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DATE: February 3, 2020 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: September 21, 2020 (Date of publication)
AY: 2007-08, 2008-09
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CITATION:
Transfer Pricing: (i) The OECD guidelines recognise that barring exceptional cases, the tax administration should not disregard the actual transaction or substitute other transactions for them. The examination of a controlled transaction should ordinarily be based on the transaction as it has been actually undertaken and structured by the associated enterprises. The guidelines discourage restructuring of legitimate business transactions (ii) The finding by the Tribunal regarding the adoption of TNMM as the Most Appropriate Method of arriving at ALP cannot be termed as perverse or contrary to the evidence on record. Difference of opinion as to the appropriateness of one or the other method cannot be gone into in a s. 260A appeal

The significance of the aforesaid guidelines lies in the fact that they recognise that barring exceptional cases, the tax administration should not disregard the actual transaction or substitute other transactions for them and the examination of a controlled transaction should ordinarily be based on the transaction as it has been actually undertaken and structured by the associated enterprises. It is of further significance that the guidelines discourage restructuring of legitimate business transactions. The reason for characterisation of such restructuring as an arbitrary exercise, as given in the guidelines, is that it has the potential to create double taxation if the other tax administration does not share the same view as to how the transaction should be structured.

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DATE: June 11, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: February 15, 2020 (Date of publication)
AY: 2014-15
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CITATION:
Transfer Pricing: (i) If the "arms length‟ principle is satisfied qua the relevant transaction between the assessee and its Indian subsidiary, no further profits can be attributed to the assessee in India even if it was to be held that the latter had a PE in India (ii) If the subsidiary has subsequently entered into an "APA‟ with the CBDT & the FAR analysis and overall functions remain unchanged, the "APA‟ would have a bearing on the ALP of the earlier years

The Indian subsidiary of the assessee had for A.Y. 2015-16 to A.Y 2019-20 entered into an “APA‟ with the CBDT. As is discernible from the “APA‟, the functions of the subsidiary company inter alia included “marketing and sale of various software solutions” of the assessee company. As per the “APA‟ the operating profit margin up to its revenue of Rs. 50 crore was to be taken at 7% of its “Operating revenue‟. Admittedly, the FAR analysis and overall functions of the subsidiary company had remained the same during the period covered by the “APA‟ and that for the year under consideration i.e A.Y 2014-15. Though, the APA in the case of the assessee had been entered into for the period spread over A.Y. 2015- 16 to A.Y 2019-20, however, as held by the ITAT, Mumbai in the case of 3i India Pvt. Ltd. Vs. DCIT (ITA No. 581/Mum/2015, dated 16.09.2016), a subsequent “APA‟ would also have a bearing on the earlier years

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DATE: April 25, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: June 27, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 2003-04
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CITATION:
S. 92C/ Rule 10B: If the TPO is not satisfied with the assessee's method of benchmarking royalty payments, he should independently benchmark the ALP by adopting any one of the prescribed methods. He cannot determine The ALP at nil on an ad-hoc basis. TNMM is the most appropriate method for determining the ALP of royalty and not the CUP method. If an authority like the RBI or Commerce Ministry has approved the rate of royalty, it carries persuasive value that the rate is at ALP

The Transfer Pricing Officer has not proceeded to benchmark the payment of royalty by applying any of the prescribed methods provided under the statute. Without assigning any reason, the Transfer Pricing Officer has determined the arm’s length price of the royalty payment at nil. Prima-facie, it appears, the determination of arm’s length price of royalty payment at nil by the Transfer Pricing Officer is completely on ad-hoc basis without following the due process of law as provided under the statute

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DATE: March 15, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: March 29, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 2015-16
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CITATION:
S. 92C(1) Transfer Pricing: Even if the assessee does not report the specified transaction & the AO has no occasion to notice it, the TPO has no jurisdiction to suo moto determine the ALP. He has to call for a reference from the AO. Alternate remedy is not a bar if the action is without jurisdiction & can be severed from the rest

Learned counsel for the Revenue is correct in pointing out that in the present case, the assessee did not report such transaction at all and therefore, the Assessing Officer had no occasion to notice such transaction as specified domestic transaction. His reference, therefore, was necessarily confined to the reported transactions. The TPO noticed this anomaly, he proceeded to determine the arm’s length price after full opportunity of hearing to the petitioner. Even in such a situation, the statute does not permit the TPO to assume the jurisdiction to determine the arm’s length price of a specified domestic transaction not reported to him

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DATE: January 16, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: March 15, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 2012-13
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CITATION:
S. 92C Transfer Pricing: It is mandatory for the AO to determine the arm's length price (ALP) of the international transactions by following one of the prescribed methods. He is not entitled to follow any other method or to resort to estimation. The failure to follow one of the prescribed methods makes the entire transfer pricing adjustment unsustainable in law. The legal infirmity cannot be cured by restoring the issue to the TPO. The TPO cannot be allowed another innings to rectify the mistake

Section 92C(1) of the Act, contemplates that the arms length price in relation to an international transaction shall be determined by comparable uncontrolled price method; resale price method; cost plus method; profit split method; transactional net margin method or such other method as may be prescribed by the Board. Hence, the TPO is bound to determine the ALP by following one of the prescribed methods, however, we notice that in the present case the Ld. TPO has not followed any prescribed methods and made the transfer pricing adjustment by estimating the man hours and the cost of service per hour. We therefore, find merit in the contention of the Ld. counsel that any ad-hoc determination of arms length price by the Ld TPO u/s section 92 de-hors section 92C(1) of the Act cannot be sustained

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DATE: February 28, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: February 26, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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CITATION:
S. 92C Transfer Pricing: The TPO cannot re-characterize a transaction of subscription to redeemable preferential shares as being equivalent to interest free loans advanced by the assessee to the AE & charge notional interest thereon. The TPO cannot disregard the apparent transaction and substitute the same without any material or exceptional circumstances pointing out that the assessee had tried to conceal the real transaction or that the transaction in question was sham. The TPO cannot question the commercial expediency of the assessee entered into such transaction

The facts on record would suggest that the assessee had entered into a transaction of purchase and sale of shares of an AE. Nothing is brought on record by the Revenue to suggest that the transaction was sham. In absence of any material on record, the TPO could not have treated such transaction as a loan and charged interest thereon on notional basis

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DATE: February 20, 2019 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: February 26, 2019 (Date of publication)
AY: 2010-11
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CITATION:
S. 92C: Taxability under Transfer Pricing provisions of shares purchased at value in excess of FMV: As the transaction of purchase of equity shares is a capital transaction and does not give rise to any income, the transfer pricing provisions do not apply. Chapter X is a machinery provision. It can only be invoked to bring to tax any income arising from an international transaction. It is necessary for the revenue to show that income does arise from the international transaction. S. 2(24)(xvi) & 56(2)(viib) are prospective

There is no dispute before us that the transaction of purchase of shares by the respondent of its subsidiary company i.e. A.E. at a price much higher than its fair market value would be international transaction as defined in Section 92(B) of the Act. The only issue before us as considered by the impugned order of the Tribunal is whether Chapter X of the Act would at all be applicable in case of any investment made on capital account. This on the premise that the transaction of purchase of equity share capital would not give rise to any income. We note that similar issue was before this Court in Vodafone 268 ITR 1 and this court inter alia observed that Chapter X of the Act is machinery provision to arrive at the arm’s length price of transaction between associated enterprises

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DATE: September 18, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: October 23, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: -
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CITATION:
Transfer Pricing: The categorical finding of fact by the ITAT that a comparable (Motilal Oswal) is engaged in a qualitatively different and diversified business than that of the assessee cannot be challenged as a substantial question of law as the finding is not perverse or vitiated by any error apparent on the face of the record

We are in full agreement with the findings given by the ITAT. In fact, looking to the facts as narrated by the ITAT in the impugned order, we would have no hesitation in holding that by comparing Motilal Oswal Investments Advisory Pvt. Ltd. to the assessee company (for the purposes of determining the ALP) would be like comparing apples and oranges. This being the case, we do not find any infirmity in the order of the ITAT excluding Motilal Oswal Investments Advisory Pvt. Ltd. from the final list of comparables which would give rise to any substantial question of law

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DATE: September 24, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: October 5, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2009-10
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CITATION:
S. 260A: Transfer Pricing disputes with regard to exclusion and inclusion of comparables to determine Arm's Length Price (ALP) would not necessarily give rise to substantial questions of law except if there is perversity of finding or failure to adhere to the settled principles of law while determining comparables

This Court was rather surprised as to why the Revenue brings such Appeals to this court and regularly. The Courts in India seem to be taking a view that the Revenue has routinely brought such matters before this Court knowing fully well that the Transfer Pricing particularly with regard to exclusion and inclusion of certain comparables to determine Arm’s Length Price (ALP) would not necessarily give rise to purely legal questions or substantial questions of law

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DATE: August 21, 2018 (Date of pronouncement)
DATE: August 28, 2018 (Date of publication)
AY: 2010-11
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CITATION:
S. 92 Transfer Pricing: (i) Chapter 10 presupposes the existence of “income” and lays down machinery provision to compute ALP of such income. S. 92 is not an independent charging section to bring in a new head of income or to charge tax on income which is otherwise not chargeable under the Act. If no income has accrued to or received by the assessee u/s 5, no notional income can be brought to tax u/s 92 of the Act (ii) It is a jurisdictional requirement that the AO has to record satisfaction that there is “income” or potential of income. The recording of 'satisfaction' about the existence of an "international transaction" is also essential. This is only within the jurisdiction of the AO and the CIT(A) cannot substitute his satisfaction for that of the AO. Such substitution of satisfaction is impermissible in law as it amounts to curing a jurisdictional defect

We are of the view that since chapter 10 pre-supposes the existence of “income” and lays down machinery provison to compute ALP of such income, if it arises from an „International transaction‟. Section 92 is not an independent charging section to bring in a new head of income or to charge tax on income which is otherwise not chargeable under the Act. Accordingly, since no income had accrued to or received by the assessee u/s 5, no notional income can be brought to tax u/s 92 of the Act

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