ITAT held that payments from the intermediary to the taxpayer, a...

ITAT held that payments from the intermediary to the taxpayer, a US tax-resident payment-gateway engaged to collect and remit foreign college fees, do not constitute "royalty" under the Income Tax Act, 1961, because no proprietary technology transfer or grant of right to use technology occurred; the consideration arose from foreign-exchange fluctuation and fee-sharing only. Consequently the AO's addition treating receipts as royalty, as upheld by the CIT(A), is deleted. The AO is directed to verify whether the taxpayer included those receipts in its US gross income (or claimed them as deductions) as shown in the US return; if not, the AO may notify US tax authorities for further action. Appeal disposed accordingly.

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