By Pinky Shah, Sonalee Godbole, Chartered Accountants
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Development centre in India may be treated as a contract R & D service provider with insignificant risk if the following conditions are cumulatively complied with:
(a) Foreign principal performs most of the economically significant functions involved in research or product development cycle whereas Indian development centre would largely by involved in economically insignificant functions;
(b) The principal provides funds. capital and other economically significant assets including intangibles for research or product development and Indian development centre would not use any other economically significant assets including intangibles in research or product development;
(c) Indian development centre works under direct supervision of foreign principal who not only has capability to control or supervise, but also actually controls or supervises research or product development through its strategic decisions to perform core functions as well as monitor activities on regular basis;
(d) Indian development centre does not assume or has no economically significant realised risks. If a contract shows the principal to be controlling the risk but conduct shows that Indian development centre is doing so, then the contractual terms are not the final determinant of actual activities. In the case of foreign principal being located in a country/territory widely perceived as a low or no tax jurisdiction, it will be presumed that the foreign principal is not controlling the risk. However, the Indian development centre may rebut this presumption to the satisfaction of the revenue authorities; and
(e) Indian development centre has no ownership right (legal or economic) on outcome of research which vests with foreign principal, and that it shall be evident from conduct of the parties.
Further, it has been clarified that all the above conditions should be actually proved by conduct of parties and not mere contractual terms.
