Abstract
A Tax Residency Certificate (‘TRC’) is an essential document enabling non-residents to claim tax treaty benefits in India. However, whether a TRC is sufficient in order to claim such benefits has been the subject matter of litigation, particularly in cases involving treaty shopping/tax fraud allegations. The Supreme Court in the case of Azadi Bachao Andolan endorsed the Government’s circulars, which gave primacy to TRCs while evaluating the tax residency of non-residents. However, a recent decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Tiger Global Investment Holdings has seemingly departed from this principle, citing a change in the underlying law since Azadi. This paper aims to critically engage with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Tiger Global while also examining the past, present, and future of TRCs. In particular, the paper cautions against conflating the test of determining ‘tax residency’ with the test of examining ‘tax abuse’, and discusses factors that should (and should not) be relevant while examining ‘commercial substance’ for investment funds.
Recommended Citation
Ajinkya, Bijal and Bukkapatnam, Anuraag
(2026)
"WHERE ART THOU RESIDENT? PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF TAX RESIDENCY CERTIFICATES,"
National Law School Business Law Review: Vol. 12:
Iss.
1, Article 3.
DOI: 10.55496/KXVP3961
Available at:
https://repository.nls.ac.in/nlsblr/vol12/iss1/3