AI may force govt to renegotiate bilateral tax treaties

India is likely to renegotiate its bilateral tax treaties once global bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations (UN) finalise a framework for taxing artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled services, as AI businesses increasingly generate significant economic activity in a jurisdiction without a corresponding physical workforce.

Officials told TNIE that India is currently in a wait-and-watch mode. Once an international framework is finalised, there could gradually be changes in the way cross-border tax liabilities arising from AI-enabled services are assessed. However, the issue remains at a nascent stage, with countries awaiting detailed guidelines from the OECD and UN.