Special Bench of India's Income Tax Appellate Tribunal Holds Treaty Rates May Not Override Domestic Dividend Distribution Tax Rate

A special bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) of Mumbai has issued a decision on whether a lower dividend withholding tax rate under a tax treaty may override the domestic dividend distribution tax (DDT) rate prescribed under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

In 2019, the Mumbai bench of the ITAT issued a decision pertaining to the assessment year 2016-17, finding that the DDT is a domestic tax liability of the domestic company paying the dividend and that this liability may not be aff…