The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), on January 23, 2026, issued a Consultation Paper to seek public and stakeholder views on aligning the Default List of Authorised Services approved by the Department of Commerce for Special Economic Zone (SEZ) units with the Services Accounting Code (SAC) classification under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The objective is to remove inconsistencies between service descriptions used under the erstwhile Service Tax regime and the SAC-based classification now mandated under GST.
The consultation paper highlights that the existing Default List—originally issued in 2013 and subsequently expanded—continues to rely on Service Tax–era definitions, while GST requires SAC-based classification on invoices and statutory filings. This misalignment has resulted in interpretational and procedural difficulties, particularly for IFSC units procuring financial and other services from the Domestic Tariff Area (DTA), where invoice descriptions and SAC codes do not neatly correspond with the current Default List.
To address these challenges, IFSCA has proposed a revised Default List of Authorized Services mapped to corresponding SAC codes to ensure clarity, consistency, and uniform interpretation for availing IGST exemptions. A draft mapped list has been prepared and circulated as Annexure-A, and stakeholders have been invited to submit comments and suggestions by 16 February 2026 to facilitate finalisation of the aligned framework.
