2013 (10) TMI 20

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

.... 2. The applicant entered into a Programme Partnership Agreement with Ms. INSEAD, a tax resident company at Singapore which is in the business of providing various management education programmes globally. As per the Programme Partnership Agreement INSEAD is obliged to conduct teaching intervention as per the agreed terms while Eruditus , the applicant, shall assist in the marketing, organizing, managing and facilitating a conduct of the programme. The duration of the programme shall be 11 months and the teaching intervention to be conducted by INSEAD will be for a period of 30 days that will consist of in-class teaching on INSEAD global campuses in Singapore and France, in- class teaching in India and teaching through telepresence in Singa....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....of the term in Article 12 of the Convention between the Govt. of Republic of India and the Govt. of Republic of Singapore for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Convention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income' ("the India-Singapore Tax Treaty") and/or under the provisions of Section 9(1)(vii) of the Income tax Act, 1961?      2. Whether the recipient in the stated facts and circumstances, would have a Permanent Establishment ("PE") in India under Article 5(1) or 5(8) of the India-Singapore Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement ("Treaty") in relation to the activity of conducting in-class teachings through telepresence in India?      3. Based on the answers to questions (1) and (....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

....line teaching and the services rendered under the broader term "Technical Services" and therefore the payments are taxable in India as Fees for Technical Services both under Section 9(1)(vii) of the Income-tax Act and Article 12(2)(4) of the DTAA with Singapore. In reply to the Revenue's contention, the applicant stated that the services rendered are neither managerial nor consultancy nor technical and the payment on the services cannot be brought to tax under the head "Fees for Technical Services" under section 9(1)(vii) of the Income-tax Act. It was submitted that at the most the payment for the service falls under the business profit and since the non-resident company namely INSEAD does not have any Permanent Establishment in India, no t....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

..... In this case there is no dispute about the teaching conducted by INSEAD for the applicant. There is also no dispute about the status of INSEAD being an education institution.      Questions raised by the applicant are answered as under :      (1) Whether the payments made by the applicant to INSEAD for various services under the terms of the programme partnership agreement is in the nature of "Fees for Technical Services" within the meaning of the term in Article 12 of the Convention between the Govt. of Republic of India and the Govt. of Republic of Singapore for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Convention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income' ("the India-Singapore Tax Tr....