Transfer pricing
1. Modification order for past years in case of APA
Section 92CC of the Act empowers the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to enter into an APA, with the approval of the Central Government, with any person for determining the Arm’s Length Price (ALP) or specifying the manner in which ALP is to be determined in relation to an international transaction which is to be entered into by that person. The APA is valid for a period, not exceeding five previous years, as may be specified therein. This section also provides for rollback of the APA for four years. Thus, once the APA is entered into, the ALP of the international transaction, which is subject matter of the APA, would be determined in accordance with such APA. In order to give effect to the APA, section 92CD also provides for mechanism, including filing of modified return of income by the taxpayer and manner of completion of assessments by the Assessing Officer having regard to terms of the APA. Sub-section (3) of this section deals with a situation where assessment or re-assessment has already been completed, before expiry of the time allowed for filing of modified return. Apprehensions have been expressed stating that due to the use of words “assess or reassess or recompute”, the Assessing Officer may start fresh assessment or reassessment in respect of completed assessments or reassessments of the assessees who have modified their returns of income in accordance with the APA entered into by them, while the intention of the legislature is for Assessing Officer to merely modify the total income consequent to modification of return of income in pursuance to APA.
It is, therefore, proposed to amend sub-section (3) of section 92CD to clarify that in cases where assessment or reassessment has already been completed and modified return of income has been filed by the tax payer under subsection (1) of said section, the Assessing Officers shall pass an order modifying the total income of the relevant assessment year determined in such assessment or reassessment, having regard to and in accordance with the APA.
2. Clarification with regard to provisions of secondary adjustment and giving an option to assessee to make onetime payment
In order to align the transfer pricing provisions with international best practices, section 92CE of the Act provides for secondary adjustments in certain cases. It, inter alia, provides that the assessee shall be required to carry out secondary adjustment where the primary adjustment to transfer price, has been made sue moto, or made by the Assessing Officer and accepted by him; or is determined by an advance pricing agreement entered into by him under section 92CC of the Act; or is made as per safe harbour rules prescribed under section 92CB of the Act; or is arising as a result of resolution of an assessment through mutual agreement procedure under an agreement entered into under section 90 or 90A of the Act. The proviso to said sub-section provides exemption in cases where the amount of primary adjustment made in any previous year does not exceed one crore rupees; and the primary adjustment is made in respect of an assessment year commencing on or before 1st April, 2016.
In order to make the secondary adjustment regime more effective and easy to comply with, it is proposed to amend section 92CE of the Act so as to provide that: -
(i) the condition of threshold of one crore rupees and of the primary adjustment made up to assessment year 2016-17 are alternate conditions;
(ii) the assessee shall be required to calculate interest on the excess money or part thereof;
(iii) the provision of this section shall apply to the agreements(APA) which have been signed on or after 1st April, 2017; however, no refund of the taxes already paid till date under the pre-amended section would be allowed;
(iv) the excess money may be repatriated from any of the associated enterprises of the assessee which is not resident in India;
(v) in a case where the excess money or part thereof has not been repatriated in time, the assessee will have the option to pay additional income-tax at the rate of eighteen per cent on such excess money or part thereof in addition to the existing requirement of calculation of interest till the date of payment of this additional tax. The additional tax is proposed to be increased by a surcharge of twelve per cent;
(vi) the tax so paid shall be the final payment of tax and no credit shall be allowed in respect of the amount of tax so paid;
(vii) the deduction in respect of the amount on which such tax has been paid, shall not be allowed under any other provision of this Act; and
(viii) if the assessee pays the additional income-tax, he will not be required to make secondary adjustment or compute interest from the date of payment of such tax.
3. Clarification regarding definition of the “accounting year” in section 286 of the Act
Section 286 of the Act contains provisions relating to specific reporting regime in the form of Country-by-Country Report (CbCR) in respect of an international group. It provides that every parent entity or the alternate reporting entity, resident in India, shall, for every reporting accounting year, in respect of the international group of which it is a constituent, furnish a report, to the prescribed authority within a period of twelve months from the end of the said reporting accounting year, in the form and manner as may be prescribed. There are many doubts that in case of an alternate reporting entity (ARE) resident in India whose ultimate parent entity is not resident in India, the accounting year would always be the accounting year applicable in the country where such ultimate parent entity is resident and cannot be the previous year of the entity resident in India.
In order to address such concerns and to bring clarity in law, it is proposed to suitably amend section 286 so as to provide that the accounting year in case of the ARE of an international group, the parent entity of which is not resident in India, the reporting accounting year shall be the one applicable to such parent entity. This amendment is clarificatory in nature.
4. Rationalisations of provisions relating to maintenance, keeping and furnishing of information and documents by certain persons
Section 92D of the Act inter alia, provides for maintenance and keeping of information and document by persons entering into an international transaction or specified domestic transaction in the prescribed manner. Sub-section (1) of section 92D provides that every person who has entered into an international transaction or specified domestic transaction shall keep and maintain the prescribed information and document in respect thereof. Proviso to said section inserted through the Finance Act, 2016 provides that the person, being a constituent entity of an international group, shall also keep and maintain such information and document in respect of an international group as may be prescribed. Accordingly, Rule 10DA, prescribed for this purpose, provides the requisite information to be furnished in prescribed form, subject to the thresholds of the consolidated group revenue and the international transaction.
It is proposed to substitute section 92D of the Act, in order to provide that the information and document to be kept and maintained by a constituent entity of an international group, and filing of required form, shall be applicable even when there is no international transaction undertaken by such constituent entity.
It is also proposed to provide that information shall be furnished by the constituent entity of an international group to the prescribed authority. Sub-section (2) of the proposed section empowers the Board to prescribe the period for which said information and document shall be kept and maintained. Subsection (3) of the proposed section provides that the Assessing Officer or the Commissioner (Appeals) may, in the course of any proceeding under this Act, require any person referred to in clause (i) of sub-section (1) to furnish any information or document referred therein, within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of a notice issued in this regard which may be further extended upto thirty days on such person's application.
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