No s. 195 TDS Liability On Payer If Payee Not Assessed

Crompton Creaves Ltd vs. DCIT (ITAT Mumbai)

The assessee made a public issue of Global Depository Receipts (GDR) for which it engaged international lead managers like Jardine Fleming, Merrill Lynch etc and paid management and underwriting commission of Rs. 7.68 crores without deducting TDS. The AO & CIT (A) held that the said commission constituted “fees for technical services” and that the assessee ought to have deducted TDS u/s 195. The assessee was held to be in default u/s 201. Before the Tribunal, the assessee argued that as no action has been taken by the department against the payees and the time for taking such action had expired, no order u/s 195 & 201 could be passed. HELD by the Tribunal: