Most contemporary tax treaties include provisions for construction/ installation activities permanent establishment (PE). For instance, Art. 5(3) of the tax treaty between India and the Netherlands provides as follows:

“3. A building site or construction, installation or assembly project constitutes a permanent establishment only where such site or project continues for a period of more than six months.”

But, could a foreign enterprise’s maintenance activities in a Source State give rise to a construction/ installation PE? The Indian Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has dealt with that question in the case of...

In the above-mentioned decision,...