Professional services
A translation agency's invoice should state the language pair, the document or project, the unit of pricing (per word, per page or per hour of interpretation) and the word count, with any certification or notarisation charges listed separately. Translation and interpretation services fall under SAC 998395 at 18%. Foreign clients such as overseas publishers can be billed without IGST under an LUT if export conditions are met, while a document translated in India for a visa applicant is a domestic supply taxable at 18%.
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Or create these invoices in software, free| Description | HSN/SAC | Qty | Rate (₹) | Taxable (₹) | GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English to Hindi translation, product catalogue, 12,000 words | 998395 | 12000 NOS | 1.50 | 18,000.00 | 18% |
| Japanese to English translation, technical manual, 4,000 words | 998395 | 4000 NOS | 4.00 | 16,000.00 | 18% |
| Certified translation of degree certificate and transcripts, Marathi to English | 998395 | 6 NOS | 500.00 | 3,000.00 | 18% |
| Consecutive interpretation, German-English, factory audit, 8 hours | 998395 | 8 NOS | 4,000.00 | 32,000.00 | 18% |
| Urgent delivery surcharge, 24-hour turnaround | 998395 | 1 OTH | 3,000.00 | 3,000.00 | 18% |
| Taxable value | ₹72,000.00 | ||||
| GST (CGST + SGST, or IGST if inter-state) | ₹12,960.00 | ||||
| Invoice total | ₹84,960.00 | ||||
Sample prices are illustrative. Check the GST rate for your exact item or service before billing.
Rule 46 of the CGST Rules applies to every tax invoice, including this one:
Read more: Export Invoice Under LUT: How to Bill Exports Without Paying IGST · Reverse Charge Mechanism Under GST: When the Buyer Pays the Tax · Billing for Service Businesses: Models, GST and Best Practice
Translation and interpretation services are listed at 998395 in the official SAC list, under specialty professional services in heading 9983. The rate notification taxes other professional, technical and business services at 18%, and the September 2025 changes did not alter this. Subtitling and localisation of software may also be billed under 998395, while voice-over recording is closer to sound recording services, so split lines where a project includes both.
Much translation work is subcontracted from overseas language service providers. Where the client is located outside India, payment is received in foreign exchange and the agency is in India, the supply is an export of services. With an LUT, the invoice is zero-rated. The place of supply for these services is the recipient's location, so the fact that the source document is about India does not stop it being an export.
Individuals translating documents for a visa, admission abroad or a court case in India are domestic clients. A registered agency charges 18%, even if the document will be used abroad, because the recipient is in India. Notary fees paid to a notary public on the client's behalf can be recovered as pure-agent costs if they meet the conditions.
Agencies depend on freelance translators. Registered freelancers charge GST that the agency claims as credit; unregistered ones do not. Income-tax TDS may apply under section 194J. Freelancers abroad billing an Indian agency for services make an import of services, on which the agency pays IGST under reverse charge and then claims credit.
Interpretation services at conferences held in India for a foreign organiser are, for many cases, supplied where the event takes place. Check the place of supply rule for event-related services before treating such a job as an export.
A small agency under ₹20 lakh need not register. Agencies with foreign clients cannot use the composition scheme because it does not allow export or inter-state supplies, so the regular scheme with LUT is the usual route.
Software, app and website localisation projects run for weeks and cover many languages at once. Invoice them by language and milestone, with the word count translated, the review or proofreading pass and any desktop publishing or formatting work shown separately. A typical structure is one line per target language for translation, one for linguistic review, and one for formatting the final files. Translation memory discounts for repeated or fuzzy-matched segments should be shown as reduced word counts or a stated discount, because clients compare your invoice with the analysis report produced by their translation tool, and an unexplained difference is the most common reason for holding payment on these projects.
Translation and interpretation services under SAC 998395 are taxed at 18%.
Not if the supply qualifies as export of services and you have an LUT. The invoice is zero-rated.
Use the number of words as the quantity and the per-word rate as the unit price, and state whether the count is of source or target text.
Yes, at 18%, including the translator's certification charge. Notary fees paid to a separate notary in the client's name can be shown as reimbursements.
Sources: PIB — Recommendations of the 56th GST Council (Annexure III, services rate changes) · GSTN — Official HSN/SAC master list (SAC_MSTR sheet) · GST Council — Notification 11/2017-CT(Rate), services rates (consolidated)
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