The ITAT addressed the taxability of software license receipts ...

ITAT: Software license receipts not royalty under India-US Tax Treaty. End-users given non-exclusive license. Maintenance services not taxable.

Case Laws     Income Tax

June 29, 2024

The ITAT addressed the taxability of software license receipts as royalty under the India-US Tax Treaty. The case involved a foreign company selling software licenses to a distributor in India, who then sells to end-users. The ITAT held that since the end-users were granted a non-exclusive, non-transferrable, and non-sub licensable license, the payment received from the distributor cannot be considered as "royalty" under the treaty. Additionally, the ITAT considered the taxability of amounts received for maintenance services, concluding that when maintenance is linked to the software license and the software itself is not taxable as royalty, the provisions of the treaty do not apply. The ITAT upheld the decision of the CIT (A) based on previous ITAT orders, dismissing the appeal filed by the Revenue.

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