Indian Branch services to Foreign HO is not intermediary services

Can services performed by an Indian branch for its overseas head office be treated as intermediary services merely because they support loans provided by the overseas office to Indian borrowers? CESTAT Mumbai says no. 

The Tribunal found that the Indian branch and Singapore head office were the same legal person and that the branch performed its functions on its own account. 

There was also no three-party intermediary arrangement or separate main and ancillary supply. The service tax demand and penalties were therefore set aside.