Even if the stated activity(ies) of the liaison office of the respondent in India is regarded as business activity, as noted earlier, the same being "of preparatory or auxiliary character"; by virtue of Art. 5(3)(e) of the DTAA, the fixed place of business (liaison office) of the respondent in India otherwise a PE, is deemed to be expressly excluded from being so. And since by a legal fiction it is deemed not to be a PE of the respondent in India, it is not amenable to tax liability in terms of Art. 7 of the DTAA.