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2020 (3) TMI 1235 - AT - Income TaxTP Adjustment - arm’s length price of the services provided to the Associated Enterprises (AE) - comparable selection - Assessee is intoproviding non–binding investment advisory services - HELD THAT:- MOTILAL OSWAL INVESTMENT ADVISORIES PVT. LTD. company is engaged in the business of investment banking, merchant banking, merger and acquisition, private equity, syndication, etc. Whereas, the assessee has only one segment of providing non–binding investment advisory services to the AE. Looking at the functional profile of this company, not only different benches of the Tribunal, but even different High Courts including Hon'ble Jurisdictional High Court have consistently held that this company cannot be a comparable to a non–binding investment advisory service provider. ICRA ONLINE LIMITED - as relying on AGM INDIA ADVISORS PRIVATE LIMITED [2016 (5) TMI 1335 - ITAT MUMBAI] ICRA company cannot be a comparable to an investment advisory service provider. In fact, while considering the comparability of this company in assessee’s own case for the assessment year 2012–13, the Transfer Pricing Officer himself has categorically stated that none of the segments of ICRA Online Ltd. are comparable to investment advisory services rendered by the assessee and accordingly rejected it as a comparable. In our considered opinion, facts are not different in the impugned assessment year as well. That being the case, we hold that this company cannot be treated as comparable to the assessee. Hence, should be excluded. As submitted exclusion of these two companies, arithmetic mean of the rest of the comparables would work out to 26.57% and assessee’s margin shown at 23.16% would be within the acceptable range, requiring no further adjustment. Keeping in view the aforesaid submission, we do not intend to deliberate further on any other comparable at this stage and leave the issues relating to the comparability of the other comparables open for adjudication if they arise in assessee’s case in any other assessment year in future.
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