2020 (11) TMI 1091 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal Remands Tax Dispute for Fresh Determination 'sLengthPrice

The Tribunal allowed the appeals for statistical purposes and remanded the matters back to the Taxation Officer (TPO)/Assessing Officer for fresh ... TP Adjustment - payment made for management related activities under CSA which has been taken at ‘Nil’ by the TPO - HELD THAT:- This adjustment is a recurring issue in assessee’s own case right from the Assessment Years 2007-08, 2009-10 and Assessment Year 2012-13 [2018 (5) TMI 848 - ITAT DELHI]. The Tribunal has remanded this issue to the file of the Assessing Officer with certain directions. Thus, in the same lines, we direct the TPO to carry out fresh analysis and determine the Arm’s Length Price and the payments relating to other R&D task and decide the issue fresh in accordance with law. Appeals of the assessee are allowed for statistical purposes. Issues:Transfer Pricing Adjustment on account of payment for Research and Development and other R&D related services.Analysis:Issue 1: Transfer Pricing Adjustment on Research and Development (R&D) and other R&D related services- The appeals were filed against final assessment orders for various Assessment Years, with a common issue of Transfer Pricing Adjustment on R&D and other related services.- The Taxation Officer (TPO) characterized payments under a Cost Sharing Agreement (CSA) as Intra-Group Services (IGS) and determined the arm's length price at 'Nil'.- The TPO proposed an upward adjustment towards the intra-group services based on the Comparable Uncontrolled Price (CUP) method.- The Tribunal set aside the matter to the Assessing Officer for fresh determination of the ALP under the CUP method, emphasizing the importance of comparing prices directly in controlled and uncontrolled transactions.- The Tribunal highlighted the necessity of providing comparable instances for the CUP method and directed a fresh determination under CUP or any other appropriate method if CUP was not feasible.Issue 2: Characterization of Payments for R&D Activities- In a remand back proceedings, the TPO characterized R&D payments as contracts for R&D services and applied the Residual Profit Method.- The TPO determined the ALP for R&D activities and made additions, while treating other R&D-related payments at 'Nil'.- The DRP upheld the adjustment on management-related payments but deleted the assessment on R&D expenses.- The Tribunal directed the TPO to analyze additional evidence submitted by the assessee regarding support received from group entities under CSA.Issue 3: Judicial Precedents and Remand Orders- The Tribunal referred to previous remand orders and judicial guidance emphasizing that commercial expediency, need, and benefit cannot be the sole criteria for benchmarking international transactions.- Previous remand orders for various Assessment Years highlighted the recurring issue of management-related payments being taken at 'Nil' by the TPO, leading to remands for fresh adjudication.- The Tribunal directed the TPO to conduct a fresh analysis, determine the Arm's Length Price, and decide on payments related to other R&D tasks in accordance with the law.In conclusion, the appeals were allowed for statistical purposes, and the matters were remanded back to the TPO/Assessing Officer for fresh determination based on the Tribunal's directions and guidelines in the assessee's own case.