Settled treaty positions on advertisement revenue, distribution receipts, and refund interest were followed in later assessment years.

Identical taxability issues already settled in the assessee's own earlier years were followed for the later years, so advertisement revenue was treated as not taxable in India for want of a business connection or permanent establishment. Distribution receipts were also held not taxable as royalty or business income, and the presence of arm's length remuneration to the Indian group entity did not alter that position. Interest on tax refunds was dealt with under the earlier treaty-based ruling and the special bench view, leaving no separate adverse tax consequence on the alternative grounds.

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Issues: (i) taxability of advertisement revenues and the existence of a business connection or permanent establishment in India; (ii) taxability of distribution revenues, including whether they constituted royalty or business income and whether arm's length remuneration to the Indian group entity affected taxability; (iii) taxability of interest received under section 244A and its treatment under the treaty.

Issue (i): taxability of advertisement revenues and the existence of a business connection or permanent establishment in India.

Analysis: The issue was covered by the assessee's own earlier year decision, which had been followed in subsequent proceedings. The Tribunal noted that the earlier view on advertisement revenue had already been affirmed, and the same factual and legal position continued to apply for the years in question.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

Issue (ii): taxability of distribution revenues, including whether they constituted royalty or business income and whether arm's length remuneration to the Indian group entity affected taxability.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed its earlier order in the assessee's own case and treated the distribution receipts as already settled in favour of the assessee. On that basis, the Tribunal accepted that the receipts were not taxable as royalty in India and that the related ground had no separate surviving controversy.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

Issue (iii): taxability of interest received under section 244A and its treatment under the treaty.

Analysis: The Tribunal followed the earlier decision in the assessee's case and applied the special bench view governing interest under section 244A for treaty purposes. The related alternative grounds were treated as infructuous once the primary issue was answered in the assessee's favour.

Conclusion: The issue was decided in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The consolidated appeals were resolved by applying the earlier binding view in the assessee's own case, with all substantive taxability issues answered in the assessee's favour and no surviving adverse addition upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Where identical taxability issues in subsequent assessment years are already concluded in the assessee's favour on the same facts and have attained finality, the later bench should follow that settled view and grant the same treatment for advertisement revenue, distribution revenue, and section 244A interest.

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