Telecom Receipts Not Royalty/FTS – Taxable Only as Business Profits Absent PE

Reliance Jio Infocomm Private Limited Vs DCIT (ITAT Mumbai) Mumbai ITAT held that receipts from telecommunication services (voice termination, bandwidth, O&M services) earned by foreign group entities of Reliance Jio are not taxable in India as Royalty or Fees for Technical Services (FTS). The Tribunal observed: The AO treated receipts (~₹44.17 crore as noted on page 4) as “process royalty”/FTS u/s 9(1)(vi)/(vii) and under Article 12 of DTAA However, identical issue was already decided in assessee’s own case for earlier years Key findings: Services rendered do not “make availa...