Commercial substance under GAAR requires a holistic assessment, not reliance on duration, tax payment, or exit route alone.

For determining whether an arrangement lacks commercial substance under the GAAR framework, the duration of the arrangement, the fact of tax payment, and the existence of an exit route are relevant considerations but not sufficient by themselves. The same non-conclusive indicators are stated under section 180(3) of the Income Tax Act, 2025 and, for the earlier period, under section 97(4) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The text stresses a holistic assessment of the arrangement, including the investment structure, business operations, timing of exit, and continuity of business on exit.

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