The Delhi High Court on Wednesday held that South Korean multinational Samsung Electronics Co's wholly-owned subsidiary's premises in India do not represent a fixed place permanent establishment (PE) and, therefore, it cannot be taxed by Indian tax authorities.

Rejecting a batch of petitions by the Income Tax department, a division bench led by Justice Yashwant Varma upheld the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal's order.

"We find ourselves in complete agreement with the opinion expressed by the tribunal, since the secondment of employees has not been found to be for the furtherance of the business or enterprise of the respondent. Those seconded employees were not discharging functions or performing activities connected with the global enterprise of the respondent.