Recurring service reimbursements and freight receipts cannot be recharacterised as technical fees or royalty on unchanged facts.

Identical recurring receipts were held not taxable as fee for technical services, fee for included services, or royalty because earlier coordinate bench decisions in the assessee's own case had already covered the same factual and legal position. The Tribunal found no change in facts or law and no contrary binding precedent from the Revenue. Freight and logistic support receipts, reimbursement of global account management charges, and lease line charges were therefore treated as outside the relevant taxing characterisation, and the additions on these counts were deleted.

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Issues: Whether receipts from freight/logistic support services, reimbursement of global account management charges, and reimbursement of lease line charges were taxable as fee for technical services or fee for included services, or as royalty, under the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the India-USA Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.

Analysis: The disputed receipts were held to be covered by earlier coordinate bench decisions in the assessee's own case for preceding assessment years. The Tribunal noted that the factual and legal position remained unchanged and that the Revenue had not shown any contrary binding precedent. Following the consistent view already taken, freight/logistic support receipts and reimbursement of global account management charges were held not to be fee for technical services or fee for included services. Lease line charges were also held not to be royalty.

Conclusion: The additions on these counts were deleted and the issues were decided in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an identical recurring issue has consistently been decided in favour of the assessee on unchanged facts and law, the earlier coordinate bench view is to be followed, and such receipts cannot be characterised as fee for technical services, fee for included services, or royalty absent a contrary binding precedent.

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