Indian Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Holds Liaison Office Constitutes a PE for Singapore Company and the TNMM Method Must be Applied to Attribute Profits

A 17 September 2019 decision of the Delhi Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has been published concerning the treatment of a liaison office as a permanent establishment.

The case involved Hitachi High Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd (HHT Singapore), which established a liaison office (LO) in India for rendering preparatory and auxiliary services, including market research and liaison activities. In 2008, a survey operation was carried out by the tax authority, which resulted in reassessment proc…