Telecom interconnect does not constitute

The Tribunal reaffirmed a consistent jurisprudential position: telecom interconnect and bandwidth services do not constitute royalty or FTS in absence of “use of process” or “make available” of technical knowledge. 

It held that such receipts are business profits, taxable in India only if the non-resident has a PE, absent in this case. The ruling reinforces treaty protection and decisively curtails aggressive characterization of routine telecom services as royalty/FTS.