In Brief
The Supreme Court held that when an Assessing Officer examines international transactions exceeding Rs.5 crores in aggregate value, the CBDT's Instruction No.3/2003 mandatorily requires reference to a Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) to determine the arm's length price. Although Section 92CA uses discretionary language, the CBDT instruction imposes a mandatory obligation. The AO violated this requirement and made a transfer pricing adjustment without TPO reference. Rather than wholly reverse the addition, the Court restored the matter to the AO to properly refer it to the TPO, allowing the assessment process to proceed correctly.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.