'Online courses offered to students abroad by Indian entity not taxable'

Place of service provision of service is in non-taxable territory and is therefore, not taxable

What is the last date for claiming Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) scrips?
As per Para 3.15 (a) of the Handbook of Procedures, Vol. 1 (HBP), you can file an application for MEIS scrips within 12 months from the Let Export (LEO) date or within three months from the date of uploading of EDI shipping bills onto the DGFT server by Customs or printing/release of shipping bills for non-EDI shipping bills, whichever is later. Also, as per para 9.02 of the HBP, you get two more years to file the claims subject to imposition of late cut (up to 10 per cent), as  prescribed therein. So, assuming that there is no delay in uploading the EDI shipping bill or printing/release of non-EDI shipping bill, you get three years from the LEO date to file your MEIS claims, subject to late cut as prescribed.

 
We have online courses and many foreign students outside India take these courses. We have been paying service tax on these but recently one person told me that this is exempted, as the student is outside India, which is non-taxable territory. What is the correct position?
Until November 30, 2016, “online information and database access or retrieval services” was covered under Rule 9 (b) of the Place of Provision of Services Rules, 2012 which specified the place of provision of service as the location of the service provider. So, the service was treated as provided in the taxable territory and as service provider, you were required to discharge the service tax liability. That entry under Rule 9 (b) of the said Rules was omitted with effect from December 1, 2016 and thus the said service got covered under general provisions at Rule 3 of the said Rules, which specifies the place of provision of the service as the location of the service receiver. So, with effect from that date, place of provision of service that you provide to your students abroad is in the non-taxable territory and therefore, not taxable.

 
We had imported certain goods a few years back, claiming exemption against debit to the duty credit scrips issued under the Served from India Scheme (SFIS). These are subject to actual-user condition but they are of no use to us now. How do we get permission to dispose them off?
As per CBEC Circular no. 49/2016-Cus dated October 27, 2016, goods imported or procured utilising SFIS Scrip issued in terms of FTP 2009-14 may be sold or transferred on completion of three years from the date of clearance of import/procurement in terms of the Department of Commerce Notification No. 30, dated August 1, 2013. Requests to dispose them off earlier may be considered under Para 2.49 of the HBP. However, consumables (including food items and alcoholic beverages) are not covered under these provisions and so will not be allowed to be transferred even after three years, since such consumables are meant to be consumed in the course of the day-to-day business of the applicant.