CUP method for medical transcription services upheld, with ALP remitted for fresh benchmarking and due hearing.

The Tribunal reiterated that CUP was the appropriate benchmarking method for the assessee's medical transcription services, relying on its earlier year view and finding no material factual distinction to justify reopening that issue. It declined the Revenue's attempt to re-argue the same factual appreciation, and directed a fresh ALP computation after giving the assessee due opportunity. TNMM was retained only for the separate software development/ITES segment, in line with the earlier-year reasoning.

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Issues: Whether Comparable Uncontrolled Price (CUP) method was the appropriate method for benchmarking the assessee's medical transcription services and whether the transfer pricing adjustment required fresh consideration by the Assessing Officer / Transfer Pricing Officer.

Analysis: The Tribunal found no material factual difference from the assessee's earlier year decision on the same medical transcription business. It declined to entertain the Revenue's attempt to re-agitate the earlier factual appreciation within the present proceedings and followed the coordinate bench view that CUP method was the appropriate method for medical transcription services. The Tribunal directed that the ALP exercise be redone afresh with due opportunity to the assessee, while maintaining TNMM only for the separate software development / ITES segment as applicable in the earlier year's reasoning.

Conclusion: The rejection of CUP method for medical transcription services was set aside and the matter was remitted to the Assessing Officer / Transfer Pricing Officer to recompute the ALP in accordance with CUP for that segment; the appeal was allowed for statistical purposes.

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