Judgment/ Case Laws/Case studies

🏏 Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. vs. Dy. DIT (IT) Mumbai ITAT on Sponsorship Payments, Royalty & Refund of Excess TDS under India–Singapore DTAA (2024) 📌 Background Payments made by Indian companies to non-residents for sponsorship, branding, and marketing rights—especially in high-profile international sporting events—often attract scrutiny under Section 9(1)(vi) as “royalty”. The Revenue frequently treats […]

📺 Turner Broadcasting System Asia Pacific Inc. vs. Dy. CIT Delhi ITAT on TV Channel Distribution Revenue & Royalty under India–USA DTAA (2024) 📌 Background The taxation of revenues earned by foreign broadcasters from India—particularly from advertising sales and distribution of television channels through Indian affiliates—has been a persistent area of litigation. The Revenue has […]

📡 DIT vs. UT Starcom Inc. Delhi ITAT on Embedded Telecom Software, Royalty & Section 234B Interest (2023–24) 📌 Background Cross-border transactions involving telecommunication equipment supplied with embedded software have historically attracted aggressive tax positions from the Revenue, particularly by characterising such receipts as royalty under Section 9(1)(vi) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Another recurring […]

🌐 CIT (IT) v. Colgate Palmolive Marketing Sdn Bhd Bombay High Court Rules: No Royalty/FTS, No PE, No Taxability in India (2024) 📌 Background Cross-border payments often trigger disputes on whether the income is taxable in India under Section 9(1)(vi)/9(1)(vii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, or whether relief under a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) […]

📺 CIT (IT) vs. Nagravision S.A. – Delhi High Court: Sale of Conditional Access Systems & Middleware Not Royalty Under India–Switzerland DTAA (2024) 📌 Background The taxation of cross-border software and technology transactions continues to be one of the most extensively litigated issues under Indian international tax law. Section 9(1)(vi) of the Income-tax Act expands […]

⚙️ CIT (I) vs. ABB Inc. Karnataka High Court: Project-Specific Risk Review Services Not Royalty or FIS under India–USA DTAA (2024) 📌 Background Under Indian tax law, income of a non-resident may be deemed to accrue or arise in India if it constitutes royalty or fees for technical services (FTS) under Section 9(1)(vi)/(vii). However, when […]

💻 CIT (IT) vs. Microsoft Corporation Delhi High Court: Software Licence Payments Not Royalty under India–USA DTAA (2022) 📌 Background The question whether software licence payments constitute “royalty” under Section 9(1)(vi) of the Income-tax Act and Article 12 of India’s DTAAs has fuelled decades of litigation. The crux of the controversy lies in whether software […]

☁️ CIT (IT) vs. Salesforce.com Singapore Pte. Ltd. Delhi High Court: CRM Software Access Fees Not Royalty under India–Singapore DTAA (2024) 📌 Background With the rise of cloud-based applications and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms, the Indian tax authorities have frequently attempted to classify subscription fees paid by Indian customers to foreign SaaS providers as royalty or […]

🌐 GoDaddy.com LLC vs. ACIT Delhi High Court: Domain Name Registration Fees Not Royalty under India–USA DTAA (2024) 📌 Background The characterization of payments for domain name registration services has long remained contentious. Tax authorities frequently argued that fees paid for registering or maintaining a domain name constitute “royalty” under Section 9(1)(vi), equating a domain […]

💻 CIT (LTU) vs. Reliance Industries Ltd. Bombay High Court on Software Payments Not Being Royalty under India–Finland DTAA (2024) 📌 Background One of the most persistent controversies in international taxation relates to the characterization of payments for computer software made by Indian companies to foreign software suppliers. The Income-tax Department historically treated such payments […]