Review on permanent establishment under treaty failed where no apparent error was shown on the record

Review under Section 260A of the Income-tax Act is confined to an apparent error on the face of the record. In this matter, the core dispute concerned permanent establishment under treaty provisions, and the material showed that the appellate issue had been decided mainly with reference to Article 5(2)(j). There was no concluded basis to treat Article 5(2)(a), (b) and (c) as separately formulated and decided on the facts. The Court found no apparent error in the earlier judgment and, on that basis, the review petitions were not maintainable on merits.

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Issues: Whether the review petitions were maintainable on the ground of an error apparent on the face of the record in relation to the finding on permanent establishment under the treaty provisions.

Analysis: Review under Section 260A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 lies only where an apparent error is shown on the face of the record. The material on record showed that the core issue before the appellate authorities had been decided mainly with reference to Article 5(2)(j) of the treaty, and there was no concluded basis for treating Article 5(2)(a), (b) and (c) as having been independently formulated and decided on facts. The Court found no error apparent in the earlier judgment so as to justify interference in review.

Conclusion: The review petitions were not maintainable on merits and were dismissed.

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