Tiger Global Revisited

The Supreme Court’s decision in Tiger Global case is a judgment of procedural and institutional significance rather than one addressing substantive questions of taxability or treaty abuse. The dispute was self confined to the statutory limits of the advance ruling mechanism and the circumstances in which the Authority for Advance Rulings may decline jurisdiction on the ground that a transaction is prima facie designed for the avoidance of income-tax. Arising from the Delhi High Court’s interference with the AAR’s refusal to admit applications filed by Mauritius-based Tiger Global entities, the case required the Court to examine the scope of proviso (iii) to Section 245R(2) and the permissible depth of inquiry at the maintainability stage. The judgment ultimately recalibrates the balance between advance certainty and institutional discipline, reshaping the role of the AAR and deferring contested questions of international tax avoidance to the assessment and appellate process.