TMI BlogAgreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the State of Qatar for the avoidance of double taxation u/s 90X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... TWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF QATAR FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND FOR THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME The Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the State of Qatar, desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and with a view to promoting economic co-operation between the two countries have agreed as follows : ARTICLE 1 Persons Covered This Agreement shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States. ARTICLE 2 Taxes Covered 1. This Agreement shall apply to taxes on income 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. The existing taxes to which the Agreement shall apply are in particular : ( a ) In India, the income tax, including any surcharge thereon; (hereinafter referred to as "Indian tax") ; and ( b ) in the State of Qatar, the income-tax (hereinafter referred to as "Qatari Tax"). 3. The Agreement shall a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... such from the laws in force in a Contracting State; ( i ) the term "fiscal year" means : ( i ) in the case of India, "previous year" as defined in the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961); ( ii ) in the case of State of Qatar "taxable year" as defined in Qatar Income-tax Law ; ( j ) the term "tax" means Indian tax or Qatari 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 Agreement applies or which represents a penalty or fine imposed relating to those taxes; ( k ) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean the Republic of India or the State of Qatar as the context requires. 2. As regards the application of the Agreement 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 Agreement applies. ARTICLE 4 Resident 1. For the purposes of this Agreement, 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 domicil ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... are carried on. 3. A building site, construction, 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 preceding 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 or 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 bus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... roker, 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, when the activities of such an agent are devoted wholly or almost wholly on behalf of that enterprise, he will not be considered an agent of an independent status within the meaning 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 law of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. The term shall in any case, include property accessory to immov ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f 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 Agreement, 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 of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in that State. 2. In the case of the State of Qatar for the purposes of the preceding paragraph the ships and aircraft shall mean Gulf Air Company and United Arab Shipping Company so long as the State of Qatar owns a share in these companies or any other air or sea transport enterprise designated by the Government of the State of Qatar. 3. Profits derived by a transportation enterprise which is a resident of a Contracting State from the use, maintenance, or rental of containers (including trailers and other equipment for the transport of containers) used for the transport of goods or mer ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Dividends 1. Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting 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 : ( a ) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company which owns at least ten per cent of the shares of the company paying the dividend; and ( b ) 10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases. 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 means income from shares or other rights, not being debt-claims, participating in profits, 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 paragrap ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n particular, income from Government securities and income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures. 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 Contracting 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 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e 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 permanen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nly in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident. ARTICLE 14 Independent Personal Services 1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of professional services or other activities of an independent character shall be taxable only in that State except in the following circumstances, when such income may also be taxed in the other Contracting State : ( a ) if he has a fixed base regularly available to him in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities; in that case, only so much of the income as is attributable to that fixed base may be taxed in that other State; or ( b ) if his stay in the other State is for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned; in that case, only so much of the income as is derived from his activities performed in that other State may be taxed in that other State; or 2. The term "professional services" includes especially independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational or teaching activities as wen as the independent activities of physicians, lawyers, engineers, architects, surgeons, dentis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pect of personal activities exercised by an entertainer or a sportsperson in his capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsperson himself but to another person, that income may, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the entertainer or sportsperson are exercised. 3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, shall not apply to income from activities performed in a Contracting State by entertainers or sportspersons if the visit to that State is substantially supported by public funds of one or both of the Contracting States or of political sub-divisions or local authorities thereof. In such a case, the income is taxable only in the Contracting State of which the entertainer or sportsperson is a resident. ARTICLE 18 Pensions Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State in consideration of past employment shall be taxable only in that State. ARTICLE 19 Government Service 1. ( a ) Remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or a political sub-division or a local author ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the date of his arrival in that other State. 2. This Article shall not apply to income from research, if such research is undertaken primarily for the private benefit of a specific person or persons. 3. For the purposes of this Article and Article 20, an individual shall be deemed to be a resident of a Contracting State if he is resident in that State in the fiscal year in which he visits the other Contracting State or in the immediately preceding fiscal year. 4. For the purposes of paragraph 1 "approved institution" means an institution which has been approved in this regard by the competent authority of the concerned State. ARTICLE 22 Other Income 1. Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement shall be taxable only in that State. 2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to income, other than income from immovable property as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, if the recipient of such income, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ities of the Contracting States. ARTICLE 24 Elimination of Double Taxation 1. The laws in force in either of the Contracting State will continue to govern the taxation of income in the respective Contracting States except where provisions to the contrary are made in this Agreement. 2. In the case of India double taxation shall be eliminated as follows : Where a resident of India derives income which, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in the State of Qatar, India, shall allow as a deduction from the tax on the income of that resident an amount equal to the income-tax paid in State of Qatar, whether directly or by deduction at source. Such amount shall not, however, exceed that part of the income-tax as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to the income which may be taxed in the State of Qatar. 3. In the case of State of Qatar, double taxation shall be eliminated as follows : Where a resident of the State of Qatar derives income which, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in India, the State of Qatar shall allow as a deduction from the tax on the income of that resident an amount ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... acting State, the capital of which is wholly or partly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly by one or more residents, of the other Contracting State, shall not be subjected in the first-mentioned State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-mentioned State are or may be subjected. 6. Except where the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 7 of Article 11 or paragraph 6 of Article 12 apply, interest, royalties and other disbursement paid by an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable profits of such enterprise, be deductible under the same conditions as if they had been paid to a resident of the first-mentioned State. Similarly, any debts of an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable capital of such enterprise, be deductible under the same conditions as if they had been contracted to a resident of the first-mentioned State. 7. In this Article, the term "taxati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... claim is finally determined when a Contracting State has the right under its internal law to collect the revenue claim and the taxpayer has no further rights to restrain collection. 3. Amount collected by the competent authority of a Contracting State pursuant to this Article shall be forwarded to the competent authority of the other Contracting State. However, the first-mentioned Contracting State shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs, if any, incurred in the course of rendering such assistance to the extent mutually agreed between the competent authorities of the two States. 4. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as imposing on either Contracting State the obligation to carry out administrative measures of a different nature from those used in the collection of its own taxes or those which would be contrary to its public policy. ARTICLE 28 Diplomatic Agents and Consular Officers Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the fiscal privileges of diplomatic agents or consular officers under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements. ARTICLE 29 Entry into Force 1. The Contracting States shall notify each othe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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