Permanent establishment requirements under Article 5 of the...

Permanent establishment requirements under Article 5 of the India-US DTAA were not met because the Revenue did not establish that the associated enterprise's project office was available to the assessee or that it habitually concluded contracts, maintained stock, or secured orders for it. No fixed place PE or dependent agent PE existed, so no profit attribution arose. Separate offshore supply and repair agreements were supported by the bid terms and contractual arrangements; supplies, repairs and transfer of title occurred outside India. The allegation of artificial contract splitting lacked support. Accordingly, offshore supply, repair and refurbishment receipts were not taxable in India, and the assessment order was set aside.