Article
Dividend payments to non-residents – DTAA relief on the horizon?
By Tanmay Bhatnagar
The article in this issue of Direct Tax Amicus discusses at length the recent decision of the ITAT Delhi in the case of Giesecke & Devrient [India] Pvt Ltd. v. Addl. CIT. The decision provides a major relief to the taxpayers on the rate of tax applicable on dividends paid by an Indian company to its overseas parent. The ITAT has held that tax rates specified in the DTAA in respect of dividend must prevail over the rate provided under Section 115-O of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for Dividend Distribution Tax. According to the author, taxpayers can explore claiming any excess tax paid on dividends in the past as refund wherever such possibilities exist and should also reevaluate their decision to settle any pending appeals under the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Act, 2020. However, taking note of the Supreme Court’s decision in the case of Godrej and Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited v. Dy. CIT, the article concludes by stating that while there appears to be a beacon for taxpayers sailing in the choppy seas of the erstwhile DDT regime, they may still have to negotiate some turbulence before getting to the dry lands of DTAAs...
Notifications
- Extension of time limits under Income-tax Act and Vivad Se Vishwas Act
- Faceless Penalty Scheme 2021 introduced
Ratio decidendi
- Legal services provided by Indian law firm taxable in Japan under Article 12 of India-Japan DTAA – Foreign tax credit allowed – ITAT Mumbai
- Gift of shares held as stock in trade when not taxable as business income – ITAT Delhi
- Interest on sum borrowed to repay loan utilised for construction of commercial property deductible under Section 24(b) – ITAT Bengaluru
- Shares received in lieu of shares issued at premium is not unexplained cash credit under Section 68 – ITAT Kolkata
- Shareholding of minor son cannot be combined with that of taxpayer-father while determining threshold under Sections 2(22)(e) and 2(32) – ITAT Surat
