Direct tax in India is not a compliance function. It is a sequence of consequential decisions — how a transaction is structured, how a group is organised across jurisdictions, how income is characterised, whether a provision is claimed, how a position is documented. Each of those decisions carries a litigation consequence. The question is not whether the Income Tax Department will scrutinise it — it will. The question is whether the position is defensible on the day it is challenged.
Goldschmidt Pallonji's Direct Tax practice is built around a structural advantage that no pure law firm and no standalone CA firm can replicate: our Chartered Accountants and Tax Lawyers work together from the first instruction. The CA analyses the financial position and identifies the tax exposure. The lawyer identifies the legal framework and anticipates the litigation risk. The position that emerges is not a legal opinion reconciled with a CA certificate — it is a single, integrated strategy that is financially sound and legally defensible from the day it is taken.
For international clients — the Australian company with a Permanent Establishment question in India, the GCC family office with POEM exposure, the Singapore holding structure facing GAAR scrutiny — GP's five international corridors mean the DTAA advice is not generic treaty interpretation. It is calibrated to the commercial reality of the specific jurisdiction, the specific transaction, and the specific treaty provision that will determine the outcome.
From structuring through assessment to the Supreme Court — the full spectrum of direct tax work, handled by one integrated CA and lawyer team.
Annual tax planning for Indian companies, subsidiaries of foreign corporations, and joint ventures. Computation of taxable income, deduction analysis, MAT/AMT applicability, depreciation strategy, tax holiday provisions under Sections 80-IA, 80-IC, and 10AA for SEZ units. CAs and lawyers review every position jointly before it is filed.
Learn More →Tax structuring for mergers, acquisitions, demergers, slump sales, and asset transfers. Section 50C and 50CA valuation issues, Section 56(2)(x) anti-avoidance, stamp duty optimisation, and capital gains characterisation. GAAR analysis on every transaction above INR 3 crore. Tax due diligence for buyers and sellers — identifying legacy exposures before they become deal-breakers.
Learn More →Tax treaty analysis under India's DTAAs with Australia, Singapore, UAE, UK, USA, Netherlands, and Mauritius. Permanent Establishment (PE) risk assessment for foreign companies operating in India, POEM analysis for Indian subsidiaries of foreign groups, withholding tax optimisation on dividends, interest, and royalties. BEPS compliance — MLI impact on existing structures and treaty entitlement under PPT.
Learn More →Response to Section 143(2) scrutiny notices, Section 148 reassessment proceedings, and Section 144 best judgement assessments. Preparation of detailed written submissions supported by CA-certified financial analysis. Representation before the Assessing Officer, CIT(A), and PCIT — building the record from the first notice for the ITAT and High Court appeal that may follow.
Learn More →Tax planning and compliance for High Net Worth Individuals, business families, and senior executives. Capital gains management on equity, real estate, and unlisted shares. ESOPs — taxation at exercise, sale, and cross-border vesting scenarios for employees with India and international components. Voluntary Disclosure Advisory and resolution of legacy demands before they escalate to prosecution.
Learn More →Applications before the Board of Advance Rulings (BAR) and the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) for certainty on novel or complex tax positions before they are taken. Particularly valuable for inbound investors, joint venture structures, and cross-border transactions where the tax treatment is uncertain. Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) for transfer pricing certainty on related-party transactions.
Learn More →Chapter X-A of the Income Tax Act gives the Tax Department broad powers to disregard any arrangement where the main purpose is to obtain a tax benefit and the arrangement lacks commercial substance, is not at arm's length, or misuses the provisions of the Act. Since 2017, GAAR has been applied to restructurings, share transfers, and treaty-based structures that were previously considered tax-efficient. GP analyses every transaction above INR 3 crore for GAAR risk — and documents the commercial substance that defeats a GAAR challenge before the arrangement is entered into.
The Indian tax system treats non-residents, returning NRIs, and OCI cardholders very differently — and the rules change at the moment your residential status changes. Income that was not taxable in India as an NRI may become fully taxable when you return. Foreign assets must be disclosed under the Black Money Act. Bank accounts and investments abroad require FEMA compliance. GP advises NRIs on the full transition — restructuring holdings before return, understanding RNOR status, managing the Foreign Tax Credit, and planning the first India tax filing correctly.
A Section 133A survey is described as a routine visit. It is not. The statements recorded during a survey are admissible in subsequent assessment proceedings. Documents seized during a survey — even those not specifically asked for — can form the basis of additions in the assessment. The hour after the IT officers arrive is the most consequential hour in a tax dispute. GP's CA-lawyer team responds to IT surveys and searches with the forensic discipline and legal precision that protects the client's position in the assessment, the ITAT, and the High Court that follow — not just in the survey itself.
CAM describes its taxation practice as combining "market awareness, commercial acumen, and rapport with Indian regulators." GP's direct tax practice goes further — the CA who helped structure the transaction and the lawyer who drafted the documentation are the same people who will appear before the ITAT when the Assessing Officer adds back the deduction. There is no handover. There is no moment where the litigation team reads the structuring file for the first time. The institutional memory of the transaction is in the room throughout.
The most consequential tax disputes in India involve unexplained income, alleged bogus transactions, accommodation entries, and cash credit additions — all of which require forensic financial analysis, not just legal argument. GP's in-house forensic accounting team provides the financial reconstruction, document trail analysis, and bank account mapping that turns a legally correct position into a financially credible one. Most tax litigators do not have this capability in-house. GP does.
Every Indian law firm offers DTAA advice. What no other Indian firm offers is founding directors who have practised tax and commercial law in Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the GCC, and London. When GP advises an Australian company on its India PE exposure, that advice reflects an understanding of what the ATO is likely to scrutinise on the Australian side simultaneously. When we advise a GCC family office on India investment structuring, we understand the UAE corporate tax implications that a pure Indian tax adviser cannot see. The DTAA is a bilateral document — GP reads both sides.
Complete confidentiality maintained. These matters illustrate the nature and depth of our direct tax practice.
Advised an ASX-listed technology company on its India Permanent Establishment exposure arising from a contract development team in Bangalore. Assessed PE risk under the India-Australia DTAA, designed a service delivery model that eliminated the PE risk without affecting operational efficiency, and obtained an Advance Ruling on the characterisation of the payments for withholding tax purposes. ATO implications assessed simultaneously. Full resolution without reassessment proceedings.
Advised the acquirer in a listed company acquisition on GAAR risk arising from the multi-layered holding structure. Prepared a comprehensive commercial substance memorandum addressing each GAAR limb. Designed the valuation methodology for Section 56(2)(x) purposes with full CA certification. When the Assessing Officer questioned the valuation in the subsequent scrutiny, the documentation built at the structuring stage defeated the addition at the first level itself — the CIT(A) upheld the valuation without contest.
Advised an Australian-resident Indian professional on the full tax transition plan for return to India — RNOR status management, restructuring of Australian superannuation and investment portfolio before change of residency, Black Money Act disclosure analysis for foreign assets, Foreign Tax Credit planning, and FEMA compliance for repatriation of Australian funds. First India tax return filed with zero legacy exposure. DTAA-based credit claimed for Australian CGT paid on assets disposed of before departure.
The team is led at partner level by a lawyer with deep transactional tax experience and a senior CA with ITAT and High Court litigation experience — neither of whom works without the other on any significant matter. Below them, the team includes both CA-qualified associates and law graduates, all of whom are trained to read a matter through both lenses simultaneously.
The Direct Tax practice works in constant coordination with our Transfer Pricing team, our International Tax team, our Tax Litigation team, and — on matters involving allegations of fraud, unexplained income, or benami transactions — our Forensic Accounting team. For cross-border matters, the practice draws directly on our Australia, Singapore, GCC, Hong Kong, and London corridor experience.
The GAAR provisions have now been applied in over 40 assessment orders across India. This bulletin analyses the emerging patterns — which structures the Department targets first, what commercial substance documentation defeats a GAAR challenge, and which transactions should now be restructured.
Read Bulletin →The India-Australia DTAA covers withholding tax on dividends, interest, royalties, and fees for technical services — but the practical application involves PE risk, POEM exposure, and capital gains provisions that most Australian advisers have not encountered. This guide explains the treaty for Australian investors and the Indian diaspora in Australia.
Read Guide →Whether you are structuring a transaction with a tax dimension, defending a scrutiny assessment, seeking a treaty ruling, or managing an IT survey — our CA and lawyer team responds within 24 hours with a clear, commercially grounded position.
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