Management service receipts not taxable as fees for technical services where the treaty make available test was not met.

Receipts from management services were held not taxable as fees for technical services because the services were rendered under a separate management agreement and were distinct from the licence arrangement covering royalty and technical assistance. The existence of related agreements for patents, trademarks, copyrights and know-how did not convert management support into treaty-based technical services. On the India-Singapore treaty issue, the services in the relevant year were materially similar to earlier years, and the make available requirement under Article 12(4)(b) was not satisfied. The addition was therefore deleted in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether receipts from management services were taxable as fees for technical services under the India-Singapore Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, and whether the make available condition under Article 12(4)(b) was satisfied.

Analysis: The management services were rendered under a separate agreement and were distinct from the licence arrangement under which royalty and related technical assistance were paid. Services connected with use or licence of patents, trademarks, copyrights and know-how could not be equated with fees for management support services merely because both agreements co-existed. On the treaty question, the nature of the services in the relevant year was materially similar to earlier assessment years in which the coordinate bench had already held that the services did not satisfy the make available requirement under Article 12(4)(b). The factual parity with the earlier years brought the issue within the same legal conclusion.

Conclusion: The receipts from management services were not taxable as fees for technical services under Article 12(4)(a), and the make available condition under Article 12(4)(b) was not met. The addition was required to be deleted, in favour of the assessee.

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