Under TNMM, advertising, marketing and promotion expenditure...

Under TNMM, advertising, marketing and promotion expenditure included in operating costs cannot be separately benchmarked where inter-linked agency commission, advertising sales and marketing-service transactions have already been accepted at arm's length. A separate method for that horizontal cost item would distort the arm's-length determination; therefore, substantive and protective AMP adjustments were deleted. Whether working-capital adjustments were already reflected in the tested margins and comparable financials must be verified, since that would preclude a separate interest adjustment on outstanding receivables. The Form 26AS income mismatch, including claimed associated-enterprise receipts and mutual-agreement-procedure coverage, requires factual verification with admitted additional evidence. Both verification issues were remitted for fresh decision.