Substance over Labels

The Mumbai ITAT has once again drawn a firm line between ancillary software support and Fees for Technical Services under the India–Singapore DTAA. Reaffirming the “make available” discipline, the Tribunal has held that maintenance, upgrades, and technical support, however sophisticated, do not become taxable FTS unless they transfer enduring technical capability to the Indian customer. J the App by JustIDT looks at the significant ruling for software distributors and SaaS businesses facing aggressive recharacterization.