GST on AMC: SAC Code, Rate and How to Invoice an Annual Maintenance Contract

An annual maintenance contract (AMC) is a maintenance service, so it is classified under SAC heading 9987 (maintenance, repair and installation services) and taxed at 18% GST: 9% CGST plus 9% SGST when your customer is in your own state, or 18% IGST when the customer is in another state. The six-digit SAC code depends on the equipment you maintain, for example 998718 for lifts or 998717 for commercial and industrial machinery, but the rate is the same 18% across these codes.

This guide gives the SAC codes for the equipment service businesses usually cover, the rate with the CBIC notification behind it, how GST works on a comprehensive AMC that includes spare parts, when to raise the invoice if the customer pays quarterly, and a worked invoice with the numbers. It is written for businesses in India that sell AMCs on air conditioners, water purifiers, lifts, CCTV, DG sets, computers and lab equipment. It explains the rules; it is not tax advice, so check anything unusual with your CA.

HSN or SAC code for an annual maintenance contract

Goods are classified under HSN codes and services under SAC codes (Services Accounting Codes). Because an AMC is a service, people searching for the "AMC HSN code" are really looking for its SAC code. In the GST scheme of classification of services, maintenance work sits under heading 9987, maintenance, repair and installation (except construction) services, and most AMCs fall in group 99871, maintenance and repair of machinery and equipment.

The six-digit codes below are copied from the CBIC scheme of classification of services, the annexure to Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate). The right-hand column suggests which code usually fits; the classification is your decision as the supplier, so use the description that best matches the equipment.

How many digits you print depends on your turnover. A CBIC press release on HSN and SAC codes explains the rule: a business with turnover up to Rs 5 crore in the previous financial year must show at least 4 digits (9987) on invoices to registered customers, and a business above Rs 5 crore must show 6 digits (for example 998718).

GST rate on AMC

The rate comes from Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), serial number 25, heading 9987. Its general entry, "Maintenance, repair and installation (except construction) services" other than the few listed exceptions (such as aircraft and ship maintenance), carries central tax at 9%. State tax is charged at the same 9%, so the total is 18%.

The GST rate changes that took effect on 22 September 2025 did not alter this entry. Notification 15/2025-Central Tax (Rate), which made those changes to the services rate notification, amends several serial numbers but not serial number 25. Some SAC lookup tables online still list 28% against 9987; the notification does not. Check the current notification before relying on any table, including this one, because rates can change again.

CGST and SGST, or IGST?

The rate is 18% either way. What changes is how you split it on the invoice:

• Customer in your own state: 9% CGST plus 9% SGST (or UTGST in a union territory).
• Customer in another state: 18% IGST.

For a registered business customer, the place of supply is generally the customer's location, under section 12(2) of the IGST Act. So an AMC for a hospital registered in Karnataka, sold by a provider registered in Maharashtra, takes IGST, even if your technician travels across to do the visits. For an unregistered customer with an address on record, the place of supply is that address. If you are unsure for a particular contract, settle it with your CA once and record it on the customer.

GST on a comprehensive AMC that includes spare parts

A comprehensive AMC covers the service and the spare parts in one price. GST law has a rule for this kind of bundle: a composite supply (section 2(30) of the CGST Act) is two or more supplies naturally bundled together, and under section 8 it is taxed at the rate of the principal supply. In a maintenance contract the principal supply is the maintenance service, which points to 18% on the whole contract value.

Advance rulings have mostly gone that way. The Maharashtra Authority for Advance Ruling, for example, held a comprehensive maintenance arrangement for engines to be a composite supply taxable at 18%, the rate of the principal supply. The picture is not uniform, though: in 2019 the Rajasthan appellate authority upheld a ruling that a maintenance agreement including the supply and replacement of spare parts be taxed at the applicable rate of 12%, 18% or 28%, whichever is higher, as reported in coverage of the divergent AMC rulings. An advance ruling binds only the business that asked for it, so if your comprehensive contracts include expensive parts, agree the treatment with your CA and apply it consistently.

A non-comprehensive AMC is simpler. The contract fee is the maintenance service at 18%. When you replace a part and bill the customer for it, that part is a separate supply of goods, invoiced under the part's own HSN code at the rate that applies to it.

When to raise the GST invoice for an AMC

The timing depends on how the customer pays.

Paid in full for the year. Under section 13 of the CGST Act, the time of supply for a service is the earlier of the invoice date (if issued on time) and the date you receive the payment. If the customer pays the full year when signing, the GST on the whole contract is due for that period, even though the visits run across the next twelve months.

Paid in instalments. A contract that runs longer than three months with periodic payment obligations is a continuous supply of services under section 2(33). For these, section 31(5) says that where the due date of payment can be worked out from the contract, the invoice must be issued on or before that due date. A quarterly AMC therefore gets four invoices, one on or before each quarter's due date, and GST is paid quarter by quarter rather than all at once.

For other cases, rule 47 of the CGST Rules gives a service supplier 30 days from the date of supply to issue the invoice.

Worked example: an AMC invoice with the GST split

The contract below is the demo data in Fuzen AMC Hub, used to show the arithmetic; it is not a market rate.

A provider registered in Maharashtra signs a comprehensive AMC (AMC-0013) with a hospitality customer for 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027. The contract value is Rs 36,000 before GST.

The customer pays the same total in every column. The split only decides which ledger the tax goes to, and the billing pattern decides when you pay it.

What an AMC tax invoice must show

Rule 46 of the CGST Rules lists the contents of a tax invoice. For an AMC that means:

• Your name, address and GSTIN, and the customer's name, address and GSTIN if registered
• A consecutive serial invoice number, unique for the financial year, and the invoice date
• The SAC code, to the number of digits your turnover requires
• A description of the service, ideally with the contract number and period
• The taxable value, the GST rate and the CGST, SGST or IGST amounts
• The place of supply, with the state name, when the customer is in another state
• Your signature or digital signature

Writing the contract number and period into the description ("Annual maintenance contract AMC-0013, 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027") saves the most time later, because it ties every payment back to the right contract when the customer asks what an invoice was for.

Raising AMC invoices in Fuzen AMC Hub

In Fuzen AMC Hub, you open Billing and choose Raise invoice, then pick the contract. The description and taxable amount fill in from the contract, the GST rate comes from your settings, and the dialog shows the CGST and SGST split, the total and the invoice number before you save. Saving downloads the invoice PDF and moves the numbering on to the next number.

When the customer pays, you record the amount, date and mode against the invoice. A part payment lowers the outstanding balance and the invoice stays open as part paid until it is settled. The app does not take online payments; you record what you receive by bank transfer, UPI, cheque or cash. The billing guide walks through both steps, and the contracts guide covers setting up the contract the invoice is raised from.

Frequently asked questions

What is the HSN code for an annual maintenance contract?

An AMC is a service, so it has a SAC code rather than an HSN code. It falls under heading 9987 (maintenance, repair and installation services). The six-digit code depends on the equipment, for example 998717 for commercial and industrial machinery, 998718 for lifts and escalators or 998719 for other machinery and equipment.

What is the SAC code for AMC services?

Heading 9987, with six-digit codes in group 99871 by equipment type: 998712 office machines, 998713 computers, 998715 household appliances, 998716 telecom equipment, 998717 commercial and industrial machinery, 998718 elevators and escalators, and 998719 other machinery and equipment.

What is the GST rate on AMC?

18%. Notification 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), serial number 25, sets central tax at 9% on maintenance and repair services under heading 9987, and state tax is the same 9%. The September 2025 rate changes did not alter this entry.

Is GST on AMC charged as CGST and SGST or as IGST?

If the customer is in your state, charge 9% CGST and 9% SGST. If the customer is in another state, charge 18% IGST. For a registered business customer the place of supply is generally the customer's location.

What GST applies to a comprehensive AMC with spare parts?

A comprehensive AMC is usually treated as a composite supply with maintenance as the principal supply, which means 18% on the whole contract value. Advance rulings have not been uniform on this, so if your contracts include costly parts, agree the treatment with your CA.

When should the GST invoice for an AMC be raised?

If the customer pays the full year up front, GST falls due when you invoice or receive the payment, whichever is earlier. If the contract is paid in instalments, it is a continuous supply of services and each invoice must be issued on or before the payment due date set in the contract.

Is GST charged on spare parts billed outside a non-comprehensive AMC?

Yes. A part billed separately is a supply of goods, invoiced under the part's own HSN code at the GST rate that applies to that part, separate from the 18% on the contract fee.

If you sell AMCs and want contracts, visit schedules, renewals and GST invoices in one place, see Fuzen AMC Hub.