[ compiled answer ]
law as at 14 Aug 2026 · settled
Can a Netherlands, France or Switzerland payee claim a lower royalty/FTS rate through the MFN clause?
The compiled answer
Not without a notification. AO v. Nestlé SA (2023 INSC 928, 19 Oct 2023) held that an MFN protocol altering existing law takes effect only through a separate s.90(1) notification — now s.159(1) of the 2025 Act. Absent one, the treaty's own scheduled rate applies, not the MFN-imported lower rate; CBDT Circular 3/2022 had taken the same position, and Switzerland revoked MFN treatment for India w.e.f. 1 Jan 2025 in response. No corridor-specific MFN notification had been verified as issued as at 14 Aug 2026 — check before relying.
Pinpoint
s.159(1), Income-tax Act 2025; AO v. Nestlé SA, 2023 INSC 928
String-verified quote
“may, by notification, make such provisions as necessary for implementing the agreement”
source: rule:WHT.IN.MFN-DENIED — verified at load; a quote that stops matching its source is a compile error
Computed by a deterministic engine over compiled law — no generative model in the evaluation path. JSON twin: /t/mfn_rate_denied_nestle.json · Ask with YOUR facts: GET /compute?lookup=… · MCP: POST https://lrlabs.ai/mcp (lookup_compiled_rule)