India Signs Three More Unilateral APAs

On June 4, 2018, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into three Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPA) during the past couple of months. With the signing of these Agreements, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has gone up to 223, which inter alia include 20 Bilateral APAs.

The New Unilateral APAs

The new UAPAs were signed by the CBDT with tax payers in various industries, that is, consumer industry, automobile industry, and precious stones & metals sectors of the economy. The international transactions covered in the agreements pertain to provision of corporate guarantee, purchase of brand, availing of grading services, availing of management services and payment of royalty.

APA Provisions in India

The APA scheme, introduced in the Income-tax Act in 2012, aims at providing certainty to taxpayers in the field of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and setting the prices of international transactions in advance. The progress of the APA scheme strengthens the Government’s resolve of fostering a non-adversarial tax regime. The Indian APA programme has been appreciated nationally and internationally for being able to address complex transfer pricing issues in a fair and transparent manner.

Source: Central Board of Direct Taxes