§ 9
Chapter II — Basis Of Charge
Income deemed to accrue or arise in India
Income-tax Act, 2025
Income is considered to accrue or arise in India if it is earned through Indian assets, property, business connections, or capital assets. This includes salaries earned in India, dividends paid by Indian companies, and interest payable by the government or residents.
- Specific rules apply to interest and royalty payments made by residents and non-residents.
📜 Official text of the section +
9. (1) The income referred to in sub-sections (2) to (8) shall be deemed to
accrue or arise in India.
(2) The income accruing or arising, directly or indirectly, through or from—
( a) any asset or source of income in India; or
( b) any property in India; or
( c) any business connection in India; or
( d) the transfer of a capital asset situated in India,
shall be deemed to accrue or arise in India.
(3) Any income falling under the head “Salaries” shall be deemed to accrue or arise
in India, if it is—
( a) earned in India, and any income payable for,—
( i) services rendered in India; and
( ii) the rest period or leave period which is preceded and succeeded by
services rendered in India and forms part of the service contract of
employment,
shall be regarded as income earned in India;
( b) payable by the Government to an Indian citizen for services rendered
outside India.
(4) Any dividend paid by an Indian company outside India shall be deemed to accrue
or arise in India.
(5)(a) Income by way of interest payable by—
( i) the Government;
( ii) a resident, except where it is payable in respect of any debt incurred, or
moneys borrowed and used, for the purpose of—
( A) a business or profession carried on by such resident outside India;
or
( B) making or earning any income by such resident from any source
outside India; or
( iii) a non-resident, if it is in respect of any debt incurred, or moneys bor -
rowed and used, for the purposes of a business or profession carried on
by such non-resident in India,
shall be deemed to accrue or arise in India;
(b) for the purposes of clause (a),—
( i) any interest payable by the permanent establishment in India of a
non-resident person engaged in the business of banking, to the head
office or any other permanent establishment or any other part of such
non-resident outside India shall be deemed to accrue or arise in India
and shall be chargeable to tax in addition to any income attributable to
such permanent establishment in India;
( ii) such permanent establishment in India shall—
( A) be deemed to be a person separate from, and independent of, the
non-resident person of which it is a permanent establishment; and
( B) the provisions of this Act relating to computation of total income,
determination of tax and collection and recovery shall apply,
accordingly;
( iii) “permanent establishment” shall have the meaning assigned to it in
section 173(c).
(6)(a) Income by way of royalty payable by—
( i) the Government;
( ii) a resident, except where the royalty is payable in respect of any right,
property or information used or services utilised for the purposes of—
( A) a business or profession carried on by such resident outside India;
or
( B) making or earning any income by such resident from any source
outside India; or
( iii) a non-resident, if the royalty is payable in respect of any right, property
or information used or services utilised for the purposes of—
( A) a business or profession carried on by such non-resident in India;
or
( B) making or earning any income by such non-resident from any
source in India,
shall be deemed to accrue or arise in India;
(b) in this sub-section, “royalty” means consideration (including any lump sum
consideration but excluding any consideration which would be the income of the
recipient chargeable under the head “Capital gains”) for the following—
( i) the transfer or grant of all or any rights (including the granting of a
licence) in respect of a patent, invention, model, design, secret formula
or process or trade mark or similar property;
( ii) the imparting of any information concerning the working of, or the use
of, a patent, invention, model, design, secret formula or process or trade
mark or similar property;
( iii) the use of any patent, invention, model, design, secret formula or process
or trade mark or similar property;
( iv) the imparting of any information concerning technical, industrial, com-
mercial or scientific knowledge, experience or skill;
( v) the use or right to use any industrial, commercial or scientific equipment
except the amounts referred in section 61(2) (Table: Sl. No. 5);
( vi) the transfer or grant of all or any rights (including the granting of a
licence) in respect of any copyright, literary, artistic or scientific work
including—
( A) films or video tapes for use in connection with television; or
( B) tapes for use in connection with radio broadcasting;
( vii) the rendering of services in connection with the activities referred to in
sub-clauses (i) to (vi);
(c) for the purposes of clause (b),—
( i) the transfer or grant of all or any rights in respect of any right, property or
information includes transfer or grant of all or any right for use or right
to use a computer software (including granting of a licence) irrespective
of the medium through which that right is transferred;
( ii) royalty includes consideration in respect of any right, property or infor-
mation, whether or not—
( A) the possession or control of that right, property or information is
with the payer;
( B) that right, property or information is used directly by the payer;
( C) the location of that right, property or information is in India;
( iii) the expression “process” includes transmission by satellite (including
up-linking, amplification, conversion for down-linking of any signal),
cable, optic fibre or by any other similar technology, whether or not that
process is secret;
( iv) the expression “computer software” means any computer programme
recorded on any disc, tape, perforated media or other information storage
device and includes any such programme or any customised electronic
data.
(7)(a) Income by way of fees for technical services payable by—
( i) the Government;
( ii) a resident, except where it is payable in respect of services utilised for—
( A) a business or profession carried on by such resident outside India;
or
( B) making or earning any income by such resident from any source
outside India; or
( iii) a non-resident, if it is payable in respect of services utilised for—
( A) a business or a profession carried on by such non-resident in India;
or
( B) making or earning any income by such non-resident from any
source in India,
shall be deemed to accrue or arise in India;
(b) in this sub-section, “fees for technical services” means any consideration
(including any lump sum consideration) for the rendering of any managerial,
technical or consultancy services (including the provision of services of technical
or other personnel) but does not include consideration—
( i) for any construction, assembly, mining or like project undertaken by the
recipient; or
( ii) which would be income of the recipient chargeable under the head
“Salaries”.
(8) Income arising outside India, in the nature of a sum referred to in section
2(49)(u), paid by a person resident in India,—
( a) to a non-resident, not being a company, or to a foreign company; or
( b) to a person not ordinarily resident in India under section 6(13),
shall be deemed to accrue or arise in India.
(9)(a) For the purposes of this section, “business connection” in India shall include—
( i) any business carried out in India in the case of which all or part of
operation are carried out in India; or
( ii) a significant economic presence in India;
(b) in clause (a), a business carried out in India shall include—
( i) business activity carried out through a person who, acting on behalf of
the non-resident,—
( A) has and habitually exercises in India, an authority to conclude
contracts on behalf of the non-resident or habitually concludes
contracts or habitually plays the principal role leading to conclusion
of contracts by that non-resident and the contracts are—
( I) in the name of the non-resident; or
( II) for the transfer of the ownership of, or for the granting of
the right to use, property owned by that non-resident or that
non-resident has the right to use; or
( III) for the provision of services by the non-resident; or
( B) has no such authority, but habitually maintains in India a stock of
goods or merchandise from which he regularly delivers goods or
merchandise on behalf of the non-resident; or
( C) habitually secures orders in India, mainly or wholly for the non-res-
ident, or for that non-resident and other non-residents controlling,
controlled by, or subject to the same common control, as that
non-resident;
( ii) a business activity carried out through a person who is a broker, general
commission agent or any other agent, through whom such activity is
carried out, and who is working mainly or wholly on behalf of—
( A) a non-resident (referred to as the principal non-resident); or
( B) such non-resident and other non-residents who—
( I) are controlled by the principal non-resident; or
( II) have a controlling interest in the principal non-resident; or
( III) are subject to the same common control as the principal
non-resident,
and such person shall not be deemed as having an independent status;
(c) in clauses (a) and (b), a business carried out in India shall not include any business
activity or operations of the non-resident—
( i) carried out through a broker, general commission agent or any other
agent having an independent status, if such broker, general commission
agent or any other agent is acting in the ordinary course of his business;
or
( ii) which are confined to any of the following—
( A) the purchase of goods in India for the purposes of export out of
India; or
( B) the collection of news and views in India for transmission out of
India, in the case where such non-resident is engaged in the business
of running a news agency or of publishing newspapers, magazines
or journals; or
( C) the display of uncut and unassorted diamond in any special zone
notified by the Central Government, in the case where such non-
resident is a foreign company engaged in the business of mining
of diamonds; or
( D) the shooting of any cinematographic film in India, in the case where
such non-resident is a person being—
( I) an individual who is not an Indian citizen; or
( II) a firm which does not have a partner who is an Indian citizen
or who is resident in India; or
( III) a company which does not have a shareholder who is an
Indian citizen or who is resident in India;
(d) a non-resident shall have a significant economic presence in India, where there
is—
( i) transaction in respect of any goods, services or property carried out by
such non-resident with any person in India including provision of down-
load of data or software in India, if the aggregate of payments arising
from such transaction or transactions during the tax year exceeds such
amount as may be prescribed; or
( ii) systematic and continuous soliciting of business activities or engaging
in interaction with such number of users in India, as may be prescribed,
irrespective of whether the agreement for such transactions or activities is entered
in India, or the non-resident has a residence or place of business in India, or the
non-resident renders any services in India;
(e) the provisions of clause (d) shall not apply to the transactions or activities which
are confined to the purchase of goods in India for the purpose of export;
(f) in this section, only the income which is reasonably attributable to—
( i) operations carried out in India, when all operations of the business are
not carried out in India;
( ii) transactions or activities referred to in clause (d),
shall be deemed to accrue or arise in India from any business connection;
(g) the income attributable to operations of any business or significant economic
presence in this section shall also include income from—
( i) such advertisement which targets a customer who resides in India or
a customer who accesses the advertisement through internet protocol
address located in India;
( ii) sale of data collected from a person who resides in India o
Plain-language summary — not the official text. Refer to the bare Act and confirm with a professional for your specific case.