IN RE: P NO 25 OF 1996 Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) MR . H, the applicant, is a citizen of Netherlands, and an employee of a company incorporated in 1992 in the United Kingdom (U. K.). The company has carried out major projects throughout the world and has gained international reputation in conceptual engineering, detailed engineering and design, procurement and construction of all types of process plants. The applicant is assigned by the U. K. company to an oil refinery project in India in the position of construction director. The applicant arrived in India on November 16, 1995, in connection with his employment with the U. K. company. The applicant has presented this application under section 245Q(1) of the Income -tax Act, 1961, seeking the ruling of this authority on the following questions :

(2.) It may also be mentioned here that the applicant was not a resident in India in any of the four financial years immediately preceding the financial year in which he arrived in India and it is stated that the Indian income-tax on the remuneration in India and abroad paid to him for the services rendered in India during the financial year 1995-96 has been paid by the employer-company.

(3.) THE statement of facts having a bearing on the above issues may now be set out. An Indian public limited company is setting up an oil refinery project in an Indian state. The construction period of the refinery is expected to be three to four years and the final completion is currently scheduled for 1998. The Indian company has appointed the U. K. company for project management, supervision of construction and commissioning activities in India, in connection with the project. The construction has been approved by the Government of India vide its letter dated January 3, 1995. The applicant did not get any technical education bur it is stated that he has worked extensively on similar projects all over the world during his professional career spanning over three decades since 1960 in various capacities as draftsman, project scheduled engineer, head computer operations, construction planner, cost engineer, chief construction planner, application engineer, senior construction planner, etc.