The payments received by the Applicant from the Indian hotel owner for provision of global reservation services (‘GRS’) would be chargeable to tax in India under section 9(1)(i) read with Articles 5 and 7 of the India-Luxembourg DTAA as business income and is attributable to the Applicant’s permanent establishment in India.
This Tax Alert summarizes a recent ruling of the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) [A.A.R. No. 797 of 2009] in the case of M/s Umicore Finance Luxembourg (Applicant). There was a sale of shares of a company by its shareholders which had received such shares on conversion of a firm into the company, under the provisions of Part IX of the Indian Company Law (ICL).
Columbia Sportswear Company Vs. DIT (International Taxation), Bangalore – (Advance Ruling Authority) – In addition to the activities relating to the purchase of goods, the Liaison Office was carrying out various activities such as ensuring the choice of quality material, occasional quality testing, conveying of requisite design, picking out competitive sellers, etc. Further, the Liaison Office facilitated the business of the applicant in Eygpt and Bangladesh. It will be unrealistic that all the activities other than the actual sale of the goods are not integral part of the business of the applicant and have no role in the profit being made by the applicant on the sale of its branded products.
The applicant is a company incorporated in the United States and is a leading manufacturer of engineered bearings, alloys etc. The applicant has a significant shareholding in an Indian listed company, which was initially set up as joint venture with Tata Iron and Steel Company.
