National Petroleum Construction Company vs DCIT

Whether the Assessing Officer was justified in issuing a certificate under Section 197 of the Income Tax Act 1961 directing TDS at 4% on all payments (including for offshore activities) to a non-resident UAE company, despite previous appellate rulings that offshore income was not taxable in India and the company's claim for Nil TDS on offshore receipts --- Held No, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the High Court's view that the determination of Permanent Establishment (PE) and taxability of offshore income are complex factual issues to be decided in regular assessment, not in summary Section 197 proceedings, and the company's own concession for 4% TDS was binding.