Assessee-company issued Fully Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (FCCDs) to its foreign based Associated Enterprise (AE). It made payment towards interest on FCCDs denominated in Indian Rupee to said AE. TPO applied LIBOR based interest rates to benchmark aforesaid international transaction of payment of interest. Tribunal held that interest should be market determined interest rate applicable to currency in which loan has to be repaid. Therefore lending rate was SBI Prime Lending Rate and, therefore, TPO was unjustified in using LIBOR based interest rate.
Assotech Moonshine Urban Developers (P.) Ltd. v. DCIT (2021) 186 ITD 600 (Delhi)(Trib.)
S. 92C : Transfer pricing-Arm’s length price-Fully Compulsorily Convertible Debentures (FCCDs)-Interest adjustment-Interest should be market determined interest rate applicable to currency in which loan has to be repaid i.e. SBI Prime Lending Rate and not LIBOR based interest rate.