1. Introduction

In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of India was required to determine as to whether a UAE company’s representative office in India could give rise to a permanent establishment. For that purpose, the Supreme Court examined as to whether the representative office could be regarded as performing ‘auxiliary activities’, which are excluded from the scope of the fixed place permanent establishment.

Judicial precedents on ‘auxiliary activities’ in the context of permanent establishment are very rare and, hence, the above-mentioned decision of the Indian Supreme Court warrants our attention.

This article examines in detail the relevant facts and the Supreme Court’s approach. It also takes into account the decisions of the Indian Authority for Advance Rulings and the High Court prior to the matter reached the Supreme Court.