New Delhi, Nov 20 (KNN) An 18 percent GST rate on back office and support services to multinational companies could lead to "unwarranted disputes", potential job losses and may dent India's image as a global service provider, said Nasscom , a software industry body.

On a recent order by Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) that back office services do not qualify as exports and are taxable under GST, Nassom warned it could lead to government entities demanding retrospective tax from companies based in India, and also render players "non-competitive" in the global market.

In a statement, Nasscom said, "If the implication of this ruling is not suitably clarified, it will make our companies non-competitive in the global market, potentially resulting in loss of revenue, jobs and customers."

This will have a direct impact on more than 500 GICs (Global In-house Centres) with over 3.5 lakh employees currently operating out of India, and supporting their global counterparts, the statement added.

"At a time when, when India's image is bullish on ease of doing business parameters, it is advisable that we ensure a transparent and clear tax regime to maintain our global leadership position," Nasscom said.

The AAR ruling has taken the industry by "surprise", Nasscom said.

Nasscom pointed out, "This could lead to unwarranted disputes and uncertainty in case of exports as once a service is treated as 'intermediary service' under the GST laws, then these services would not qualify as 'export of service' even if they are rendered to overseas entities and GST would apply."

India is a large hub for export of an array of IT-enabled services with exports being over $126 billion in FY2017-18, Nasscom said.

The software body said it is hopeful of early resolution on this matter to address industry's concerns.