Expenditure incurred by a head office for Indian operations was...

Expenditure incurred by a head office for Indian operations was treated as potentially falling within the meaning of head office expenditure under the Explanation to section 44C, with the Tribunal remitting the matter for verification and directing that any deduction be restricted to the statutory formula if the provision applies. Payments described as reimbursements for technical support, supervision and related managerial services were held liable to withholding under section 195, so disallowance under section 40(a)(i) was sustained. The Article 26 non-discrimination plea under the India-USA DTAA failed because the withholding rule was based on residence and compliance, not nationality. The Tribunal also held that penalty initiation was premature.

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