Executive summary
Of every jurisdiction covered on this site, Korea starts closest to India on the single point that trips up most others: threshold. The remaining differences are real, but narrower than most.
- Korea's VAT on electronic services, in force since 2015, applies 10% to non-resident providers from their very first B2C sale — no threshold, matching India exactly.
- A local representative is available but not required in Korea — India takes the same optional approach.
- Korea files quarterly; India's GSTR-5A is monthly.
- Korea's simplified registration scheme (used by most non-resident digital providers) offers no input tax credits — the same position India's OIDAR framework takes for all B2C supplies.
- Since 1 July 2025, foreign intermediaries and payment gateways operating in Korea face new quarterly transaction-reporting obligations.
The concept you already know: zero threshold
This is genuinely good news, and worth saying plainly before covering the real differences.
If your company already registers in Korea without waiting to hit a revenue milestone, you've already built the exact compliance instinct India requires. The gap to close is elsewhere — filing cadence and the absence of any input credit mechanism, covered next — not the threshold question itself.
Optional representative, quarterly filing
Two operational differences worth planning around specifically.
Korea does not require non-resident digital service providers to appoint a local tax agent — the National Tax Service allows direct registration and filing through HomeTax. India takes the same approach: an Indian authorised representative is available but optional, with many foreign OIDAR suppliers appointing one for convenience rather than legal necessity.
Where the two diverge is cadence: Korea's simplified-scheme returns are filed quarterly, due by the 25th of the month following each quarter. India's GSTR-5A is monthly, due by the 20th of the following month, with mandatory nil returns even in quiet months. A compliance calendar built around Korea's quarterly rhythm will under-serve India's monthly requirement if not adjusted specifically.
The July 2025 intermediary reporting rule
A recent, genuinely current Korean development worth knowing if you use any Korean-based payment infrastructure.
India's own enforcement approach relies on materially similar data — payment processor records, app store disclosures, and reverse-charge filings by Indian B2B customers, covered in our enforcement guide. If your compliance culture already assumes this level of data visibility in Korea, extending that same assumption to India is the right instinct.
Checklist
- Your zero-threshold instinct from Korea is correct for India too — no adjustment needed there
- Reset your compliance calendar for India's monthly GSTR-5A cadence, separate from Korea's quarterly rhythm
- Rebuild your India rate model independently — don't scale from Korea's 10% baseline
- Assume the same level of enforcement data visibility in India as Korea's new intermediary reporting rule implies for Korea
- Use our applicability checker to confirm your specific position
Common questions
Do Korean Companies have to pay tax in India?
If you sell digital services to customers in India, yes — but not income tax. The charge is GST, under India's OIDAR rules, and it applies to the sale rather than to your profits. There is no registration threshold: a single Indian consumer paying a small amount creates the obligation from that first sale. The rate is 18%. Where your Indian customer is a GST-registered business that gives you its GSTIN, the customer accounts for the tax instead under reverse charge and you do not collect it. Where the customer is a consumer or an unregistered business, you must register in India, charge 18%, and file a monthly return. Your home-country tax treaty does not remove this, because treaties cover income tax, not GST.
We have received an OIDAR GST notice from India — what should we do?
Treat it as time-bound. A Show Cause Notice carries a fixed response window, and if it passes without a reply the authority can decide the matter without hearing you, which is far harder to undo than it is to answer in time. Do not ignore it because your company has no Indian entity or presence — that does not limit the demand. Establish first what the notice actually is, since a routine enquiry, a DRC-01 and a Show Cause Notice carry different deadlines and consequences. Pull together your India revenue by period, your customer classification, and any GSTINs you captured, because the reply stands or falls on that evidence. Our notice response guidenotice response guide sets out the sequence in detail.
Glossary
A finance leader with over three decades in taxation, corporate governance, and cross-border advisory. Former Independent Director of Steel Authority of India (SAIL), a Maharatna PSU, and Independent Director of CSL Finance Limited, a listed NBFC. Read full profile →
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