New Delhi
The Swiss government has given a big blow to Indian companies. Switzerland has withdrawn the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status from India. After this decision of the Swiss government, Indian companies operating there will have to pay higher taxes from January 1, 2025. Switzerland had given India the status of MNF nation under the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), which has now been withdrawn.
A statement had come from Switzerland on Friday itself that it had to take this step due to the decision of the Indian Supreme Court. In fact, last year in a case related to Nestle, the Supreme Court had ruled that DTAA cannot be implemented unless it is notified under the Income Tax Act. Only after this, the Swiss government has taken this big step.
Following withdrawal of MFN status, Switzerland will impose 10 per cent tax on dividends from January 1, 2025 to Indian tax residents who claim refund for Swiss withholding tax and to Swiss tax citizens who claim foreign tax credit. Are.
The statement further said that the Swiss Finance Department announced the suspension of the application of the MFN to the Protocol to the Agreement between Switzerland and India for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income. Switzerland cited a 2023 judgment by the Indian Supreme Court in a case related to Nestlé for its decision to withdraw the MFN status. This means that Switzerland will impose 10 percent tax on Indian entities in that country from January 1, 2025.
Supreme Court had overturned HC’s decision
According to the statement, in 2021, the Delhi High Court in the Nestle case had upheld the tax keeping in mind the MFN clause in the double tax avoidance agreement. However, the Supreme Court of India, in a judgment dated October 19, 2023, overturned the lower court decision and concluded that, the applicability of the MFN clause “was not directly applicable in the absence of ‘notification’ as per section 90 of the Income Tax Act”.
Commenting on the Swiss authority’s decision, Nangia Andersen M&A Tax Partner Sandeep Jhunjhunwala said the unilateral suspension of the application of the MFN clause under its tax agreement with India marks a significant change in the dynamics of the bilateral treaty. “This suspension may lead to increased tax liabilities for Indian entities operating in Switzerland, highlighting the complexities of navigating international tax treaties in an emerging global landscape,” he said.
What is MFN?
World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization of UNO (United Nations). 164 countries are its members and all the countries under it give each other the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status. After being given this status, all countries can easily do business with each other without any discrimination.
