Delhi HC issues notice to govt over google tax on MasterCard’s subsidiary

The Delhi High Court has issued notices to the Union government and the income-tax department over the 2 per cent equalisation levy, the so-called Google tax, on Mastercard Asia Pacific Pte, a Singaporean subsidiary of Mastercard.

The court has posted the matter for August 18.

The issue relates to the presence of permanent establishment (PE) of the company in India. The Authority of Advance Rulings (AAR), Delhi, had said in 2018 that the company has various kinds of PEs in India such as fixed place PE, service PE, etc. The matter is sub-judice at present. PE is a place of business, which generally increases the tax liability of a firm.