Clarification with regard to provisions of secondary adjustment and giving an option to assessee to make one-time payment

In order to align the transfer pricing provisions with international best practices, section 92CE of the Act provides for secondary adjustments in certain cases.

 It, inter alia, provides that the assessee shall be required to carry out secondary adjustment where the primary adjustment to transfer price, has been made suo motu, or made by the Assessing Officer and accepted by him; or is determined by an advance pricing agreement entered into by him under section 92CC of the Act; or is made as per safe harbour rules prescribed under section 92CB of the Act; or is arising as a result of resolution of an assessment through mutual agreement procedure under an agreement entered into under section 90 or 90A of the Act.

The proviso to said sub-section provides exemption in cases where the amount of primary adjustment made in any previous year does not exceed one crore rupees; and the primary adjustment is made in respect of an assessment year commencing on or before 1st April, 2016.

Several concerns have been expressed regarding effective implementation of  secondary adjustments regime and seeking clarity in law.

In order to address such concerns and  to make the secondary adjustment regime more effective and easy to comply with, it is proposed to amend section 92CE of the Act so as  to provide that:-

(i) the condition of threshold of one crore rupees and of the primary adjustment made upto assessment year 2016-17 are alternate conditions;

(ii) the assessee shall be required to calculate interest on the excess money or part thereof;

(iii) the provision of this section shall apply to the agreements which have been signed on or after 1st April, 2017; however, no refund of the taxes already paid till date under the pre amended  section would be allowed;

(iv) the excess money may be repatriated from any of the associated enterprises of the assessee which is not resident in India;

(v) in a case where the excess money or part thereof has not been repatriated in time, the assessee will have the option to pay additional income-tax at the rate of eighteen per cent on such excess money or part thereof in addition to the existing requirement of calculation of interest till the date of payment of this additional tax.  The additional tax is proposed to be increased by a surcharge of twelve per cent;

(vi) the tax so paid shall be the final payment of tax and no credit shall be allowed in respect of the amount of tax so paid;

(vii) the deduction in respect of the amount on which such tax has been paid , shall not be allowed under any other provision of this Act; and

(viii) if the assessee pays the additional income-tax, he will not be required to make secondary adjustment or compute interest from the date of payment of such tax.

The amendments proposed in para (i) to (iv) above will take effect retrospectively from the 1st April, 2018 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2018-19 and subsequent assessment years.

Further, the amendments proposed in para (v) to (viii) will be effective from 1st September, 2019.

[Clause 30]