New Delhi, Feb. 2 -- In a bid to cushion the blow following the steep hike in the securities transaction tax (STT) for the futures and options (F&O) market, the Indian government also unveiled a proposal that tweaks the way goods and services tax (GST) applies to intermediary services such as stockbroking.

The Finance Bill 2026 seeks to omit clause (b) of sub-section (8) of Section 13 of the IGST Act. The Budget memorandum stated, "Clause (b) of sub-section (8) of section 13 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is being omitted so as to provide that the place of supply for 'intermediary services' will be determined as per the default provision under section 13(2) of the IGST Act."

Earlier, Indian intermediaries such as sto...