Coca Cola India Inc vs. ACIT (Supreme Court)

High Court’s judgement on transfer pricing in cases not leading to “erosion of tax revenue” nullified

In Coca Cola India Inc vs. ACIT 309 ITR 194 the P&H High Court upheld the constitutional validity of Chapter X & laid down far-reaching principles on the applicability of transfer pricing provisions to cases where the non-resident was also assessed in India and there was supposedly no cross-border transaction or erosion of tax revenue. On appeal by the assessee, HELD disposing off the SLP:

“The issue in this special leave petition concerns the application of the principle of Transfer Pricing. In the case of assessee herein, Notice was issued under Section 148 of the Act for some of the Assessment Years. On the question of jurisdiction, a writ petition was filed by the assessee, which has been disposed of by the High Court in the writ jurisdiction. However, on going through the papers, we find that foundational facts are required to be established which could not have been done by way of writ petition. For the afore-stated reasons, we are of the view that the assessee should be relegated to adopt proceedings, which are pending, as of date, before various Authorities under the Act … We, accordingly, direct these Authorities to expeditiously hear and dispose of pending proceedings as early as possible. If the petitioner-assessee herein is aggrieved by the orders passed by any of these Authorities, it will have to exhaust the statutory remedy provided under the Act. We make it clear that each of the Authorities will decide the matter uninfluenced by any of the observations made in the impugned judgement.”