* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Judgment Reserved on: 02.12.2025 Judgment delivered on: 16.03.2026 Judgment uploaded on: As per Digital Signature~

+ W.P.(C) 11956/2025 & CM APPL. 65195/2025 MAKE MYTRIP (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED .....Petitioner versus ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CIRCLE-75(1), DELHI & ANR. .....Respondents Advocates who appeared in this case For the petitioner : Mr. Salil Kapoor, Ms. Soumya Singh, Mr. Sumit Lalchandani and Ms Ananya Kapoor, Advocates For the Respondents : Mr. Siddhartha Sinha, SSC.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE V. KAMESWAR RAO HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VINOD KUMAR

JUDGMENT

V. KAMESWAR RAO, J.

1. The present petition has been filed challenging the order dated 17.07.2025 passed by the respondent no. 2 i.e., Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (TDS), Gurugram for Financial Year (“F.Y.”) 2025-26, relevant to Assessment Year (“A.Y.”) 2026-27, whereby the respondent no.2 has rejected an application under Section 197 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (“the Act”) dated 19.05.2025 seeking a „NIL Withholding Certificate‟ under Section 197 of the Act or without prejudice, a certificate at the rate of 0.30%, consistent with the certificates which were issued by the respondent no.2 for three preceding FYs.

BRIEF FACTS OF THE CASE

2. The petitioner is a company incorporated in India on April 13, 2000, under the Companies Act, 1956, and is engaged in the business of selling travel products and solutions. The petitioner owns a web-based travel services portal that can be accessed freely through the internet (through URL - www.makemytrip.com) and primarily focuses on promoting air tickets, hotel bookings and tours & packages about tourist destinations. The petitioner is regularly assessed to tax by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle 16(1), Delhi, for more than a decade in respect of its Permanent Account Number (PAN) – AADCM5146R, and by the Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle-75(1), Delhi-respondent no. 1 in relation to its Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number (TAN) –

DELM09144C.

3. The petitioner has been filing applications for NIL Withholding Tax Certificate and the respondent no. 1 has been issuing such certificates for years, directing TDS to be deducted at a lower rate, as under :-

Date of A.Y. Rate of Certificate Withholding tax

01.06.2024 2025-26 0.30% 09.06.2023 2024-25 0.30% 05.08.2022 2023-24 0.30% 05.05.2021 2022-23 0.10%

4. On 19.05.2025, the petitioner filed the application before the respondent no.1 for „NIL Withholding Tax Certificate‟ for F.Y. 2025-26 relevant to A.Y. 2026-27 or without prejudice, lower withholding certificate @ 0.30%, in view of the certificate dated 01.06.2024. The case of the petitioner was, during the year under consideration, the petitioner has substantial tax losses, which were brought forward from past AYs available for set-off, and therefore, the taxable business income of the petitioner for the FY 2025-26 shall be „Nil‟ (after set-off of brought forward losses, including unabsorbed depreciation).

5. Pursuant to the filing of the application, the respondents sought clarifications from the petitioner. Amongst those clarifications, the respondents sought a specific clarification regarding outstanding tax demand of ₹1,50,65,760/- reflecting against the PAN and ₹11,660/- against the TAN of the petitioner, which was raised on the portal. The petitioner filed a reply. 6. In response to the amount reflecting against the PAN, the petitioner submitted that, it is not recoverable on account of pending rectification and an appeal is pending before the Appellate Authorities. Regarding the demand against the TAN of the petitioner, the petitioner submitted that the same was on account of a technical error, which is being corrected through revision of TDS and that the demand will not survive post the revision of TDS return. In the said response, the petitioner also filed copies of certificates issued for A.Ys. 2025-26, 2024-25, 2023-24, 2022-23 and 2021-

22, which we