By Geeta Jani | Dhishat B. Mehta | Bhaumik Goda
Chartered Accountants
3 Everest Global Inc. vs. DDIT [2022] 136 taxmann.com 404 (Delhi) ITA No: 2469/Del/2015, 6137/Del/2015 and 2355/Del/2017 ITAT “D” Bench, Delhi Members: G.S. Pannu, President and C.N. Prasad, JM A.Ys.: 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13; Date of order: 30th March, 2022 Counsel for Assessee/Revenue: Ms. Vandana Bhandari, Adv./ Shri Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Sr. DR
Article 12(3), (4) of India-USA DTAA – Fee received by American company for providing customized research services was not chargeable in India as Royalty
FACTS
The assessee was a company incorporated in the USA. It was in global services advisory and research business. The assessee assisted clients in developing and implementing leading-edge sourcing strategies, including captive outsourced and shared services approaches. The assessee mainly provided two kinds of services
to its clients – published research reports and customized research advisory as per client’s specific requirements.
The published reports were general in nature. They compiled factual information from various secondary sources. The database and server of the assessee were in the USA. The subscribers were granted access to the database through the website upon payment of a fee, which also allowed them to download published reports, annual market updates, white papers, etc. The published reports and database were copyright protected. The subscriber had a non-exclusive, non-transferable right and license to us
