India-Singapore DTAA – Fee paid to AXA ARC by applicant for receiving assistance such as business support, marketing information technology support services and strategy support etc., does not amount to fee for technical services within meaning of India – Singapore Tax Treaty

CASE LAWS DETAILS

DECIDED BY: AUTHORITY FOR ADVANCE RULINGS (INCOME TAX), NEW DELHI,

IN THE CASE OF: Bharati AXA General Insurance Co. Ltd., In re , APPEAL NO: A.A.R. No. 845 of 2009, DECIDED ON AUGUST 6, 2010

9. The definition of FTS as contained in clause (b) of Article 12.4 is explicitly designed to restrict the scope and ambit of the technical and consultancy services. Even if we proceed on the basis that some of the services have the flavour of imparting technical knowledge and experience to the recipient of service, the further question is whether such provision of services enables the person acquiring the services to apply the technology contained therein. This test specifically laid down in clause (b), in our view, is not satisfied and the legal position clarified by this Authority while interpreting more or less similar Treaty provisions applies with greater force to the present case in view of the narrow language employed in the India-Singapore Tax Treaty.

10. Providing comments and suggestions after reviewing the strategies and plans developed by the applicant, giving suggestions to the applicant to improve the product developed by it so as to bring it in line with the common practices followed by other AXA entities across the globe, providing HR support assistance, assisting the applicant in choosing cost effective re-insurance partners, reviewing the actuarial methodologies developed by the applicant and providing suggestions and inputs to achieve standard actuarial practices and processing guidelines in connection with the settlement of claims, marketing and risk analysis, fall short of the requirements laid down in the definition of fees for technical services in Tax Treaty between India and Singapore. It will be too much to say that by providing such services (assuming they are technical or consultancy services), the applicant receiving the services is enabled to apply the technology contained therein i.e. the technology, knowledge, skills, etc. possessed by the service provider or technical plan developed by the service provider. We do not find anything in the IT support services that answer the description of technical services as defined in the Treaty.

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