AI OCR 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (7) TMI 766
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....ions of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Finland (DTAA/Treaty). The assessee is stated to develop, manufacture and deliver off the shelf mediation, charging and fulfillment solutions and software. The company's solution and software are being sold to the telephone operators who maintain and provide services in the Telecommunication Networks. The assessee company is stated to be a Global Market Player in providing convergent mediation software solutions. Comptel Solutions support the core business processes of operators and service providers by generating concrete savings that allow for new business models and sustained customer loyalty. The Comptel link product portfolio includes Comptel Event Link for event mediation and usage data management, Comptel Instant Link for automated user provisioning and service activation and Comptel Online Link for online and pre-delivery charging for non-voice services. For the year under consideration, the return of income was filed declaring nil income. The core issue involved in this assessment year is whether the consideration received by the assessee from its licensors, amounted to royalty within the meaning of the expressi....
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....exclusively lo Buyer or Customer and are works made for hire. If any Developed Works are not considered works made for hire owned by operation of law, supplier assigns the ownership of copyrights in such works to buyer or customer. 8.2 Preexisting materials Supplier will not include any Preexisting Materials in any Deliverable unless they are listed in the relevant SOW. For the sole purpose of supporting the Customer as expressly specified in the relevant SOW, Supplier grants Buyer a nonexclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, paid-up, license to prepare and have prepared derivative works of such Preexisting Materials as have been prepared by it and to use, have used, execute, reproduce, transmit, display, perform, transfer, distribute, and sublicense such Preexisting Materials or their derivative works and to grant others the rights in this sublicense all to the extent as is necessary to support the relevant customer as aforesaid. 8.3 Tools Supplier will not include Tools in Deliverable^ unless they are listed in the relevant SOW, For the sole purpose of supporting the Customer as expressly specified in the relevant SOW, Supplier grants Buyer nonexclusive, worldwi....
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....ove) against the facts and principles laid down by the Infrasoft decision. 7. These highlighted facts remain the same even in the present appeal of AY 2010 - 11 as can be seen from page 6 of the Assessment Order. 8. In the above regard, it is humbly submitted that the Hon'ble SC has held in Distributors (Baroda) (P.) Ltd [1985] 22 Taxman 49 (SC) that: "2. We have given our most anxious consideration to this question, particularly since one of us, namely, P.N. Bhagwati, J. as a party to the decision in Cloth Traders ( P.) Ltd.'s case (supra). But having regard to various considerations to which we shall advert in detail when we examine the arguments advanced on behalf of the parties, we are compelled to reach the conclusion that Cloth Traders (P.) Ltd.'s case (supra), must be regarded as wrongly decided. The view taken in that case in regard to the construction of section 80M must he held to be erroneous and it must be corrected. To perpetuate an error is no heroism. To rectify it is the compulsion of judicial conscience. In this we derive comfort and strength from the wise and inspiring words of Justice Bronson in Pierce v. A.M.Y. Delameter at page 18 : "a J....
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....idance Agreement (DTAA). The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) followed the previous judgements of this Court including the judgement in DIT Vs Infrasoft Ltd, 264 CTR 329 and also the judgementDIT(International Taxation) Vs Nokia Networks Oy, 25 Taxman.com 255 (Delhi). The later decision had an occasion to interpret the same provision in the context of very same treaty. Since, the ITAT has followed the previous binding judgment of this Court, the present appeals do not raise a substantial question of law. The Court is also satisfied that the application of law by the ITAT was sound and proper. The appeals are therefore dismissed. Unquote 3. It is pertinent to mention here that in AYs 2011-12 and 2012-13, the Hon'ble ITAT while allowing the appeals of the Assesssee observed as hereunder (Please refer to page 61 of Paper Book): Quote "5.1 On identical set of facts, respectfully following the decision of the co-ordinate bench of the ITAT in the assessee's own case for AYs 07-08, 08-09 and 09-10, we hold that for AYs 11-12 and 12-13, the sale of software by the asssessee is the sale of standard software which is chargeable to tax under Article 7 of DTAA as busine....
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....s own case for A.Ys. 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 on this issue and a perusal of the aforesaid order reveals that the reliance of the Ld. AR is well placed as the issue is squarely covered in favour of the assessee by the order of the ITAT, wherein the coordinate bench has discussed the issue at great length and has thereafter held in Paragraph 27 of the said order as under: "27. In view of this we allow ground no. 1 to 3 of the appeal of the assessee holding that sale of software by the assessee is a standard software which is chargeable to tax under Article 7 of DTAA as business income of the assessee and not under Article 12 as 'Royalty'." The Revenue challenged the above order of Tribunal before Hon'ble High Court in ITA Nos. 898, 899 & 900/2016 and the Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court vide order dated 19.12.2016 has confirmed the order of the Tribunal observing as under : "The questions which the Revenue seeks to urge in these appeals under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ('the Act') are common, i.e., whether the amounts paid by the assessee to its licensors, amounted to royalty within the meaning of the expression under Section 9(1)(vi) and Article 12 of th....