Court rules no tax on software royalties to foreign resident, citing DTAA. No copyright rights = no tax deduction.

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....The High Court considered the taxability of royalty receipts for obtaining computer software paid to a foreign resident. Citing relevant legal precedents, the Court held that under the DTAA provisions, there was no obligation to deduct tax at source as the distribution agreements did not confer any right or interest in copyright to distributors/end users. Section 9(1)(vi) of the Income Tax Act, along with Explanations 2 and 4 on royalty, were deemed inapplicable as they were not beneficial to the assessee. The decision favored the assessee, following a similar ruling in a previous case.....