GST for Performing Artists in India

The default GST rate on services of performing artists is 18% under SAC 999631. Unregistered artists (turnover below the registration threshold) do not charge GST. Folk and classical performances up to ₹1,50,000 per performance are exempt when the artist is not acting as a brand ambassador, under entry 78 of Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). Ticket revenue is a separate supply with its own rules.

This guide walks through when you charge GST, when you don't, which document to issue, and how to handle the peculiar situations that come up on real bookings — brand-ambassador performances, ticketed shows, multi-state travel and reimbursements.

Contents

1. Do you need to be GST-registered?
2. The GST rate on artist fees
3. The folk and classical exemption
4. The brand-ambassador clause
5. Which document to issue
6. Place of supply and CGST vs IGST
7. Ticket revenue is a separate supply
8. Worked examples
9. Common mistakes
10. Frequently asked questions

Do you need to be GST-registered?

Under section 22(1) of the CGST Act, a supplier of services must register when their aggregate turnover in a financial year crosses ₹20 lakh. Four northeastern states — Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura — retain the older ₹10 lakh threshold. Sikkim, Uttarakhand and the rest opted for ₹20 lakh after the 2023 Council decision.

If you are below the threshold, you do not need to register, and you do not charge GST on your fees. Your invoices should carry a plain-English line stating you are not registered under GST. Some corporate clients may still ask for a formal declaration, which is easy to draft.

If your turnover crosses the threshold mid-year, you must register within 30 days. From the date of registration onwards, your fees carry GST at 18%.

The GST rate on artist fees

Live performances by singers, musicians, DJs, dancers and stage performers fall under SAC 999631 and attract GST at 18%. This is set out in the Rate Schedule of Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate).

One point that trips people up: many artist booking sites and older CA notes use SAC 998596 for artist fees. That code is actually for "events, exhibitions, conventions and trade shows" — that is, event management. If you are an artist billing your own performance fee, SAC 999631 is the correct code. If you are running an event company that supplies the artist plus stage, sound, hospitality and coordination, then 998596 fits the composite service.

Talent-agency commission (the cut an agency takes from the artist's fee) is also sometimes filed under the wrong code. SAC 996111 covers "services of commission agents" and SAC 998599 covers "other support services not elsewhere classified" — either fits an agency commission depending on the exact contract. The rate is 18% in every case.

The folk and classical exemption

Entry 78 of Notification 12/2017-CTR exempts services of a performing artist by way of a performance in folk or classical art forms of music, dance, or theatre — subject to two conditions:

1. Consideration for the performance is ₹1,50,000 or less.
2. The artist is not performing as a brand ambassador.

The exemption is per performance, not per year. If a folk singer performs at three weddings for ₹80,000 each, all three are exempt individually. If a fourth booking is ₹1,60,000, the exemption does not apply to that fourth booking — 18% GST applies on the full ₹1,60,000, not just the excess.

What counts as folk or classical? The notification does not define the terms exhaustively. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has clarified in FAQs that it covers the traditional forms — Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Odissi, Kathakali, Carnatic and Hindustani classical vocal or instrumental, along with the state folk traditions (Punjabi folk, Bhojpuri folk, Rajasthani folk and so on).

Modern film music, popular Bollywood, fusion, jazz, pop, Sufi in a commercial concert context — these do not qualify as folk or classical for this exemption, even if the artist is well known for a traditional style. The character of the specific performance matters.

The brand-ambassador clause

The second condition of entry 78 disqualifies any performance where the artist is acting as a brand ambassador. This means if a corporate client hires a folk artist and the fee includes a licence to use the artist's name and image in the corporate's marketing materials, the performance is no longer exempt. 18% GST applies to the whole fee.

In practice this comes up in three situations:

• Corporate events where the deck for the day carries the artist's photo as part of the sponsor branding.
• Music festivals where the artist appears in official promotional videos and posters as a headliner promoted by the festival's sponsor.
• Wedding sangeet bookings where the client uploads professionally shot content and tags the artist in a way that promotes the client's business (rare, but it happens with hotelier-family weddings).

The safe rule: if you are a folk artist and the client wants to use your image or name in any marketing, price the booking as 18%-GST from the start.

Which document to issue

The document you issue depends on your registration status and whether the supply is taxable, exempt or zero-rated:

Situation	Document
Registered artist, taxable performance	Tax invoice (with GSTIN, HSN/SAC, CGST/SGST or IGST)
Registered artist, exempt performance (folk/classical ≤ ₹1.5L)	Bill of supply (with the exempt reason)
Unregistered artist	Plain invoice with a line noting "not registered under GST"
Advance received before performance	Receipt voucher, then tax invoice on completion
Booking cancelled after advance	Refund voucher

The bill of supply for an exempt performance must state the reason on the face of the document. A one-liner like "Exempt under Sr. No. 78 of Notification 12/2017-CT(R)" is sufficient and shows the client's finance team that you know the rule.

Place of supply and CGST vs IGST

The place of supply for a live performance is the location of the event. If a Delhi-based singer performs at a wedding in Rajasthan, the place of supply is Rajasthan. This matters because it decides whether the invoice carries CGST + SGST (intra-state) or IGST (inter-state).

If the singer's GSTIN is registered in Delhi (state code 07) and the event is in Rajasthan (state code 08), the client is treated as receiving an inter-state supply. The invoice carries IGST at 18%, not CGST 9% + SGST 9%. The client's state (where they claim input credit) matters less than the event state.

The rule is different for pure services delivered without a physical presence — but a live performance is not pure service delivery. It is a specified service under section 12 of the IGST Act, and the place of supply is the location of the event.

Ticket revenue is a separate supply

If the show is ticketed and the artist is also the organiser, two GST supplies happen at the same event:

1. The performance fee (artist to organiser) — 18% GST under SAC 999631.
2. The ticket revenue (organiser to audience) — governed by entry 81 of Notification 12/2017-CTR.

Entry 81 exempts admission to a circus, dance, theatrical performance including drama or ballet, an award function, pageant, concert or a recognised sporting event, when the consideration for the right of admission is ₹500 or less per person. This threshold was raised from ₹250 to ₹500 by Notification 03/2018-CTR dated 25 January 2018.

If tickets are priced above ₹500, GST at 18% applies on the full price — not just the excess. Recognised sporting events remain nil-rated regardless of ticket price.

For an artist who is also organising the event, this means:

• Set aside the artist fee GST separately from the ticket GST.
• File both under the same GSTIN if you are one legal entity.
• Do not net the two off against each other — they are distinct supplies with different rules and different place-of-supply logic.

Worked examples

Example 1: Unregistered folk singer, ₹80,000 wedding

Amritsar-based Punjabi folk singer, annual turnover ₹8 lakh, does not want to register under GST. Books a wedding sangeet in Ludhiana for ₹80,000.

• Below the registration threshold — no GST charged.
• Issue a plain invoice for ₹80,000 with a line "Supplier is not registered under GST."
• Even after registration, the booking would still qualify for entry 78 exemption (folk, ≤ ₹1.5L, not brand ambassador). A registered artist would issue a bill of supply.

Example 2: Registered classical singer, ₹1,20,000 corporate

Chennai-based Carnatic vocalist, GST-registered in Tamil Nadu. Books a corporate cultural event in Bengaluru for ₹1,20,000 fixed. The client is a mid-sized IT services company. No branding rights, no ambassador role.

• Fee ₹1,20,000 — below the entry 78 threshold.
• Performance is classical vocal — qualifies.
• Artist is not a brand ambassador — qualifies.
• Issue a bill of supply for ₹1,20,000 with the exempt-reason line. No GST charged.

Example 3: Registered brand-ambassador folk singer, ₹1,25,000 corporate

Same singer, but the corporate wants to use the artist's photo and voice recording in a two-week awareness campaign afterwards.

• The performance is now bundled with an ambassador role.
• Entry 78 exemption is not available.
• Issue a tax invoice for ₹1,25,000 + ₹22,500 GST (IGST at 18%, since event is in Karnataka and singer's GSTIN is Tamil Nadu). Total: ₹1,47,500.

Example 4: Registered popular DJ, ₹5,00,000 corporate

Mumbai-based DJ, registered. Books a large corporate event in Mumbai. No folk or classical carve-out possible.

• Fee ₹5,00,000 + ₹90,000 GST (CGST 9% + SGST 9%, since same-state supply). Total: ₹5,90,000.
• Tax invoice with SAC 999631.

Common mistakes

Four errors show up in almost every artist GST audit we have reviewed:

Lump-sum invoicing for reimbursements. Travel, hotel and backline reimbursements clubbed with the performance fee. Not only does the whole line then carry GST, but the client's TDS is also computed on the higher amount. Split the reimbursements onto separate lines with clear labels.

Wrong SAC code. As covered above, artist fees are 999631, event management is 998596, agency commission is 996111 or 998599. Getting the SAC wrong will not usually change the tax you pay — the rate is 18% either way — but it flags your GSTR-1 filings for anomaly review by GSTN and slows refunds.

Missing the brand-ambassador clause. Folk and classical artists routinely claim entry 78 on corporate bookings without checking whether the client will use their image in marketing. When the client's marketing team later posts a video tagging the artist as a brand associate, the exemption is retrospectively voided.

GST-inclusive pricing. An artist quotes ₹1,00,000 to a client, gets paid ₹1,00,000, and only then discovers the client treated the quote as GST-inclusive. The artist owes GST out of their own pocket. Always quote and contract with an explicit "plus GST as applicable" line, or state a GST-inclusive figure with the GST amount broken out.

Frequently asked questions

What is the GST rate on artist performance fees in India?

The default rate is 18% under SAC 999631. Unregistered artists (turnover under ₹20 lakh) do not charge GST. Folk and classical performances up to ₹1.5 lakh per performance are exempt under entry 78 of Notification 12/2017-CTR when the artist is not acting as a brand ambassador.

Is folk music exempt from GST?

Yes, when the fee is ₹1,50,000 or less per performance and the artist is not a brand ambassador. Popular film, Bollywood, jazz and general pop do not qualify — the exemption is only for folk or classical art forms.

Do wedding singers need to charge GST?

Only if the singer is registered under GST. Once registered, a wedding singer charges 18% on the fee unless the entry 78 folk/classical exemption applies. Most modern wedding singers doing Bollywood or Sufi repertoire do not fall under the exemption.

What is the SAC code for singer services?

SAC 999631 covers services of performing artists. SAC 998596 is event management, not artist fees. Talent-agency commissions fit better under 996111 or 998599.

Do I charge CGST + SGST or IGST for a wedding in another state?

IGST, because the place of supply for a live performance is the location of the event. If your GSTIN is Delhi and the wedding is in Rajasthan, it is an inter-state supply.

Can I use one bill of supply for a multi-day festival?

Only if the entire supply is a single performance under one contract. Multi-day festivals are usually contracted as multiple performances, each below ₹1.5L. Each performance qualifies for the exemption independently.

What if my client insists on a tax invoice even though the supply is exempt?

Issue a bill of supply. A tax invoice for an exempt supply is a filing error. Explain to the client that under CGST Rule 46A, an exempt supply cannot be documented on a tax invoice, and offer them the bill of supply with the exemption reference clearly noted.

MyShowPage's rules engine picks the correct document for you automatically, based on your registration status, the art-form class you set at onboarding, the brand-ambassador flag on the booking and the state pair. See the GST-check tool if you want to test a specific booking against the rules.