Copyright exclusion from intellectual property right service prevents pre-2008 taxation of software licence royalties and defeats extended limitation.

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....Copyright was expressly excluded from the scope of intellectual property right service, which covered only rights recognised under Indian law. Royalties for a non-exclusive licence to pre-install and sub-license Microsoft operating software therefore concerned copyright exploitation rather than taxable intellectual property rights. Commercial use of information technology software became separately taxable only from 16 May 2008. Extended limitation could not apply where departmental audit and correspondence established knowledge of the activity, and reverse-charge tax would have been available as CENVAT credit, supporting revenue neutrality and absence of intent to evade.....