Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. v. Asst. CIT (2025) 131 ITR 15(Hyd)(Trib.)

S. 92C: Transfer pricing-Arm’s length price-Avoidance of tax-International transaction-While benchmarking specified domestic transactions, the TPO cannot cherry-pick only low-priced products from a basket of products for determining ALP-Where TNMM is accepted as the Most Appropriate Method in the subsequent year, the supplementary TP study adopting TNMM ought to be considered. [S. 92BA]

 

The assessee, engaged in the manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical products, benchmarked its specified domestic transactions of transfers from non-SEZ units to SEZ units under the CPM. The TPO rejected the benchmarking and determined the ALP by selecting only certain low-priced product families while ignoring the remaining products. Before the DRP, the assessee furnished a supplementary transfer pricing study adopting TNMM, which was not considered. The Tribunal held that the TPO was not justified in cherry-picking only selected products from the entire basket of product families for determining the ALP. It further held that, since the TPO himself had accepted TNMM as the Most Appropriate Method for identical transactions in the subsequent assessment year, the supplementary TP analysis adopting TNMM ought to have been considered. Accordingly, the matter was restored to the AO/TPO for fresh determination of the ALP under TNMM after considering the supplementary TP study. Appeal partly allowed for statistical purposes. [AY. 2019-20]

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