ACIT Vs GE Power Solutions (Malaysia) (Supreme Court of India)
The matter arose from a batch of writ petitions filed before the Delhi High Court by various non-resident GE group entities, including GE Steam Power Inc., GE Steam Power Systems, GE (Shanghai) Power Technology Co. Ltd., GE Power GmbH, GE Power Solutions (Malaysia), General Electric (Switzerland) GmbH and GE Power SP.Z.O.O., challenging notices issued by the Assessing Officer (AO) under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for Assessment Years 2013-14 to 2017-18. Since the material facts and issues were identical, the High Court heard and disposed of all the petitions through a common judgment.
The petitioners were companies incorporated in the United States, France, China, Germany, Malaysia, Switzerland and Poland and were not tax residents of India. Some petitioners had filed returns of income in India in respect of income characterised as Fees for Technical Services (FTS), while others stated that they had not earned income chargeable to tax in India for the relevant assessment years and therefore had not filed returns.
Following the issuance of notices under Section 148, the petitioners furnished returns of income and sought the recorded reasons for reopening, which were supplied by the AO. The recorded reasons were substantially similar and were primarily based on a survey conducted under Section 133A(1) of the Act on 6–7 June 2019 at the premises of GE Power India Ltd. and GE T&D India Ltd.
