TDS on cross border service charges was examined as fees for...

TDS on cross border service charges was examined as fees for technical services under the India-Singapore DTAA, which, if more beneficial, prevails and renders the impugned TDS liability unsustainable. The High Court held that the Assessing Officer (TDS) may independently initiate proceedings treating a payer as an assessee in default, regardless of a concurrent scrutiny assessment under Section 143(3); such proceedings are separate and can impose interest and penalty. However, the AO(TDS) wrongly disregarded DTAA applicability and relied on invoice descriptions; consequently the order declaring the petitioner an assessee in default was quashed and set aside.

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