TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (1) TMI 1080
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...." fees for technical services" u/s 9 or 195 of the Income Tax Act,1961. In doing so Ld. CIT(A) pas ignored the legal position that chargeability of income u/s 9 and Tax deductibility u/s 195 are to be examined in the assessment of non-resident/foreign company. The assessee has to deduct tax u/s 195 of Income Tax Act 1961, mandatorily irrespective of chargeability of Income u/s 9 of Income Tax Act, 1961 in the hands of the non- resident/foreign company." 2. Briefly stated the facts necessary for adjudication of the controversy at hand are : Assessee is into the business of manufacture and exporter of fabrics, made-ups terry towels and other textile goods. During the year under assessment, assessee claimed commission expenses of Rs. 1,10,46,652/- (Rs. 2,02,47,767/- minus Certificate u/s 195 (2) Rs. 92,01,115/-) paid to the foreign commission agents, which has been disallowed by the AO in the absence of TDS (tax deducted at source) on remittance of commission on the ground there there exist business connection between the assessee and non-resident agent as the providing of agency services by the non-resident to the assessee and supply of goods by the assessee, has a direct business....
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....changed by the assessee with the foreign commission agents on the issue of commission expenses and all these evidences have been examined and has not been disputed on any ground. The assessee has also filed affidavit with the AO, available at pages 60 to 62 of the paper book, stating therein that he has paid the commission to its foreign agents to which provisions contained u/s 195 of the Act are not applicable as per law laid down by Hon'ble Delhi High Court. 10. Hon'ble Delhi High Court in case cited as DIT vs. Panalfa Autoelektrik Ltd. (2014) 272 CTR 117 (Delhi) has decided the taxability of commission paid to foreign agent by returning following findings :- "4. The Assessing Officer relying upon the decision of the Authority for Advance Rulings in In Re: M/s. Wallace Pharmaceuticals P. Ltd. [2005] 278 ITR 97 (AAR) held that the commission payment to the non-resident company on procuring orders was taxable as "fee for technical service‟ under subclause (b) to Section 9(1) (vii) of the Act. The initial direction that the tax should be deducted at source @ 20% recorded in the order dated 4th May, 2010, was modified/reduced to 10% vide order dated 8th November, 20....
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....n consequence of" or "by reason of". xxx (vii) income by way of fees for technical services payable by- xxx (b) a person who is a resident, except where the fees are payable in respect of services utilised in a business or profession carried on by such person outside India or for the purposes of making or earning any income from any source outside India; or xxx Explanation 2.--For the purposes of this clause, "fees for technical services" means any consideration (including any lump sum consideration) for the rendering of any managerial, technical or consultancy services (including the provision of services of technical or other personnel) but does not include consideration for any construction, assembly, mining or like project undertaken by the recipient, or consideration which would be income of the recipient chargeable under the head "Salaries"." 7. Section 5(2) states that total income of a person, who is a non- resident, includes income from all sources which (a) is received or deemed to be received in India in such year by or on behalf of such person; (b) accrues or arises in India; or (c) is deemed to accrue or ar....
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.... the operations carried out in India is deemed to be accrued or arisen in India under clause 9(1)(i). By Finance Act, 2012, Explanation 4 has been added with retrospective effect from 1 st April, 1962, clarifying the expression "through" to have always meant and included, "by means of", "in consequence of" or "by reason of". There is no finding by the Assessing Officer and there is no allegation that a non-resident was carrying on any operation whatsoever in India. Thus, there is no question of attributing any income to operations carried on by the non-resident in India. No such argument has been addressed. 11. The Assessing Officer in his order under Section 195/197 of the Act has relied upon the judgment in the case of Wallace Pharmaceuticals P. Ltd. (supra), which has been distinguished on facts by the first appellate authority and the Tribunal. The factual matrix, including the agreement between the assessee and the non- resident and the terms, have not been spoken of by the Assessing Officer. These have been referred to and examined by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals). But first, we examine Section 9(1)(vii) of the Act. 12. In the present cas....
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.... (d) initiating steps to change policies when they are judged to be less effective than they ought to be." Management thus pervades all organisations. Traditionally administration was distinguished from management, but it is now recognised that management has a role even in civil services. According to the Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought, page 366, management was traditionally identified with the running of business. Therefore, management as a process is practised throughout every organization from top management through middle management to operational management." Recently this Court in CIT versus Bharti Cellular Limited and Others, [2009] 319 ITR 139 had observed:- "The word "manager" has been defined, inter alia, as: "a person whose office it is to manage an organization, business establishment, or public institution, or part of one; a person with the primarily executive or supervisory function within an organization, etc., a person controlling the activities of a person or team in sports, entertainment, etc." It is, therefore, clear that a managerial service would be one which pertains to or has the characterist....
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....4. Commission (a) PAL agrees and AGENTA accepts that the amount of commission payable to it shall be the difference between consideration which PAL receives in terms of the purchase contract/order form the purchaser(s) and the pre determined guaranteed consideration settled and agreed between the parties, as described in Annexure 1 annexed hereto; (b) The parties agree that all the taxes applicable and required to be deducted in India to the transaction contemplated herein at the date of execution of this agreement and at any time in future during the terms of this agreement shall be deducted from the commission (as described herein above) before the same is paid and transferred to the bank account of AGENTA (herein referred to as the commission payable)" 16. The non-resident, it is clear was appointed as a commission agent for sale of products within the territories specified and subject to and in accordance with the terms set out, which the non-resident accepted. The non-resident, therefore, was acting as an agent for procuring orders and not rendering managerial advice or management services. Further, the respondent-assessee was legally bound with the ....
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....e of being provided by way of service for a fee. The popular meaning associated with "technical" is "involving or concerning applied and industrial science"." 19. The said term was also interpreted by this Court in case of Bharti Cellular Limited and Others (supra) where emphasis was laid on the element of human intervention, but we are not concerned with the said aspect in the present case. The nonresident had not undertaken or performed "technical services", where special skills or knowledge relating to a technical field were required. Technical field would mean applied sciences or craftsmanship involving special skills or knowledge but not fields such as arts or human sciences (see paragraph 24 below). 20. The moot question and issue is whether the non-resident was providing consultancy services. In other words, what do you mean by the term "consultancy services"? This Court in Bharti Cellular Limited and Others (supra) had referred to the term "consultancy services" in the following words:- "14. Similarly, the word "consultancy" has been defined in the said Dictionary as "the work or position of a consultant; a department of consultants." "Consultant"....
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....ioner of Income Tax (Appeals), the nonresident did not act as a consultant, who advised or rendered any counseling services. The skill, business acumen and knowledge acquired by the non-resident were for his own benefit and use. The non-resident procured orders on the basis of the said knowledge, information and expertise to secure "their" commission. It is a case of self-use and benefit, and not giving advice or consultation to the respondent-assessee on any field, including how to procure export orders, how to market their products, procure payments etc. The respondent-assessee upon receipt of export orders, manufactured the required articles/goods and then the goods produced were exported. There was no element of consultation or advise rendered by the nonresident to the respondent-assessee. 23. Decision in the case of M/s Wallace Pharmaceuticals Private Limited (supra) is clearly distinguishable as in the said case the non- resident consultant had to perform several services in the nature of attending meetings on mutually agreeable dates and providing advice and counseling, which were in the nature of consultancy services as they entailed support from a product....
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....however, the relevant special skill or knowledge is not used when providing the service for which the fee is paid, i.e. allowing the consumer to play the computer game or consult the troubleshooting database. 42. Many categories of e-commerce transactions similarly involve the provision of the use of, or access to, data and software (see, for example, categories 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 20 and 21 in annex 2). The service of making such data and software, or functionality of that data or software, available for a fee is not, however, a service of a technical nature. The fact that the development of the necessary data and software might itself require substantial technical skills is irrelevant as the service provided to the client is not the development of that data and software (which may well be done by someone other than the supplier) but rather the service of making the data and software available to that client. For example, the mere provision of access to a troubleshooting database would not require more than having available such a database and the necessary software to access it. A payment relating to the provision of such access would not, therefore, relate to a ser....
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....ix, the services rendered may possibly fall in the category of consultancy services. Paragraphs 41 and 42 do not emanate for consideration in the present case, and effect thereof can be examined in an appropriate case [However, see Commissioner of Income Tax vs. Estel Communication P. Ltd. (2009) 318 ITR 185 (Del) and Skycell Communications Ltd. (supra)]. 25. Thus, the technical services consists of services of technical nature, when special skills or knowledge relating to technical field are required for their provision, managerial services are rendered for performing management functions and consultancy services relate to provision of advice by someone having special qualification that allow him to do so. In the present case, the aforesaid requisites and required necessities are not satisfied. Indeed, technical, managerial and consultancy services may overlap and it would not be proper to view them in water tight compartments, but in the present case this issue or differentiation is again not relevant." 11. Following the decision rendered by Hon'ble Delhi High Court in the case of DIT vs. Panalfa Autoelektrik Ltd. (supra) to which facts of this case are identical and ....