The HC quashed the Assessing Officer's rejection of the...

The HC quashed the Assessing Officer's rejection of the petitioner's application for nil withholding tax certificate under s195(3) and s197 of the Income Tax Act. The Court noted that the petitioner, a German tax resident operating aircraft in international traffic, had received nil withholding certificates for over a decade with no change in the nature of services rendered. The income was not chargeable to tax in India under Article 8 of the India-Germany DTAA. The AO failed to provide adequate reasoning for imposing a 0.10% withholding rate instead of the nil rate claimed. Given the petitioner's consistent tax treatment in previous years and the imminent expiry of FY 2024-25, the Court declined to remand the matter and invalidated the impugned certificate.

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