Cloud service subscription receipts were held not to be royalty under the tax treaty and Income-tax Act.

Subscription receipts for cloud services were held not to constitute royalty under Article 12(3) of the India-Ireland Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement or section 9(1)(vi) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The court relied on its earlier decisions in the assessee's own case and on its prior view in the same recurring controversy, finding no material change in either the facts or the legal position. On that basis, the receipts were treated as non-taxable royalty income, and the appeal was rejected.

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Issues: Whether subscription receipts from cloud services were taxable as royalty under Article 12(3) of the India-Ireland Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and section 9(1)(vi) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Analysis: The dispute turned on whether the subscription payments received for providing cloud services constituted royalty income. The earlier orders in the assessee's own case, together with the jurisdictional High Court's prior view on the same recurring controversy, had already held that such receipts from cloud services are not taxable as royalty. The Court found no material change in the factual matrix or the legal position and held that the issue stood covered by its earlier decisions.

Conclusion: The subscription receipts from cloud services were not taxable as royalty, and the appeal failed.

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