This circular provides clarification on the applicability of GST exemption to maritime courses approved by the Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) and conducted by Maritime Training Institutes in India.

It clarifies that under GST law, services provided by an educational institution to its students, faculty, and staff are exempt from GST, provided the education is imparted as part of a curriculum leading to a qualification recognised by law. The circular examines whether DG Shipping approved maritime institutes and their courses meet this criterion.

Reference is made to the Merchant Shipping Act, 1958 and the Merchant Shipping (Standards of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for Seafarers) Rules, 2014, under which certificates of competency for seafarers are prescribed and the DG Shipping is empowered to approve training institutes, courses, and assessment programmes. These statutory provisions establish that maritime training and certification are regulated and recognised under law.

Based on this framework, the circular clarifies that Maritime Training Institutes conducting courses approved by DG Shipping qualify as educational institutions for GST purposes. Consequently, the services provided by such institutes in respect of DG Shipping approved maritime courses are exempt from GST, subject to fulfilment of the conditions prescribed under Sl. No. 66 of Notification No. 12/2017–Central Tax (Rate). The same clarification applies to corresponding IGST, UTGST and SGST notifications.