2015 (12) TMI 1332 - HC - Income Tax

TPA - AMP expenses - existence of an international transaction - whether advertising, marketing and promotion expenses (‘AMP’) incurred by the Assessee can be said to be incurred not only for the benefit of the Assessee but also by way of rendering the services of promoting the brand of the foreign associated enterprise (‘AE’) namely B&L, USA? - Held that:- It was not disputed that the said international transaction of incurring of AMP expenses could be made subject matter of a transfer pricing adjustment in terms of Section 92 of the Act. The Assessee here has throughout been contesting the very existence of any international transaction involving AMP expenditure between the Assessee and its AE, i. e., B&L, USA. Further the Revenue has not been able to contest the submissions of Assessee that as far as the Assessee is concerned that it received no subsidy/subvention from its AE, which, however, was not the case of the Assessees in Sony Ericsson (2015 (3) TMI 580 - DELHI HIGH COURT ).Therefore, it is not correct to contend that the decision in Sony Ericsson (supra), to the extent it has remanded the cases to the ITAT for a fresh consideration, would apply to the present appeals and that the same directions would have to issue in these appeals.Accordingly Question is answered in the negative, i.e., in favour of the Assessee and against the Revenue.

Existence of an international transaction - Held that:- In the present case, the mere fact that B&L, USA through B&L, South Asia, Inc holds 99.9% of the share of the Assessee will not ipso facto lead to the conclusion that the mere increasing of AMP expenditure by the Assessee involves an international transaction in that regard, with B&L, USA. A similar contention by the Revenue, namely, that even if there is no explicit arrangement, the fact that the benefit of such AMP expenses would also enure to the AE is itself sufficient to infer the existence of an international transaction has been negatived by the Court in Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. [2015 (12) TMI 634 - DELHI HIGH COURT]

On the issue of the intra group services, the Assessee is justified in contending that the re-characterization of its transaction involving its AE for the two years which have been fully disclosed in the TP Study on the basis of it not being for commercial expediency of the Assessee is clearly beyond the powers of the TPO and contrary to the legal position explained in EKL Appliances (2012 (4) TMI 346 - DELHI HIGH COURT ). For the aforementioned reasons the Court is satisfied that the Revenue has not been able to show the existence of an international transaction involving AMP expenses between the Assessee and its AE, B&L, USA. Question is accordingly answered in favour of the Assessee and against the Revenue.