No TDS Obligation on Cross-Border Payments for Imported Business Information Reports u/s 195: SC upholds Bombay HC’s decision [Read Order]

In a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of India dismissed two applications filed by the Income TaxDepartment reaffirmed that payments made for importing business information reports from overseas do not attract tax deduction at source under section 195 of the Income Tax Act 1961.

The issue dates back to a 2011 Bombay High Court judgment, where the Court upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal’s decision that payments made for imported Business Information Reports from overseas entities did not attract tax deduction at source under Section 195.

The Tribunal had relied on prior rulings by the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) involving identical transactions with Dun & Bradstreet subsidiaries in Spain, Europe, and the UK.

The petitioner, Dun and Bradstreet Information Service, represented by S Dwarakanath, A.S.G, along with other advocates

The Department had sought condonation of the delay and recall of the Court’s earlier judgment dated January 13, 2026.

In the high court ruling, the bench clearly observed that

“In all these cases the AAR held that the sale of very same Business Information Reports by the subsidiaries of Dun & Bradstreet US in Spain, Europe and U.K. to the assessee did not attract the provisions of Section 195 of the Act.

Though the decision of the AAR is not binding in the present case, since the decision of AAR relates to the very same Business Information Reports imported by the petitioner and no fault in the decision of the AAR is pointed out, we see no reason to interfere with the decision of the ITAT. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed with no order as to costs”

While the bench comprising Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan condoned the delay, citing the Court’s established leniency toward procedural lapses by government agencies, it found no merit in the plea to revisit the final order.

The Supreme Court observed that “We find no reason to recall the order(s) dated 13.01.2026.”

Accordingly, all pending applications were disposed of

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