ANUVU UK OPERATIONS LTD (ERSTWHILE KNOWN AS GLOBAL EAGLE ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED),LONDON vs. ACIT, INT. TAX. 1(3)(1), NEW DELHI

ITA 1879/DEL/2022Status: DisposedITAT Delhi03 September 2025AY 2018-19Bench: SHRI VIKAS AWASTHY (Judicial Member), SHRI NAVEEN CHANDRA (Accountant Member)14 pages
AI SummaryPartly Allowed

What did the Tribunal hold?

The Tribunal held that the payments for IFE content do not constitute royalty under the Act or the India-UK DTAA as no copyrights were transferred and the exhibition rights were limited and non-exclusive. It also held that the 'make available' condition for FTS was not met.

What were the facts?

The assessee, a UK-based company, provides in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems and related content services to Indian airlines. The Assessing Officer treated payments received for content as royalty and Fees for Technical Services (FTS), which the assessee disputed.

What were the issues?

Whether payments for providing in-flight entertainment content constitute royalty or FTS under the Income Tax Act and the India-UK DTAA, and whether interest and penalty provisions were correctly applied.

Which sections of the Income-tax Act were involved?

Section 9(1)(vi),Section 9(1)(vii),Section 234A,Section 234B,Section 234D,Section 270A

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Cases cited in this judgment(2)Show list

Detected automatically from the text. Citations are also linked where they appear in the judgment. The count shows how many other judgments on BharatTax rely on the same authority.

Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, DELHI BENCH “D”, DELHI

Before: SHRI VIKAS AWASTHY & SHRI NAVEEN CHANDRA

For Appellant: Shri Ravi Sharma & Ms. Shruti Khimta, Advocates
Hearing: 05.06.2025

PER VIKAS AWASTHY, JM: The issues in these four appeals by the assessee for AY 2018-19 to 2021-22 germinate from identical

The order continues below.

Read the full judgment

A free account opens 10 full judgments a month. Re-reading one you have already opened does not count again.

Create a free accountSign in

See plans and prices

The summary, the parties, the sections and the citations above are open to everyone and always will be. Only the text of the order and the PDF are metered.

More judgments on Section 9(1)(vi)

All 1,705 judgments and leading authorities on Section 9(1)(vi) →

Recent GST High Court judgments

Search GST case law →