Case Studies
Real client engagements, presented here with identities anonymized to protect confidentiality. The situations, approaches, and figures reflect actual outcomes achieved for our clients.
International Taxation
Lower Deduction Certificate
NRI Property Sale: TDS Cut from 20% to 6%
An NRI client was selling a residential flat in Mumbai for about ₹1.5 crore.
Foreign Consulting Firm: Nil TDS on Service Fees
A foreign consulting firm was earning roughly ₹60 lakh a year in advisory fees from Indian clients.
DTAA Advisory
US-Based NRI: Lower TDS on India Rental Income
An NRI based in the US owned a rented residential property in India generating about ₹1.2 lakh a month.
Singapore Company: FTS Taxed at Treaty Rate, Not Domestic Rate
A Singapore-based company was providing fees for technical services (FTS) worth about ₹50 lakh to an Indian client.
Withholding Tax Advisory
Manufacturing Company: Correct TDS on Royalty to German Partner
An Indian manufacturing company was paying its German technology partner about ₹40 lakh a year in royalty, and, unsure whether to apply the Act rate or the DTAA rate, was preparing to withhold cautiously at close to 20% (roughly ₹8 lakh) rather than the correct, lower treaty-backed rate.
SaaS Startup: Nil-TDS on Payments to US Cloud Vendor
A growing SaaS startup was paying a US-based cloud infrastructure vendor about ₹36 lakh a year in subscription fees, and, treating the payment cautiously as "royalty," was withholding tax at 10% (about ₹3.6 lakh a year) every month.
Non-Resident / Foreign Company TDS Refund
UK-Based NRI: ₹18 Lakh TDS Refund on Property Sale
An NRI based in the UK sold property in India worth about ₹1 crore, and the buyer deducted TDS at roughly 23% (including surcharge and cess), about ₹23 lakh, without a Lower Deduction Certificate in place beforehand, well above the client's actual capital gains liability.
Foreign IT Company: Excess TDS Refund on FTS Payment
A foreign IT company received an FTS payment of about ₹40 lakh from an Indian client, and TDS was deducted at the default 20% (₹8 lakh) rather than the lower 10% treaty rate the company was entitled to, since no Lower Deduction Certificate had been obtained in advance.
Foreign Company Tax Return in India
European EPC Contractor: India Project Office Return with PE Attribution
A European EPC contractor completed a large infrastructure project in India through a project office.
US Technology Company: Royalty Return with Treaty Rate Substantiation
A US technology company was earning about ₹1.2 crore a year in royalty income from licensing technology to an Indian subsidiary.
NRI Tax & Relocation Advisory
Returning from UAE: Timing the Move for Two Extra Years of RNOR
A client was planning to return to India permanently after 15 years in the UAE, with meaningful overseas investment income.
US-Based Client: Property Sale and Repatriation Before Foreign Citizenship
A client planning to take up foreign citizenship needed to sell India property worth about ₹90 lakh and repatriate the proceeds before the citizenship change altered applicable rules and reporting obligations.
International Taxation (Hub)
Restructuring a Royalty Arrangement: TDS Reduced from 20% to 10%
A foreign company's royalty arrangement with its Indian licensee, worth about ₹2 crore a year, didn't clearly establish eligibility for the lower India-DTAA treaty rate, so the Indian payer was deducting TDS at the higher domestic rate of over 20%, roughly ₹40 lakh a year.
A Multi-Year Relocation-to-Return Tax Journey
An NRI client engaged us not for a single transaction, but for ongoing guidance across the full arc of relocating abroad, living as a non-resident for several years, and eventually planning a return to India, each phase carrying different obligations.
Tax Litigation
Assessment & Scrutiny
Salaried NRI: Property Purchase Scrutiny Closed With No Addition
A salaried NRI client's return was flagged over a large property purchase.
Trading Company: Three-Year Reassessment Addition Dropped
A trading company faced a reassessment notice for a transaction three years prior.
CIT(A) Appeals
NRI: Capital Gains Addition Substantially Reduced at CIT(A)
An NRI's property sale was assessed with an incorrect cost of acquisition, inflating the capital gains figure.
Services Company: Full Relief on a Disallowed Business Expense
A genuine business expense was disallowed for a technical documentation gap, not because the expense wasn't real.
ITAT Appeals
Manufacturing Client: Transfer Pricing Adjustment Substantially Reduced at ITAT
A transfer pricing adjustment was upheld at CIT(A).
Defending a Favorable Order: Departmental Appeal Defeated at ITAT
A CIT(A) order deleting a bogus purchase addition had gone in the client's favor, but the Department cross-appealed it.
DRP Appeals
Foreign Technology Company: Taxable Profit Reduced on PE Attribution Objections
A draft order attributed excess profit to a foreign technology company's India project office.
Subsidiary: Transfer Pricing Adjustment on Management Fees Narrowed at DRP
A subsidiary faced a transfer pricing adjustment on management fee payments.
Tax Litigation (Hub)
Reassessment: Favorable Outcome After a Mid-Case Takeover
Took over a client's case mid-way through a reassessment that had already gone poorly under a prior consultant.
Foreign Company: Draft Order to Resolution, Multi-Year ITAT Battle Avoided
A foreign company had a dispute starting with a draft assessment order.
FEMA Advisory
ODI Advisory
Software Company: Clean UIN & Form FC Filing
A software company was setting up a US step-down subsidiary structure.
Promoter: Undisclosed Overseas Investment Regularized Through Compounding
A promoter had made an undisclosed overseas investment years earlier.
FDI Advisory
Startup: Series A Round Filed Within RBI Timelines
A startup was closing a Series A round with a foreign VC fund.
Secondary Share Transfer: Contravention Avoided
A secondary share transfer to an overseas family member was underway.
Form FC / RBI Reporting
Manufacturing Company: Full Compliance History Restored
A mid-sized manufacturing company with FDI, an overseas subsidiary, and an ECB had three years of inconsistent RBI filings.
First-Time Foreign-Funded Startup: Penalty Avoided Entirely
A startup had never registered on the FIRMS portal and had days left before its first FLA return deadline.
FEMA Compliance
Trading Company: FEMA Gap Compounded Before Diligence
A pre-funding FEMA health-check uncovered an old unreported FDI transaction.
NRI Family: No More Bank Queries on Recurring Remittances
An NRI family had recurring education and maintenance remittances that risked exceeding LRS limits or lacking proper documentation.
FEMA Advisory (Hub)
Foreign-Funded Startup: Series A Filed Within RBI Timelines
A foreign-funded startup was closing its Series A round.
Multi-Year FEMA Clean-Up: Ready Ahead of Acquisition
A company had multiple years of FEMA compliance gaps, including a historical ODI lapse, ahead of a strategic acquisition.
Foreign Business Setup
India Company Incorporation for Foreigners
European Technology Company: Subsidiary Live Within Weeks
A European technology company needed an Indian wholly owned subsidiary incorporated, banked, and FDI-reported quickly.
Foreign Founder: Structure Corrected Before Filing
A foreign founder's own initial research had led them toward an LLP structure.
Foreign Business Setup (Hub)
Global SaaS Company: Strategy Through First GST Registration
A global SaaS company needed to go from initial India entry strategy through to an operational subsidiary.
Foreign Manufacturer: Informal Presence Made Compliant
A foreign manufacturer's India presence had been operating informally through a distributor relationship.
Indian Company Compliance
GST Compliance
Multi-State Trading Business: ITC Backlog Cleared
A multi-state trading business had recurring ITC mismatches against GSTR-2B.
Services Exporter: Stuck Refund Resolved
A services exporter had a GST refund claim stuck for months.
Income Tax Compliance
Professional Services Firm: Through-the-Year Discipline
A professional services firm nearing the tax audit threshold faced a recurring year-end scramble and interest cost.
Individual, Reconciled Filing: Recurring Notice Resolved
An individual with salary, capital gains, and foreign dividend income had a recurring AIS mismatch notice from prior years.
ROC Compliance
Foreign-Owned Subsidiary: 2-Year Backlog Cleared Ahead of Funding
A foreign-owned subsidiary had two years of pending annual filings ahead of a planned funding round.
Growing Startup: Event-Based Filings Reorganized
A growing startup's event-based filings, multiple share allotments and director changes, were causing a recurring year-end compliance scramble.
Licensing
Money Lending License
Regional Lending Business: Multi-State Licensing
A regional lending business was operating informally across two states.
Fintech Startup: Faster-to-Market Structure
A fintech startup needed to choose between NBFC registration and a lending-service-provider partnership model for its initial launch.
Licensing (Hub)
Lending Business: Correct State License Identified
A lending business had been operating informally for over a year.
Growing Business: Expansion Licensing Evaluated First
A growing business had expansion plans that might have required a new licensing category.
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