Treaty between India and UK – Indian ruling on whether payments for lease of satellite transponder qualify as royalty

The Indian Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) delivered a ruling dated 22 October 2008 in the case of ISRO Satellite Centre v. Director of Income Tax (2008-TIOL-17-ARA-IT) on whether payments made to a United Kingdom (UK) resident for the lease of a transponder to an Indian company was taxable in India as "royalty" under Indian Income Tax Act 1961 (ITA) or under India-UK tax treaty (the Tax Treaty).

(a) Facts. The Applicant (i.e. ISRO Satellite Centre), a statu…