C.Representative assesseesSpecial cases
Who may be
regarded as agent.23
163. (1) For the purposes of this Act, agent, in relation to a
non-resident, includes any person in India
(a) who is employed by or on behalf of the
non-resident; or
(b) who has any business connection with the
non-resident; or
(c) from or through whom the non-resident is in
receipt of any income, whether directly or indirectly; or
(d) who is the trustee of the non-resident;
and includes also any other person who,
whether a resident or non-resident, has acquired by means of a transfer, a
capital asset in India :
Provided that a broker in India who, in respect of any transactions, does not
deal directly with or on behalf of a non-resident principal but deals with or
through a non-resident broker shall not be deemed to be an agent under
this section in respect of such transactions, if the following conditions are
fulfilled, namely:
(i) the transactions are carried on in the
ordinary course of business through the first-mentioned broker; and
(ii) the non-resident broker is carrying on such
transactions in the ordinary course of his business and not as a principal.
24[Explanation.For the purposes of this sub-section, the
expression business connection shall have the meaning assigned to it in Explanation
2 to clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section
9 of this Act.]
(2) No person shall be treated as the agent of
a non-resident unless he has had an opportunity of being heard by the 25[Assessing] Officer as to his liability to be
treated as such.