Sections 12 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Two sub-sections dealing with the same event from opposite ends — the delegate buying a ticket, and the business commissioning the event.
Section 12(6): the place of supply of services by way of admission to a cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment event or amusement park or any other place, and services ancillary thereto, shall be the place where the event is actually held or where the park or such other place is located. No registration split. Section 12(7): the place of supply of services by way of (a) organisation of such an event, including services in relation to a conference, fair, exhibition, celebration or similar events, or (b) services ancillary to organisation, or assigning of sponsorship to such events — (i) to a registered person, the location of such person; (ii) to a person other than a registered person, the place where the event is actually held, and if the event is held outside India, the location of the recipient. The Explanation apportions a multi-State event across States in proportion to the value collected or determined under the contract.
Section 12(6): admission follows the venue
The scope: admission to a cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational, entertainment event or an amusement park or any other place, and services ancillary thereto.
The test: where the event is actually held, or where the park or such other place is located.
No registration split. A delegate ticket bought by a company registered in Delhi for a conference held in Hyderabad has its place of supply in Telangana — the CGST and SGST of Telangana are charged, and the Delhi registration cannot use them.
"Any other place" widens it beyond an amusement park: a museum, a zoo, a heritage site, an observation deck, a sporting venue.
"Services ancillary thereto" brings in what is supplied as part of the admission — a programme, a guided tour, an access upgrade — provided it is genuinely ancillary to the admission rather than a separate supply.
Section 12(7): organisation follows the registered customer
The scope is wider than "events". Clause (a) covers organisation of a cultural, artistic, sporting, scientific, educational or entertainment event "including supply of services in relation to a conference, fair, exhibition, celebration or similar events". So a trade fair, an exhibition, a conference and a corporate celebration are within it.
Clause (b) adds services ancillary to organisation of any of those, or assigning of sponsorship to such events.
The test splits:
(i) To a registered person — the location of that person. So an event management company organising a conference in Goa for a client registered in Maharashtra has a place of supply in Maharashtra, and the client's credit is usable.
(ii) To an unregistered person — the place where the event is held; and if the event is held outside India, the location of the recipient.
The second limb of (ii) is worth noting. It contemplates an event outside India with both supplier and recipient in India — which s.12(1) requires — and returns the place of supply to the recipient's location, keeping the supply within India. The same drafting device as the proviso to s.12(3).
Sponsorship: two provisions to read together
Section 12(7)(b) places assigning of sponsorship to such events under the s.12(7) test — the registered sponsor's location, or the venue for an unregistered sponsor.
And sponsorship is a reverse charge supply. Sponsorship services provided to a body corporate or partnership firm located in the taxable territory are notified under s.9(3) of the CGST Act and s.5(3) of the IGST Act for payment by the recipient.
So a corporate sponsor:
- determines the place of supply as its own location under s.12(7)(b)(i);
- pays the tax under reverse charge;
- issues a self-invoice under s.31(3)(f), since the supplier may be unregistered;
- and takes the credit, subject to the s.16 conditions and the s.17(5) blocked-credit tests. Reverse charge time of supply →
The result is neutral for a fully creditable sponsor — but the compliance steps are real, and the self-invoice is the one most often missed.
The Explanation: a multi-State event
"Where the event is held in more than one State or Union territory and a consolidated amount is charged for supply of services relating to such event, the place of supply of such services shall be taken as being in each of the respective States or Union territories in proportion to the value for services separately collected or determined in terms of the contract or agreement entered into in this regard or, in the absence of such contract or agreement, on such other basis as may be prescribed."
Two conditions for it to operate: the event is held in more than one State, and a consolidated amount is charged.
Where the contract prices each leg separately, there is no consolidated amount and no apportionment question — each leg is determined on its own.
Where it does not, the apportionment follows the same hierarchy as s.12(3): value separately collected, then value determined under the contract, then a prescribed basis.
The drafting point is identical: a contract for a roadshow, a multi-city conference series or a travelling exhibition should state the value attributable to each State, or the basis for determining it. That fixes both the tax and the credit position, and it costs nothing at the drafting stage.
A single event, four sub-sections
For a corporate conference held in one State for a client registered in another, the supplies divide:
| Element | Sub-section | Place of supply | Credit usable by an out-of-State client? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue hire | 12(3)(c) | The venue | No |
| Accommodation for delegates | 12(3)(b) | The hotel | No |
| Catering at the venue | 12(3)(c) or 12(4) | The venue / where performed | No |
| Event organisation | 12(7)(a)(i) | Client's location | Yes |
| Delegate admission | 12(6) | The venue | No |
| Sponsorship received | 12(7)(b)(i) | Sponsor's location | Yes, on reverse charge |
The planning consequence. Where an event management company contracts for the whole event and invoices a single organisation fee, the place of supply is the client's location under s.12(7)(a)(i) and the credit is usable. Where the client contracts directly with the venue, hotel and caterer, those supplies land in the venue State and the credit is not usable.
That is a genuine and lawful difference in outcome, driven by who contracts with whom — and it should be decided before the event, not discovered in the reconciliation afterwards. Section 12(3) →
Key takeaways
- Section 12(6) places admission at the venue, with no registration split.
- Section 12(7) places organisation and sponsorship at the registered recipient's location.
- For an unregistered recipient, s.12(7) uses the venue — or the recipient's location if the event is abroad.
- Sponsorship is also a reverse charge supply for a body corporate or partnership firm, needing a self-invoice.
- A multi-State event with a consolidated charge is apportioned by the contract.
- Who contracts with whom decides whether event credit is usable — a decision to take before the event.
Read next
- Section 12(3): Immovable Property and the Proportionate Rule
- Sections 12(4) and 12(5): Performance-Based and Training Services
- Section 12(8): Transportation of Goods and the Omitted Proviso
- The Sixty-Day Rule: Reverse Charge Time of Supply
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the IGST Act and the CGST Act as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition). Reverse charge on sponsorship operates by notification and should be checked against the current position.