The Indian Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) delivered a ruling in the case of The Indian Hotels Company Ltd. v. Income Tax Officer (unreported) dealing with the issue of whether fees payable to a foreign company for carrying out interior designing constituted "fees for technical services" (FTS) or "royalty" under the India-Singapore tax treaty (the tax treaty). (a) Facts. The taxpayer (i.e. The Indian Hotels Company Ltd.) was a hotelier and it contracted Messrs. Hirsh Bender Associates Interior Designer (HBA), a Singapore-based company, to carry out interior designing work for the renovation of the taxpayer's hotel in India. The tax...