GST on Influencer Services in India: RCM, Invoicing and Input Credit

Influencer services are services, so the GST registration threshold is ₹20 lakh annual aggregate turnover (₹10 lakh in special-category states). Aggregate means everything — brand fees, YouTube AdSense, affiliate income — not just the invoice in front of you.

A critical trap: export income (AdSense, brand deals from foreign companies) counts toward the threshold and has its own zero-rating paperwork. Many mid-size YouTubers crossed the threshold years before anyone told them, and the regularisation conversation is far more expensive than timely registration.

Influencer services attract 18% GST under SAC 9983 or related professional-service codes. A GST-registered creator must issue a tax invoice with their GSTIN, your GSTIN, the SAC code, and the tax broken out as CGST+SGST (same state) or IGST (inter-state).

Brands: check the GSTIN on the portal before paying. Fake and cancelled GSTINs on creator invoices are common enough that verification should be a payment-gate step, because invalid GSTINs kill your input credit.

Domestically, unregistered creators below the threshold simply invoice without GST — no reverse charge for the brand on typical creator services. The reverse charge matters most for imports of services: paying a foreign creator or platform directly can attract RCM at 18%, payable by the Indian brand, then claimable as credit if you are registered.

Watch the agency-vs-creator distinction too: when you pay an agency that pays creators, the agency invoices you with GST and handles the creator layer. That is often the cleanest structure for brands without creator-payment infrastructure.

Creator fees with valid tax invoices are creditable input services for GST-registered brands using them for business. The failure modes: invoices missing your GSTIN, creators who collected GST but never filed (your credit dies with their non-compliance — another reason to work with professional creators or agencies), and credit claimed on personal or exempt use.

Reconcile quarterly: match creator invoices against GSTR-2B before closing books. Marketing teams book the expense; finance must verify the credit actually appeared.