Interest on Outstanding Receivables – A Potpourri of Litigation?

In this article, the authors examine the 2012 amendment to the Income-tax Act, which brought receivables and debts arising during the course of business with foreign associated enterprises within the definition of international transactions, which are subject to the transfer pricing rules. The article considers whether outstanding receivables constitute separate international transactions and whether interest on the receivables should be separately charged to tax. The authors canvass the variety of High Court and Appellate Tribunal decisions on these questions and caution Indian taxpayers with their reporting on outstanding receivables and the need to properly benchmark them.