2017 (11) TMI 807 - HC - Income Tax

TPA - MAM - Appropriateness of the Resale Price Method (RPM) - TPO rejected that and applied the Transactional Net Margin Method (TNMM) as the most appropriate and proximate test - Held that - This Court is of the opinion that the mere circumstance that of a disagreement either between the assessee and the Revenue authorities or amongst the Revenue authorities in the application of one or other methods for determining ALP ipso facto does not constitute question of law. This, however, not to say that if in a given case the aggrieved party is able to show that the rule applied has led to distortion or prejudice as the case may be, the question of law does not arise. In the present case, however, no such factors are present. This question of law therefore does not arise. Furthermore, the Court also takes note of the fact that in the subsequent year the RPM was endorsed by the TPO itself. Seed development/agronomy expenditure which was treated as capital in nature by the AO. The CIT(A) took a contrary position; that was endorsed by the ITAT being pure finding of fact. The Court is of the opinion that no substantial question of law arises.

Summary

Issues:
1. Appropriateness of Resale Price Method (RPM) vs. Transactional Net Margin Method (TNMM) for determining ALP.
2. Treatment of seed development/agronomy expenditure as capital in nature.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Appropriateness of RPM vs. TNMM
The Revenue raised a question regarding the appropriateness of the Resale Price Method (RPM) accepted by the assessee, which was rejected by the Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) in favor of the Transactional Net Margin Method (TNMM). The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) (CIT(A)) reversed the TPO's decision, which was upheld by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). The High Court noted that a mere disagreement between the parties or authorities on the method for determining the Arm's Length Price (ALP) does not automatically raise a question of law. The Court emphasized that unless distortion or prejudice is demonstrated, a question of law does not arise. In this case, as no such factors were present, the Court found no basis for a legal question to be considered. Additionally, the Court observed that the TPO endorsed the RPM in the subsequent year, further supporting the dismissal of the appeal on this issue.

Issue 2: Treatment of Seed Development/Agronomy Expenditure
The second question revolved around the treatment of seed development and agronomy expenditure, which the Assessing Officer (AO) classified as capital in nature. The CIT(A) disagreed with this classification, and the ITAT upheld the CIT(A)'s decision as a factual finding. The High Court held that in the absence of a substantial question of law, the findings of fact determined by the lower authorities were binding. Therefore, the Court concluded that no legal issue of substance arose from the treatment of the seed development and agronomy expenditure.

In conclusion, the High Court dismissed the appeal, finding no merit in the challenges raised by the Revenue on the issues of method selection for determining ALP and the classification of seed development/agronomy expenditure.