessional slab post Sep 2025.

Description

Corporate tax consulting and preparation services

Notes

Tax consultancy entries for 998231 are uniformly 18%. Chartered-accountant impact articles also treat all tax consultancy under the residual 18% services entry.

Description

Individual tax preparation and planning services

Notes

Same treatment as corporate tax consultancy. Multiple FAQs on SAC 9982 show 18% for 998232 and confirm it as a standard professional service.

Description

Insolvency and receivership services

Notes

Listed at 18% in legal-services schedules and in insolvency-specific GST explainers. No separate 5% or 40% entry exists for this code in the latest structure.