Special provision for computing income by way of royal ties, etc., in case of non-residents
Section 44DA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 deals with special provision for computing income by way of royal ties, etc., in case of non-residents. The income by way of royalty or fees for technical services received from Government or an Indian concern in pursuance of an agreement made by a non-resident (not being a company) or a foreign company with Government or the Indian concern after the 31st day of March, 2003, where such non- resident ( The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1962. Repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 with effect from 1 April 2026, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
(1) The income by way of royalty or fees for technical services received from Government or an Indian concern in pursuance of an agreement made by a non-resident (not being a company) or a foreign company with Government or the Indian concern after the 31st day of March, 2003, where such non- resident (not being a company) or a foreign company carries on business in India through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs professional services from a fixed place of profession situated therein, and the right, property or contract in respect of which the royalties or fees for technical services are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed place of profession, as the case may be, shall be computed under the head "Profits and gains of business or profession" in accordance with the provisions of this Act :
Provided that no deduction shall be allowed,—
(i) in respect of any expenditure or allowance which is not wholly and exclusively incurred for the business of such permanent establishment or fixed place of profession in India; or (ii) in respect of amounts, if any, paid (otherwise than towards reimbursement of actual expenses) by the permanent establishment to its head office or to any of its other offices :
Provided further that the provisions of section 44BB shall not apply in respect of the income referred to in this section.
(2) Every non-resident (not being a company) or a foreign company shall keep and maintain books of account and other documents in accordance with the provisions contained in section 44AA and get his accounts audited by an accountant as defined in the Explanation below sub-section (2) of section 288 before the specified date referred to in section 44AB and furnish by that date the report of such audit in the prescribed form duly signed and verified by such accountant.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,—
(a) "fees for technical services" shall have the same meaning as in Explanation 2 to clause (vii) of sub-section (1) of section 9;
(b) "royalty" shall have the same meaning as in Explanation 2 to clause (vi) of sub-section (1) of section 9;
(c) "permanent establishment" shall have the same meaning as in clause (iiia) of section 92F.
Special provision for computing deductions in the case of business reorganization of co-operative banks.
Section 44DA, The Income-tax Act, 1961 (Act 43 of 1961).
Now in the Income-tax Act
INCOME-TAX-ACT-2025 59 Computation of royalty and fee for technical services in hands of non- residents Official correspondence
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
- s. 9 Income deemed to accrue or arise in India
- s. 44AA Maintenance of accounts by certain persons carrying on profession or business
- s. 44AB Audit of accounts of certain persons carrying on business or profession
- s. 44BB Special provision for computing profits and gains in connection with the business of exploration, etc., of mineral oils
- s. 92F Definitions of certain terms relevant to computation of arm's length price, etc
- s. 288 Appearance by authorised representative
Referred to by 8
- Finance Act s. 15 Insertion of a new section 44DB
- Finance Act s. 17 Amendment of section 44DA
- Finance Act s. 24 Amendment of Section 44DA
- s. 44BB Special provision for computing profits and gains in connection with the business of exploration, etc., of mineral oils
- s. 44BBD Special provision for computing profits and gains of non-residents engaged in business of providing services or technology for setting up an electronics manufacturing facility or in connection with manufacturing or producing electronic goods, article or thing in India
- s. 115A Tax on dividends, royalty and technical service fees in the case of foreign companies
- Income-tax Rules s. 6GA Form of report of audit to be furnished under sub-section (2) of section 44DA
- Income-tax Rules s. 12 Return of income and return of fringe benefits
Questions about Section 44DA
What does Section 44DA of the Income-tax Act deal with?
Section 44DA of the Income-tax Act is headed "Special provision for computing income by way of royal ties, etc., in case of non-residents". The income by way of royalty or fees for technical services received from Government or an Indian concern in pursuance of an agreement made by a non-resident (not being a company) or a foreign company with Government or the Indian concern after the 31st day of March, 2003, where such non- resident (
How do I find court cases under Section 44DA of the Income-tax Act?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Income Tax Act 44DA, section 44DA Income Tax Act, section 44DA of the Income-tax Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 44DA of the Income-tax Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 9 (Income deemed to accrue or arise in India), section 44AA (Maintenance of accounts by certain persons carrying on profession or business), section 44AB (Audit of accounts of certain persons carrying on business or profession), section 44BB (Special provision for computing profits and gains in connection with the business of exploration, etc., of mineral oils), and on 2 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 8 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 April 2026 the provision to read is Income-tax Act, 2025, section 59 (Computation of royalty and fee for technical services in hands of non-residents), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 44DA of the Income-tax Act come into force?
Section 44DA of the Income-tax Act, cited as Income Tax Act 44DA, came into force on 01 Apr 1962, having been enacted on 13 Sep 1961. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 10. Incomes not included in total income30885 words
- 2. Definitions11419 words
- 80HHF. Deduction in respect of profits and gains from export or transfer of film software, etc7148 words
- 80-IB. Deduction in respect of profits and gains from certain industrial undertakings other than infrastructure development undertakings5474 words
- 155. Other amendments5451 words
- 139. Return of income5400 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by the Income Tax Department, as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. India Code holds no record of this Act in any form. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.