GST ON THE FREELANCER CONTENTS WRITER, VLOGGERS, BLOGGERS, YOUTUBER, & SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS

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GST ON THE FREELANCER CONTENTS WRITER, VLOGGERS, BLOGGERS, YOUTUBER, & SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS

YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Snap chat, LinkedIn etc have become an important part of life now. People are spending more & more time on social media now. It is not only a way to stay connected with friends, families & market but also a way to remain updated about current affairs, changing trends, and new products. Statistics convey that more than 50% of the global populations are dependent on this social media for shopping, entertainment, foods or health related matters. Even businesses have found social media as one of the most powerful ways of reaching out to the target audience. The future of marketing is now revolving all around social media.

The dependability on social media has resulted in the emergence of a new set of professionals, referred to as social media influencers, who can help the brands to promote products and services. All such influencers generate a high number of followers with their regular act or post over the preferred platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, linked in, Snap chat, etc. These social media professionals are often recognized as Content writers, You Tubers, vloggers, content creators or food bloggers, etc. This new age breed of professionals is limited to not adults alone but even minors have their own independent channels & portals. Various social media is giving an option to monetize its content which if it opted, gets commercialized with advertisement spots. Earnings from above social media platforms largely depend on the number of views along with factors such as the number of subscribers, traffic source, contents, etc. Influencers have earnings from sponsorship, Google AdSense, Marketing Agencies, etc. Most of the professionals act as a freelancer or work from home as per their comfort & convenience. The question arises as to its taxation. Let us know about it:

 

 The question arises as to whether such person have to get themselves registered under GST? Are they liable to pay the GST?

Let us know about it:

  1. Under the GST law, services of influencers can be categorized as Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval Services (OIDAR). These may be considered as services that use information technology to distribute data through the internet or by means of an electronic network.
  2. If any influencer’s turnover exceeds Rs.20 lakh in a financial year (Rs.10 lakh if they are based in a special category state) then they are required to get themselves registered under the GST law.
  3. GST is chargeable @ 18% on services provided by GST-registered social media influencers and bloggers. Depending on whether the supply is intrastate or interstate, 9% each of Central Tax (CGST) and State Tax (SGST) is imposed, or18% of Integrated Tax (IGST).
  4. As far as export of services is concerned, the GST rate is 0%. Social media influencers who want to export their services have two options. They can either export services by providing a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) or pay IGST and later claim it as a refund. The supplies are zero-rated in advertisements placed on platforms like Google Inc. and Google AdSense, which is widely used by influencers as the recipient of these services is located outside of India.

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