The ITAT ruled against treating notional costs of services ...

The Impact of Notional Costs on PLI Calculation in Transfer Pricing and Interest Rate Benchmarking for AE Receivables

March 13, 2025

Case Laws     Income Tax     AT

The ITAT ruled against treating notional costs of services provided by the associated enterprise as part of operating expenses when calculating the assessee's PLI. The Tribunal noted that Rule 10TA (which includes share-based compensation as operating expenses) applies prospectively from April 1, 2017, and only when safe harbor rules are opted for, which was not the case here. The ITAT also applied the principle of consistency since no such adjustments were made in previous assessment years under similar circumstances. Regarding comparable selection, the matter was remanded to the TPO for fresh adjudication. For overdue receivables from AE, the Tribunal held that LIBOR+200 points should apply rather than PLR rates. The ITAT allowed interest expenses on CCDs but upheld disallowance of delayed PF contributions following the Supreme Court's Checkmate Services judgment.

View Source