International Mapping Guidelines

Overview

The purpose of this guideline is to inform AFC software clients how to map international transactions.

AFC currently supports multiple international jurisdictions. Section 2 of this guideline contains the different Tax Types (section 2.1), different Transaction/Service pairs (section 2.2), and a link to supported jurisdictions (section 2.3) used internationally. Starting in Section 3 of this guideline, we provide directions for mapping of international jurisdictions that use alternative methodologies in AvaTax for Communications because of their unique taxing regime. The required Tax Types and Transaction/Service pairs are listed within each section.

International Mapping

Tax Types

The following Tax Types are used for international taxation.

Tax Type	Name	Description
5	Excise Tax	Excise taxes are imposed at the manufacturer and/or retail level and are virtually indistinguishable from a sales tax to the consumer. However, many excise taxes are considered part of the sale or gross receipts and are therefore taxes by sales and/or gross receipts taxes.
8	License Tax	Tax based upon the granting of a license to perform a service to the community. In many cases, this tax can be passed on to consumers.
14	Statutory Gross Receipts	Tax based upon the gross receipts of one or more transaction and service type combinations.
65	VAT	International based tax on the final consumption of certain goods and services.
66	Goods and Service Tax (GST)	Goods and service tax based on consumption.
298	Universal Service Fee	The purpose of the fund depends upon the state; however, these are typically used for items such as funding schools or subsidizing the cost of telecommunications users in remote locations.
393	Tasa de Control	A telecommunications regulatory fee applied in Argentina.
394	Radio Rights Fee	A fee applied per station and per frequency to providers of Mobile Telecommunications.
409	VAT (Reduced Rate)	Similar to Tax Type 65 (VAT) but applied at a reduced rate.
464	VAT (Wireless)	Similar to Tax Type 65 (VAT) but only applied to wireless services.
465	VAT (Communications)	Similar to Tax Type 65 (VAT) but only applied to communications services.
527	National Sales Tax	Similar to Tax Type 1 (Sales Tax) but only applied to international jurisdictions levying sales tax.
550	Telecommunications Levy	Telecommunications tax to be used for international jurisdictions.
551	Telecommunications Levy (Internet)	Telecommunications tax on internet access to be used for international jurisdictions.
556	Turnover Tax	An indirect tax on goods and services.
558	Turnover Tax (Reduced Rate)	Similar to Turnover Tax (Tax Type 556) but applied at a reduced rate.
559	National Sales Tax (Wholesale)	Similar to National Sales Tax (Tax Type 527) but applied only to wholesale transactions.
564	Broadcast Tax	A tax on the provision of digital content.
607	NHIL	A tax on goods and services to support National Health Insurance.
608	GETFund Levy	A tax on goods and services to support the Ghana Education Trust Fund.
609	Covid 19 Levy	A tax on goods and services to raise revenue to support Covid 19 expenditures.
610	VAT (Increased Rate)	Similar to VAT (Tax Type 65) but applied at an increased rate.

Valid Transaction/Service Pairs

Only the following Transaction/Service pairs should be used for international service mapping.

Transaction Type	Service Type	Name	Description
14	15	International/Product	Supply of goods for consideration within countries other than Canada, USA, and US territories.
14	636	International/Remotely Accessed Software	A service that provides access and usage of software that remains in the possession of the seller and is remotely accessed by a customer. Only to be used in international jurisdictions.
14	676	International/Digital Downloaded Audio	The purchase of audio via the internet. The purchaser retains possession of the audio. Only to be used in international jurisdictions.
14	677	International/Digital Streaming Audio	The purchase of audio via the internet. The purchaser does not retain possession of the audio. Only to be used in international jurisdictions.
14	678	International/Digital Downloaded Video	The purchase of video via the internet. The purchaser retains possession of the video. Only to be used in international jurisdictions.
14	679	International/Digital Streaming Video	The purchase of video via the internet. The purchaser does not retain possession of the video. Only to be used in international jurisdictions.
14	680	International/Digital Downloaded Video Game	The purchase of a video game via the internet. The purchaser retains possession of the video game. Only to be used in international jurisdictions.
14	681	International/Digital Streaming Video Game	The purchase of a video game via the internet. The purchaser does not retain possession of the video game. Only to be used in international jurisdictions.
14	682	International/Downloaded Software	Charges for software transferable to the computer by electronic means. Customer retains possession of the software. Only to be used in international jurisdictions.
15	7	Telephony/Service	All telephone service in countries other than the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
15	624	Telephony/Wireless Service	All wireless telephone service in countries other than the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
15	627	Telephony/Internet Access	All Internet Access in countries other than Canada, USA and US territories.
15	629	Telephony/Messaging Services	All Messaging Services in countries other than Canada, USA and US territories.

International Jurisdiction List

Reference the Supported regions guide for a complete list of international jurisdictions and ISO codes.

Canada

As currently configured, the AFC tax engine does not limit Canada to the International specific Tax Types and Transaction/Service pairs.

Valid Transaction/Service pairs utilized in Canada are the same as those used for US mapping, encompassing telecom products and services as listed in the TM_00115_AFC Transaction and Service Types document.

Do not attempt to use International Transaction Types (14) or Telephony Transaction Types (15) in Canada.

Tax Types returned in Canada are generally Goods and Services Tax and Provincial Sales Taxes.

The following Tax Types will return in Canada:

Tax	Tax Type	Tax Level	Description
E-911	10	1 (State)	Provides funding for the emergency 911 systems.
Goods and Service Tax (GST)	66	0 (Federal)	Goods and service tax based on consumption.
Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)	67	1 (State)	Provincial sales tax applied in specific Canadian provinces. Rate is a combination of the provincial sales tax and the national GST.
Provincial Sales Tax (PST)	68	1 (State)	Sales tax applied at the provincial level.
Quebec Sales Tax (QST)	69	1 (State)	Specific sales tax applied only in the province of Quebec, Canada.
National Contribution Regime (NCR)	70	0 (Federal)	National Canadian tax on telecom for the provisioning of universal service throughout Canada. Similar to the Federal USF.
Provincial Sales Tax (TOLL)	181	1 (State)	Sales tax applied in various Canadian provinces. This tax type applies to Toll Services only.
E-911 Service Fee (NL 911 Bureau)	435	1 (State)	Newfoundland and Labrador’s Provincial E911 Fee.
Retail Sales Tax (RST)	606	1 (State)	A tax applied to the retail sale or rental of goods and services.

Canadian Sourcing rules

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) addresses telecom sourcing rules in its GST/HST Technical Information Bulletin B-103. The AFC tax engine applies these sourcing rules to telecommunications services provided in Canada.

The document states the following:

A supply of a telecommunication service of making telecommunications facilities available (other than a service of granting sole access to a telecommunications channel) is made in a province if:

all of the facilities are ordinarily located in that province; or
where not all of the facilities are ordinarily located in the province, the invoice for the supply is sent to an address in that province.

For other types of supplies of telecommunication services (other than a service of granting sole access to a telecommunications channel), the supply is made in a province if the telecommunication:

is both emitted and received in that province;
is either emitted or received in that province and the billing location for the service is located in that province; or
is emitted in the province and received outside the province and the billing location for the service is not in a province where the telecommunication is emitted or received.

India

Effective 1 July 2017, India replaced its indirect tax system with a goods and services tax (GST). This new structure includes separate rates for general goods and services and telecommunications services.

Indian states and territories are available in the AFC tax engine (see Indian States for a complete list). In order to accurately return interstate supply and intrastate supply tax results, it is necessary to pass the associated transaction with the proper state.

Interstate Supply occurs where the location of the supplier and the place of supply of goods are in (a) two different States; (b) two different Union territories; or (c) a State and a Union territory.

When passing a sale of interstate goods or services in India, use International/Product – India Interstate Supply (T/S pair 14/658). When passing a sale of an interstate telecommunications service in India, use Telephony – India Interstate Service (T/S pair 15/656).

Intrastate Supply occurs where the location of the supplier and the place of supply of goods are in the same State or same Union territory.

When passing a sale of intrastate goods or services in India, use International/Product – India Intrastate Supply (T/S pair 14/659). When passing a sale of an intrastate telecommunications service in India, use Telephony/India Intrastate Supply (T/S pair 15/657).

The following Transaction/Service pairs should be used to return taxation in India:

Transaction Type	Service Type	Name	Description
14	658	International/Product - India Interstate Supply	Supply of goods for consideration within India in which the location of the supplier and the place of supply occur in different states or territories.
14	659	International/Product - India Intrastate Supply	Supply of goods for consideration within India in which the location of the supplier and the place of supply occur in the same state or territory.
15	656	Telephony/Service - India Interstate Supply	Telephone service in India in which the location of the supplier and the place of supply occur in different states or territories.
15	657	Telephony/Service - India Intrastate Supply	Telephone service in India in which the location of the supplier and the place of supply occur in the same state or territory.

The following Tax Types will return in India:

Tax	Tax Type	Tax Level	Description
IGST	488	0 (Federal)	Integrated goods and service tax based on consumption.
IGST (Communications)	482	0 (Federal)	Integrated goods and service tax based on consumption but applied only to communications services.
CGST	483	0 (Federal)	National goods and service tax based on consumption within the boundary of a state or territory.
CGST (Communications)	484	0 (Federal)	Similar to Tax Type 483 (CGST) but applied only to communications services.
SGST	485	1 (State)	State goods and service tax based on consumption within the boundary of a state or territory.
SGST (Communications)	486	1 (State)	Similar to Tax Type 485 (SGST) but applied only to communications services.

China

China uses the Transaction/Service pairs and Tax Types as listed in Section 2.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong has different taxation rules than other locations in China. To return proper taxation, Hong Kong should be specified as a state within China using the two-letter state code HK or PCode 5101401.

Although valid Transaction/Service pairs utilized in Hong Kong are the same as those used for China, the VAT rate is not returned in Hong Kong.

Country Code	State Code	PCode
CHN	HK	5101401

United States Territories

To return proper taxation for US Territories, Territories should be specified as a state within the US using the two letter state code.

Valid Transaction/Service pairs utilized in US Territories are the same as those used for US mapping, encompassing the full spectrum of telecom products and services as listed in the TM_00115_AFC Transaction and Service Types document.

Do not attempt to use International Transaction Type (14) or Telephony Transaction Type (15) in US Territories.

Country	US Territory Name	FIPS State Alpha Code
United States of America	American Samoa	AS
United States of America	Federated States of Micronesia	FM
United States of America	Guam	GU
United States of America	Marshall Islands	MH
United States of America	Northern Mariana Islands	MP
United States of America	Palau	PW
United States of America	Puerto Rico	PR
United States of America	Virgin Islands of the U.S.	VI

Populating Data

The data required for accurate taxation varies from service type to service type. The following chart lists which data to populate for each service type.

Transaction Type	Service Type	Description	Required Input Data
14	15	International/Product	Amount
14	636	International/Remotely Accessed Software	Amount
14	658	International/Product - India Interstate Supply	Amount
14	659	International/Product - India Intrastate Supply	Amount
14	676	International/Digital Downloaded Audio	Amount
14	677	International/Digital Streaming Audio	Amount
14	678	International/Digital Downloaded Video	Amount
14	679	International/Digital Streaming Video	Amount
14	680	International/Digital Downloaded Video Game	Amount
14	681	International/Digital Streaming Video Game	Amount
14	682	International/Downloaded Software	Amount
15	7	Telephony/Service	Amount, Minutes
15	624	Telephony/Wireless Service	Amount, Minutes
15	627	Telephony/Internet Access	Amount, Minutes
15	629	Telephony/Messaging Services	Amount
15	656	Telephony/Service - India Interstate Supply	Amount
15	657	Telephony/Service - India Intrastate Supply	Amount