---
title: "FireEye Ireland Ltd. v The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 1(3)(1), ITAT New Delhi, ITA No. 825/Del/2023, 05 June 2026"
date: 2026-08-03
author: "King Stubb & Kasiva"
url: https://ksandk.com/newsletter/software-licence-fts-royalty-india-ireland-dtaa/
---

# FireEye Ireland Ltd. v The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 1(3)(1), ITAT New Delhi, ITA No. 825/Del/2023, 05 June 2026

Posted On - 3 August, 2026 • By - King Stubb & Kasiva

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Delhi, ruled that consideration received from the sale of standardised cybersecurity software licences and subscription services is not taxable as Fees for Technical Services (FTS) or royalties under the India-Ireland Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).  

The Revenue had argued that the services were customized, high-end technological solutions involving artificial intelligence and machine learning, which fell under the ambit of technical services. However, the Tribunal determined that the software sold was standardized, providing end-users with only restricted rights to use the products for their own needs without granting any proprietary interest, access to source code, or the right to commercially exploit the underlying intellectual property. Relying on the Supreme Court’s landmark Engineering Analysis decision and the Delhi High Court’s ruling in Amazon Web Services, the Tribunal held that such payments do not constitute “royalty” or Fees for Technical Services (FTS) and that associated support services were merely incidental to the principal software supply. 

*Last Updated on 3 August, 2026*

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