Section 9 of IGST Act - Supplies in Territorial Waters
Section 9 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 creates a special deeming rule where the location of a supplier or the place of supply falls in India's territorial waters. For IGST Act purposes, the relevant location is treated as being in the coastal State or Union territory whose appropriate baseline is nearest.
Updated: 27 September 2026
Text and meaning of Section 9
Section 9 - Supplies in territorial waters
Notwithstanding anything contained in the IGST Act:
(a) if the location of the supplier is in territorial waters, that supplier location is deemed to be in the coastal State or Union territory where the nearest point of the appropriate baseline is located; and
(b) if the place of supply is in territorial waters, that place of supply is likewise deemed to be in the coastal State or Union territory where the nearest point of the appropriate baseline is located.
The statutory wording can be checked in the official India Code text of the IGST Act. The CBIC GST Acts portal also provides official GST Act resources.
What does the non-obstante clause mean?
Section 9 begins with the words "Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act." This gives the Section 9 deeming rule overriding operation within the IGST Act where its conditions apply. Accordingly, a supplier location or place of supply that is physically in territorial waters is assigned to the relevant coastal State or Union territory for applying the Act.
What are territorial waters?
For maritime-law context, Section 3 of the Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and Other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 provides that India's sovereignty extends to its territorial waters, the seabed and subsoil beneath them, and the air space above them. The ordinary outer limit of territorial waters is a line 12 nautical miles from the nearest point of the appropriate baseline, subject to the statutory power to alter that limit.
See the Territorial Waters Act, 1976 on India Code.
How Section 9 works
| Situation | Deemed location under Section 9 |
|---|---|
| Location of supplier is in territorial waters | Coastal State or Union territory where the nearest point of the appropriate baseline is located. |
| Place of supply is in territorial waters | Coastal State or Union territory where the nearest point of the appropriate baseline is located. |
Why the rule matters for GST
The IGST Act uses the location of the supplier and the place of supply in determining the nature and tax treatment of a supply. Section 9 prevents uncertainty merely because the relevant location is offshore but still within territorial waters. It connects that maritime location to a specific coastal State or Union territory by reference to the nearest point of the appropriate baseline.
- The rule is a legal deeming provision for purposes of the IGST Act.
- It applies separately to the location of the supplier and to the place of supply.
- The nearest point of the appropriate baseline determines the coastal State or Union territory to which the maritime location is attributed.
- After applying Section 9, the other relevant IGST provisions must still be applied to determine the nature of the particular supply and its tax consequences.
Related IGST provisions
Section 9 appears in Chapter IV on determination of the nature of supply. It should be read with Section 7 - Inter-State supply and Section 8 - Intra-State supply. Place-of-supply questions may also require reference to Section 10, Section 11, Section 12 or Section 13, depending on the transaction.
Official legal resources
Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 - India Code
GST Acts - CBIC
Integrated Tax Notifications - CBIC
Territorial Waters Act, 1976 - India Code