Double Taxation Agreement - Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Foreign Countries - With Ireland - 045/2002 - Income Tax

Double Taxation Agreement - Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Foreign Countries - With Ireland Notification No. 45/2002 [F. No. 503/6/91-FTD] Dated 20-2-2002 Section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 - Double Taxation Agreement - Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Foreign Countries - With Ireland Whereas the annexed Convention between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Ireland for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and for the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains has entered into force on 26th December, 2001, thirty days after the receipt of the later of the notifications by both the Contracting States to each other of the completion of the procedure required by their respective laws, as required by Article 28 of the said Convention. Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby directs that all the provisions of the said Convention shall be given effect to in the Union of India. Annexure Convention between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Ireland For the Avoidance of Double Taxation and for the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on Income and Capital Gains The Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Ireland, desiring to conclude a Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains and with a view to promoting economic co-operation between the two countries, have agreed as follows : Article 1 : PERSONAL SCOPE - This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States. Article 2 : TAXES COVERED - 1. This Convention shall apply to taxes on income and capital gains imposed on behalf of a Contracting State or of its political sub-divisions or local authorities irrespective of the manner in which they are levied. 2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income and capital gains all taxes imposed on total income, or on elements of income including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable property. 3. The existing taxes to which the Convention shall apply are in particular : (a) In India : the income-tax, including any surcharge thereon; (hereinafter referred to as Indian tax); (b) In Ireland : (i) the income-tax; (ii) the corporation tax; and (iii) the capital gains tax (hereinafter referred to as Irish tax). 4. The Convention shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Convention in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes referred to in paragraph 3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of significant changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws. Article 3 : GENERAL DEFINITIONS - 1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires : (a) the term India means the territory of India and includes the territorial sea and airspace above it, as well as any other maritime zone in which India has sovereign rights, other rights and jurisdiction, according to the Indian law and in accordance with international law, including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea; (b) the term Ireland includes any area outside the territorial waters of Ireland which, in accordance with international law, has been or may hereafter be designated under the laws of Ireland concerning the Continental Shelf, as an area within which the rights of Ireland with respect to the sea and sub-soil and their natural resources may be exercised; (c) the term person includes an individual, a company, a trust, a partnership which is treated as a taxable unit under the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) of India, a body of persons and any other entity which is treated as a taxable unit under the taxation laws in force in the respective Contracting States; (d) the term company means any body corporate or any entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; (e) the terms enterprise of a Contracting State and enterprise of the other Contracting State mean respectively an enterprise carried on by a resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident of the other Contracting State; (f) the term international traffic means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise of a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State; (g) the term competent authority means : (i) in the case of India : the Central Government in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) or their authorised representative; (ii) in the case of Ireland : the Revenue Commissioners or their authorised representative; (h) the term national means : (i) in relation to Ireland, any citizen of Ireland and any legal person, association or other entity deriving its status as such from the laws in force in Ireland; (ii) in relation to India (A) any individual possessing the nationality of India; (B) any legal person, partnership or association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in India; (i) the term fiscal year means : (i) in the case of India, previous year as defined under section 3 of the Income-tax Act, 1961; (ii) in the case of Ireland, a year beginning with the sixth day of April in one year and ending with the fifth day of April in the following year; (j) the term tax means Indian tax or Irish tax, as the context requires, but shall not include any amount which is payable in respect of any default or omission in relation to the taxes to which this Convention applies or which represents a penalty or fine imposed relating to those taxes; (k) the terms a Contracting State, one of the Contracting States and the other Contracting State mean Ireland or the Republic of India, as the context requires, and the term Contracting States means Ireland and the Republic of India. 2. As regards the application of the Convention by a Contracting State any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has under the law of that State concerning the taxes to which the Convention applies. Article 4 : RESIDENT - 1 . For the purposes of this Convention, the term resident of a Contracting State means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a similar nature. 2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows : (a) he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests); (b) if the State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either State, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State in which he has an habitual abode; (c) if he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State of which he is a national; (d) if he is a national of both States or of neither of them the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement. 3. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall be deemed to be a resident of the State in which its place of effective management is situated. If the State in which its place of effective management is situated cannot be determined, then the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement. Article 5 : PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT - 1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term permanent establishment means a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on. 2. The term permanent establishment includes especially : (a) a place of management; (b) a branch; (c) an office; (d) a factory; (e) a workshop; (f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction or exploration of natural resources; (g) an installation or structure used for the exploration or exploitation of natural resources; (h) a sales outlet; (i) a warehouse in relation to a person providing storage facilities for others; and (j) a farm, plantation or other place where agricultural, forestry, plantation or related activities are carried on. 3. A building site or construction or assembly project or supervisory activities in connection therewith constitute a permanent establishment only if such site, project or activity last more than six months. 4. An enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State and to carry on business through that permanent establishment if it provides services or facilities in connection with, or supplies plant and machinery on hire used for or to be used in, the prospecting for, or extraction or exploitation of mineral oils in that State. 5. Notwithstanding the previous provisions of this Article, the term permanent establishment shall be deemed not to include : (a) the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise; (b) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery; (c) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise; (d) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of purchasing goods or merchandise or of collecting information for the enterprise; (e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character; (f) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character. 6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person - other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 8 applies - is acting in a Contracting State on behalf of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, that enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the first-mentioned Contracting State in respect of any activities which that person undertakes for the enterprise, if such a person: (a) has and habitually exercises in that State an authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise, unless the activities of such person are limited to those mentioned in paragraph 5 which, if exercised through a fixed place of business, would not make this fixed place of business a permanent establishment under the provisions of that paragraph; or (b) has no such authority, but habitually maintains in the first-mentioned State a stock of goods or merchandise from which he regularly delivers goods or merchandise on behalf of the enterprise; or (c) habitually secures orders in the first-mentioned State, wholly or almost wholly for the enterprise itself or for the enterprise and other enterprises controlling, controlled by, or subject to the same control as that enterprise. 7. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, an insurance enterprise of a Contracting State shall, except in regard to re-insurance, be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State if it collects premiums in the territory of that other State or insures risks situated therein through a person other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 8 applies. 8. An enterprise shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business. However, if the activities of such an agent are carried out wholly or almost wholly for the enterprise and the conditions made or imposed between them in their commercial and financial relations differ from those which would have been made or imposed if this had not been the case, that agent shall not be considered to be an agent of an independent status for the purpose of this paragraph. 9. The fact that a company which is a resident of a Contracting State controls or is controlled by a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State, or which carries on business in that other State (whether through a permanent establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself constitute either company a permanent establishment of the other. Article 6 : INCOME FROM IMMOVABLE PROPERTY - 1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable property (including income from agriculture or forestry) situated in the other Contracting State may also be taxed in that other State. 2. The term immovable property shall have the meaning which it has under the laws of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. The term shall in any case include property accessory to immovable property, live stock and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, rights to which the provisions of general law respecting landed property apply, usu fruct of immovable property and rights to variable or fixed payments as consideration for the working of, or the right to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships, boats, aircraft and motor vehicles shall not be regarded as immovable property. 3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property. 4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to the income from immovable property of an enterprise and to income from immovable property used for the performance of independent personal services. Article 7 : BUSINESS PROFITS - 1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein. If the enterprise carries on business as aforesaid, the profits of the enterprise may also be taxed in the other State but only so much of them as is attributable to that permanent establishment. 2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, there shall in each Contracting State be attributed to that permanent establishment the profits which it might be expected to make if it were a distinct and separate enterprise engaged in the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently with the enterprise of which it is a permanent establishment. 3. In the determination of the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the permanent establishment, whether in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere. Executive and general administrative expenses shall be allowed as deductions in accordance with the taxation laws of that State. Nothing in this paragraph shall, however, authorise a deduction for expenses which would not be deductible if the permanent establishment were a separate enterprise. 4. No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the enterprise. 5. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to the permanent establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year unless there is good and sufficient reason to the contrary. 6. Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Convention, then the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article. Article 8 : SHIPPING AND AIR TRANSPORT - 1. Profits derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the operation or rental of ships or aircraft in international traffic and the rental of containers and related equipment which is incidental to the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in that Contracting State. 2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to profits from the participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency. 3. For the purposes of this Article, interest on funds connected directly with the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be regarded as profits derived from the operation of such ships or aircraft; and the provisions of Article 11 shall not apply in relation to such interest, provided that such funds are incidental to that operation. 4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, profits derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the operation of ships between the ports of the other Contracting State and the ports of third countries may be taxed in that other Contracting State, but the tax imposed in that other State shall be reduced by an amount equal to two-thirds thereof. Article 9 : ASSOCIATED ENTERPRISES - 1. Where (a) an enterprise of a Contracting State participates directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, or (b) the same persons participate directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of a Contracting State and an enterprise of the other Contracting State. and in either case conditions are made or imposed between the two enterprises in their commercial or financial relations which differ from those which would be made between independent enterprises, then any profits which would, but for those conditions, have accrued to one of the enterprises but, by reason of those conditions, have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly. 2. Where a Contracting State includes in the profits of an enterprise of that State and taxes accordingly profits on which an enterprise of the other Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other State and the profits so included are profits which would have accrued to the enterprise of the first-mentioned State if the conditions made between the two enterprises had been those which would have been made between independent enterprises, then that other State shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of the tax charged therein on those profits. In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this Convention and the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall if necessary consult each other. Article 10 : DIVIDENDS - 1. Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contacting State may be taxed in that other State. 2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident and according to the laws of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the dividends the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends. This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid. 3. The term dividends as used in this Article includes income from shares or other rights, not being debt-claims, participating in profit, as well as income from other corporate rights which is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from shares by the laws of the State of which the company making the distribution is a resident. 4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State of which the company paying the dividend is a resident, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 5. Where a company which is a resident of a Contracting State derives profits or income from the other Contracting State, that other State may not impose any tax on the dividends paid by the company, except insofar as such dividends are paid to a resident of that other State or insofar as the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed base situated in that other State, nor subject the company's undistributed profits to a tax on the company's undistributed profits, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in such other State. Article 11 : INTEREST - 1. Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. 2. However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises and according to the laws of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the interest the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the interest. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of this limitation. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest arising in a Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that Contracting State provided it is derived and beneficially owned by, or derived in connection with a loan or credit extended, guaranteed or insured by: (a) the Government, a political sub-division, a statutory body or a local authority of the other Contracting State; or (b) (i) in the case of India, the Reserve Bank of India, the Industrial Finance Corporation of India, the Industrial Development Bank of India, the Export-Import Bank of India, the National Housing Bank, the Small Industries Development Bank of India and the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI); and (ii) in the case of Ireland, the Central Bank of Ireland; or (c) any other similar institution as may be agreed from time to time between the Competent Authorities of the Contracting States. 4. The term interest as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in the debtor's profits, and in particular, income from Government securities and income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures, but does not include any income which is treated as a dividend under Article 10. Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purpose of this Article. 5. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the interest, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contacting State in which the interest arises, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 6. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, a political sub-division, a local authority or a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the interest, whether he is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated. 7. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the interest, having regard to the debt-claim for which it is paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationships, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention. Article 12 : ROYALTIES AND FEES FOR TECHNICAL SERVICES - 1. Royalties or fees for technical services arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. 2. However, such royalties or fees for technical services may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise, and according to the laws of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the royalties or fees for technical services, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties or fees for technical services. 3. (a) The term royalties as used in this Article means payments of any kind received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films or films or tapes for radio or television broadcasting, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process or for the use of or the right to use industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, other than an aircraft, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience; (b) The term fees for technical services means payment of any kind in consideration for the rendering of any managerial, technical or consultancy services including the provision of services by technical or other personnel but does not include payments for services mentioned in Articles 14 and 15 of this Convention. 4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the royalties or fees for technical services, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the royalties or fees for technical services arise through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties or fees for technical services are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 5. Royalties or fees for technical services shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, a political sub-division, a local authority or a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the royalties or fees for technical services, whether he is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the liability to pay the royalties or fees for technical services was incurred, and such royalties or fees for technical services are borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such royalties or fees for technical services shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated. 6. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties or fees for technical services, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention. Article 13 : CAPITAL GAINS - 1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State may also be taxed in that other State. 2. Gains from the alienation of movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of movable property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of such fixed base, may also be taxed in that other State. 3. Gains derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic or movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft shall be taxable only in that State. 4. Gains from the alienation of shares of the capital stock of a company the property of which consists directly or indirectly principally of immovable property situated in a Contracting State may be taxed in that State. 5. Gains from the alienation of shares other than those mentioned in paragraph 4 in a company which is a resident of a Contracting State may be taxed in that Contracting State. 6. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.