Candidate profiling and technical eligibility screening whether royalty under Indo-UK DTAA

Facts:

Assessee in the business of flight simulation and training would be pilot candidates, had paid amounts to one Symbiotics Ltd. UK towards candidate evaluation, screening and fitment for being a pilot. This was alleged to be royalty under Indo-UK DTAA. Lower authorities did not heed the views of the Assessee - that there was no technology which was shared nor was something available to them exclusively barring the candidate profile reports. On higher appeal -

Held in favour of the assessee that the candidate profiling and evaluation services were not royalty or FTS taxable under the Indo-UK DTAA.

Ed. Note: Reference be made to Flash No. 249/HireRight Ltd. v ACIT/ITA no. 373/Del/2023/AY 2019-20/Del ITAT/Favour of the assessee/06-09-2023 for a similar reading.

Case: CAE Simulation Training (P) Ltd. v. DCIT 2023 TaxPub(DT) 5802 (Del-Trib)