9985 SAC Code: Support services to business

Description

Services by way of loading, unloading, packing, storage or warehousing of rice.

Notes

Exempt service specific to rice warehousing and handling. No change in the Sept 2025 restructuring.

Description

Services provided by a tour operator to a foreign tourist in relation to a tour conducted wholly outside India.

Notes

Outbound tour service to foreign tourist remains exempt, as earlier. No new rate prescribed.

Description

Services by way of fumigation in a warehouse of agricultural produce.

Notes

Treated as exempt agri-related fumigation service. Not impacted by slab rationalisation.

Description

Other support services

Notes

Generic support services stay at the standard 18% services slab. Not a 12% / 28% item earlier, so no change.

Description

Services by an organiser to any person in respect of a business exhibition held outside India.

Notes

Exempt where the exhibition is outside India. Continues unchanged post Sept 2025.

Description

Services by way of sponsorship of sporting events organised – (a) by a national sports federation, or its affiliated federations, where the participating teams or individuals represent any district, State, zone or Country; (b) by Association of Indian Universities, Inter-University Sports Board, School Games Federation of India, All India Sports Council for the Deaf, Paralympic Committee of India or Special Olympics Bharat; (c) by the Central Civil Services Cultural and Sports Board; (d) as part of national games, by the Indian Olympic Association; or (e) under the Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan Scheme.

Notes

Specific exemption for these sports sponsorships continues; not pulled into taxable slabs.

Description

Services of assessing bodies empanelled centrally by the Directorate General of Training, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship by way of assessments under the Skill Development Initiative Scheme.

Notes

Skill development assessment under SDI remains exempt. No change in GST 2.0.

Description

Services by way of warehousing of minor forest produce.

Notes

Same treatment as earlier row you had for this description – exempt storage for minor forest produce.

Description

(ii) Services by way of housekeeping, such as plumbing, carpentering, etc. where the person supplying such service through electronic commerce operator is not liable for registration under sub-section (1) of section 22 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Notes

Underlying housekeeping service is taxable at 18%. ECO rules affect who pays, not the rate; no slab change.

Description

Executive/retained personnel search services

Notes

Recruitment and HR SAC guides and updated 2025 labour-services summaries clearly show 18% GST for executive search. No separate concessional slab is notified for regular commercial supplies.

Description

Permanent placement services, other than executive search services

Notes

Non-executive permanent placement services are grouped under 99851 employment services and standardised at 18% GST, with ITC available to business recipients using them for taxable activities.

Description

Contract staffing services

Notes

Contract staffing is also listed at 18% for 998513 in updated labour-charge rate tables; the multi-slab (5/18) pattern appears only for specific sub-types like long-term payroll structures.

Description

Temporary staffing services

Notes

Temporary staffing services carry 18% GST in current employment-services summaries. This remains part of the standard 18% services bucket under the 5% / 18% / 40% regime.

Description

Long-term staffing (pay rolling) services

Notes

Updated labour-services matrices show an option: a concessional 5% rate where conditions are met (typically no ITC on inputs, narrow payroll-service structures), and a regular 18% with ITC for full-credit models. GST 2.0 did not change this dual-rate pattern; in practice many B2B arrangements still use 18% with ITC.

Description

Temporary staffing-to-permanent placement services

Notes

Conversion of temp staff to permanent placement is specifically listed at 18% GST in recent staffing rate summaries. Concessional sports-event entries do not apply here.

Description

Co-employment staffing services

Notes

Co-employment / PEO services are covered under 99851 employment services; updated GST guides note 18% as the applicable rate, with ITC allowed to eligible recipients. No 5% general-use slab is notified for this code.

Description

Other employment & labour supply services n.e.c.

Notes

Residual employment services under 998519 follow the same 18% standard rate; event-linked 5% or nil concessional entries in older notifications are not treated as the default for normal recruitment or labour-supply contracts.

Description

Investigation services

Notes

Investigation services are consistently shown at 18% GST in both SAC-wise lookups and security-services GST explanations, with separate notes only about reverse charge in some recipient combinations.

Description

Security consulting services

Notes

Security consultancy under 998522 is listed as a security service with 18% GST; the 5% / nil lines in some tables are conditional FIFA-event concessions without ITC, not general rates.

Description

Security systems services

Notes

Installation / monitoring of security systems is another 18% service under 99852. The same sports-event concession note appears in rate tables but does not affect normal commercial supplies.

Description

Armoured car services

Notes

Armoured transport services (cash vans, high-value cargo etc.) are taxed at 18% as per security-services overviews; again, concessional slabs are limited to specially certified sports-event work.

Description

Guard services

Notes

Guarding services are highlighted in security-services GST guidance as 18% rate services (often under RCM where the recipient is a registered business). No change in slab under the Sept 2025 rationalisation.

Description

Training of guard dogs

Notes

Training of guard dogs is grouped with other 99852 security services at 18%; where tables show 5% or nil, it is only for FIFA-certified work without ITC.

Description

Polygraph services

Notes

Polygraph / lie-detector services are listed at 18% GST under support-services headings; event-specific concessional entries do not change the normal business rate.

Description

Fingerprinting services

Notes

Fingerprinting and similar forensic identity services follow the same 18% rate for 99852 security codes, with ITC allowed when used for taxable business.

Description

Other security services n.e.c.

Notes

Residual security services are also taxed at 18%. Tables showing 5% / nil specifically tie those lower rates to specified sporting events and ITC restrictions, so they are not used as the typical rate.

Description

Disinfecting and exterminating services

Notes

Cleaning-services GST explainers and SAC-specific pages clearly show 18% for disinfecting and pest-control services. Some schedules also list 5% / nil for FIFA-linked work, but commercial contracts normally charge 18% with ITC.

Description

Window cleaning services

Notes

Window cleaning is part of 99853 cleaning services, for which general GST guidance states a flat 18% rate across all sub-codes, except for narrow sports-event concessions.

Description

General cleaning services

Notes

General cleaning services (offices, buildings, premises) are repeatedly described as attracting 18% GST under the cleaning-services SAC group. The 5% / nil sports-event clauses are not treated as standard rates.

Description

Specialized cleaning services for reservoirs and tanks

Notes

Specialised tank / reservoir cleaning appears alongside other 99853 codes in classification annexures and rate tools, all at 18% GST in normal cases.

Description

Sterilization of objects or premises (operating rooms)

Notes

Sterilisation services for objects or medical premises are treated as cleaning / support services under 99853 and are generally taxed at 18% GST, with ITC allowed for eligible health-care businesses using them for taxable activities.

Description

Furnace and chimney cleaning services

Notes

Industrial chimney and furnace cleaning is explicitly listed in the 99853 cleaning group, and rate references confirm an 18% slab for such services in ordinary commercial scenarios.

Description

Exterior cleaning of buildings of all types

Notes

Exterior facade / building-washing services are also under 99853 and uniformly described as 18% GST services. Any concessional 5% or nil line again applies only when the work is directly tied to the specified FIFA event without ITC.

Description

Cleaning of transportation equipment

Notes

Cleaning of vehicles, rolling stock and other transport equipment under the 99853 cleaning group is typically taxed at 18%. Concessional 5% or nil rates exist only for narrowly defined sporting event contracts without ITC, not for regular commercial cleaning.

Description

Other cleaning services n.e.c.

Notes

Residual cleaning services under 998539 also sit in the same support services group. Notifications offer 5% or nil where the work is directly linked to specified sports events and ITC is blocked, but the standard business rate remains 18%.

Description

Packaging services of goods for others

Notes

Packaging for third parties has a dual entry in rate tables: 5% without ITC or nil for certain certified event contracts, and 18% for usual supplies. For SAC wise pages, the practical typical rate is 18% with ITC.

Description

Parcel packing and gift wrapping

Notes

Gift wrapping and parcel packing services are in the same 99854 group with a similar 5% / nil concessional entry tied to sports events and blocked ITC. Normal commercial activity continues at 18%.

Description

Coin and currency packing services

Notes

Currency and coin packing services are also listed with 5% / 18% / nil in rate tables, but the lower and nil slabs apply only under narrow conditions. The operative rate for day to day services is 18% with ITC.

Description

Other packaging services n.e.c.

Notes

Other packaging services follow the same pattern: concessional options where specifically certified, but a standard 18% rate for typical work under heading 9985.

Description

Reservation services for transportation

Notes

Reservation or booking services for transport are treated as support services to travel under 99855. Rate matrices show 5% / nil only for special certified contracts; for regular agent fees and service charges, 18% is applied.

Description

Reservation services for accommodation, cruises and package tours

Notes

Tour package entries under this code allow a concessional 5% on gross tour value without ITC, subject to conditions, while the same SAC is also used for booking commissions etc. that are taxed at 18% with ITC. Both options continue under the new slab structure, so sheet should reflect both rates.

Description

Reservation services for convention centres, congress centres and exhibition halls

Notes

Booking services for convention centres and exhibition halls appear with 5% / nil only in very restricted sporting event entries. Standard reservation and facilitation work is charged at 18% GST.

Description

Reservation services for event tickets, cinema halls, entertainment and recreational services and other reservation services

Notes

Reservation of event and cinema tickets is generally taxed at 18% as a support service; concessional rates remain tied to specific listed events with no ITC and are not the norm.

Description

Tour operator services

Notes

There is a dedicated entry for tour operator services taxing the gross tour value at 5% where the provider fulfils the definition of a tour operator and does not claim ITC except on same line input services. Separate standalone service charges that do not qualify can be taxed at 18% under other lines, but typical full tour operation uses 5% without ITC.

Description

Tourist guide services

Notes

Guiding services by individuals or firms under this SAC are commonly treated as taxable at 18%. Concessional 5% or nil entries are confined to the narrow event based conditions and do not change the default rate.

Description

Tourism promotion and visitor information services

Notes

Tourism promotion and visitor information under 998557 are standard support services charged at 18%, with event based concessional entries available only where specifically certified and without ITC.

Description

Other travel arrangement and related services n.e.c

Notes

This residual travel arrangement code covers other facilitation services and is shown at 18% in travel sector rate explanations; 5% / nil slabs are conditional and not applied to normal commercial supplies.

Description

Credit reporting & rating services

Notes

Credit bureau and rating services are grouped under 99859 support services with a standard 18% rate. Rate tables mention 5% / nil only for specialized sports event contracts, so those are not treated as typical for this code.

Description

Collection agency services

Notes

Debt collection and recovery agency services are classified here and attract 18% GST in practice, with only the narrow sports event line offering concessional treatment without ITC.

Description

Telephone-based support services

Notes

Call centre and similar telephone support services are 18% services under 99859. Multi slab tables show 5% / nil only where tied to specific events, not for ordinary BPO or support contracts.

Description

Combined office administrative services

Notes

Combined office admin services such as general back office outsourcing are in 99859 and charged at 18% with ITC for business recipients. No structural rate change under GST 2.0.

Description

Specialized office support services such as duplicating services, mailing services, document preparation etc

Notes

Specialized office support like document preparation, mailing and duplicating is also listed at 18% GST; concessional rates are limited to very specific contractual conditions, not the default.

Description

Events, Exhibitions, Conventions and trade shows organisation and assistance services

Notes

Organisation and assistance for events and exhibitions is confirmed at 18% GST in classification plus interpretative material and recent case law. The 5% / nil lines in tables are tied to special sporting events only.

Description

Landscape care and maintenance services

Notes

Landscape maintenance is treated as a support service under heading 9985, and SAC wise tools consistently show an 18% rate for regular contracts. Concessional entries for certain events do not override this general position.

Description

Other information services n.e.c.

Notes

This residual information services code is shown at 18% in multiple rate tools. The 5% / nil options in detailed tables are event linked with no ITC and are not used for normal information services.

Description

Other support services n.e.c.

Notes

Other uncategorised business support services in this group follow the default 18% rate. Any lower slab references remain tied to specified events and conditions and are not the general position.