Interconnect Service Charges Not Royalty to Non-Resident Telecom Operators: SC

DCIT Vs Orange & Anr. (Supreme Court of India) The Supreme Court dismissed the Special Leave Petition filed against the Karnataka High Court judgment concerning the taxability of interconnect service charges, thereby declining to interfere under Article 136 of the Constitution. The High Court had examined whether payments made for interconnect services to non-resident telecom operators constitute “royalty.” Relying on a prior Co-ordinate Bench decision dated 14.07.2023, the High Court held that such charges do not qualify as royalty. The earlier judgment had noted that payments for int...