Restructuring Billing & Tax to Support International Projects
A Mumbai architecture firm was billing UAE and East African clients in USD with no formal export framework. We made their services zero-rated and recovered ₹11 lakh in input tax credit previously absorbed as cost.
What the engagement demanded.
A Mumbai-based architecture firm with a strong residential and hospitality portfolio had started winning design projects from clients in the UAE and East Africa. The firm had been billing these clients from their India LLP, issuing invoices in USD, and receiving foreign currency into their current account without any formal understanding of whether they needed RBI reporting, how to classify the income for GST, or what the foreign exchange management requirements were for a services exporter.
How we executed the engagement.
Export Classification
Worked through the billing structure and confirmed their international design services qualified as export of services under GST — zero-rated and eligible for input tax credit refund.
LUT Registration
Registered them under the LUT route so they could export without collecting GST.
FIRC & FEMA Setup
Set up the Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate documentation process so each receipt was FEMA-compliant.
RBI Reporting Framework
Established a simple RBI reporting framework for their AD bank and separated domestic from international billing to make refund claims straightforward.
The capabilities we brought to bear.
Export-of-Services Classification
Confirmation of zero-rated export status for international design services under GST.
LUT Registration
Letter of Undertaking route set up so the firm could export GST-free.
FEMA & FIRC Compliance
A Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate documentation process making each receipt FEMA-compliant.
RBI / AD Bank Reporting
A reporting framework and clean domestic/international billing separation supporting smooth GST refund claims.
The results we delivered.
The firm’s first export refund claim under the corrected structure recovered ₹11 lakh in input tax credit that had previously been absorbed as a cost.
Service exporters leave money on the table every year by not claiming the GST refunds they are entitled to. For a professional services firm, getting the export classification right once is usually worth more than a full year of tax planning.
