Case Note: Global Reservations Fees Held to be Income Derived Through a Permanent Establishment

This case note sets out the recent ruling by the Authority for Advance Rulings in FRS Hotel Group (Lux) Sarl that, in the light of the entirety of a series of agreements entered into by FRS Hotel with an Indian-resident property developer, FRS Hotel managed the entire operations of the property developer’s hotel in India; therefore, FRS Hotel had a fixed place permanent establishment in India. The payments received by FRS Hotel for provision of global reservation services were attributable to FRS Hotel’s PE in India and consequently chargeable to tax in India as business income, rather than as royalties or fees for technical services, in terms of the India-Luxembourg Income Tax Treaty (2008).