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Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Republic of Cyprus for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes

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..... e 29 of the said Agreement and Protocol provides that the provisions of the said Agreement and Protocol shall have effect forthwith from the date of entry into force; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby notifies that all the provisions of the said Agreement and Protocol between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of Republic of Cyprus for the avoidance of double taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income as set out in the annexure hereto, shall be given effect to in the Union of India with effect from the 1st day of April, 2017 being the First day of Fiscal year next following the year in which the said Agreement and Protocol entered into force. [F. No. 504/05/2003-FTD-I] PRAGYA S. SAKSENA, Jt. Secy. AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME The Government of the Republic of India and the Government o .....

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..... tal shelf, which has been or may hereafter be designated, under the laws of Cyprus and in accordance with international law, as an area within which Cyprus may exercise sovereign rights or jurisdiction; c) the terms a Contracting State and the other Contracting State mean the Republic of India or the Republic of Cyprus as the context requires; d) the term person includes an individual, a company, 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; e) the term company means any body corporate or any entity that is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; f) the term enterprise applies to the carrying on of any business; g) 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; h) 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 .....

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..... terests); 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 only 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 only 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 endeavour to 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 only 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 within two years from the date of invocation of Mutual Agreement Procedure, according to this Agreement. Article 5 PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT 1. For the purposes of thi .....

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..... graphs 1 and 2, where a person- other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 7 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 4 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; c) habitually secures orders in the first-mentioned State, wholly or almost wholly for the enterprise itself. 6. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, an insurance enterprise of a Contracting State shall, exce .....

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..... TS 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 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 determining the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses so incur .....

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..... en 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. For the purposes of this Article, profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic include profits derived from the rental of ships or aircraft on a full time (time or voyage) or bareboat basis. 3. Profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State from the use, maintenance or rental of containers (including trailers, barges and related equipment for the transport of containers) used for the transport of goods or merchandise shall be taxable only in that State, except where such containers are used for the transport of goods or merchandise solely between places within the other Contracting State. 4. 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 shal .....

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..... ct 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 debtclaims, 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 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 dividends 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 dividen .....

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..... 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 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 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 relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last mentioned .....

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..... . In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 5. (a) Royalties and 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 Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated. (b) Where under sub-paragraph (a) royalties or fees for technical services do not arise in one of the Contracting States, and the royalties relate to the use of, or the right to use, the right or property, or the fees for technical services relate to services performed, in one of the Contracting States, the roya .....

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..... PERSONAL SERVICES 1. Income derived by an individual who is a resident of a Contracting State from the performance of professional services or other independent activities of a similar 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 Contracting State is for a period or periods amounting to or exceeding in the aggregate 183 days 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. 2. The term professional services includes especially independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational or teaching activities as well as the independent activities of physicians, lawyers, engineers, architects, surgeons, dentists and accountants. Arti .....

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..... tsperson 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 activities are substantially supported by public funds of one or both of the Contracting States or of political subdivisions or local authorities thereof. In such a case, the income shall be 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) Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or subdivision or authority shall be taxable only in that State. (b) However, such salaries, wages and other similar remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in tha .....

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..... neration which he derives from an employment which he exercises in the other Contracting State if the employment is directly related to his studies. 2. The benefits of this Article shall extend only for such period of time as may be reasonable or customarily required to complete the education or training undertaken, but in no event shall any individual have the benefits of this Article, for more than four consecutive years from the date of his first arrival in that other 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 independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the income is paid is effectively connec .....

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..... s, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents. 3. Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 7 of Article 11, or paragraph 6 of Article 12, apply, interest, royalties and other disbursements 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. 4. Enterprises of a Contracting 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 mor .....

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..... ng out the provisions of this Convention or to the administration or enforcement of the domestic laws concerning taxes of every kind and description imposed on behalf of the Contracting States, or of their political subdivisions or local authorities, insofar as the taxation there under is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Article 1 and 2. 2. Any information received under paragraph 1 by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) concerned with the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, the determination of appeals in relation to the taxes referred to in paragraph 1, or the oversight of the above. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions. Notwithstanding the foregoing, information received by a Contracting State may be used for other purposes when such information may be used for such other purpo .....

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..... ies, as well as interest, administrative penalties and costs of collection or conservancy related to such amount. 3. When a revenue claim of a Contracting State is enforceable under the laws of that State and is owed by a person who, at that time, cannot, under the laws of that State, prevent its collection, that revenue claim shall, at the request of the competent authority of that State, be accepted for purposes of collection by the competent authority of the other Contracting State, that revenue claim shall be collected by that other State in accordance with the provisions of its laws applicable to the enforcement and collection of its own taxes as if the revenue claim were a revenue claim of that other State. 4. When a revenue claim of a Contracting State is a claim in respect of which that State may, under its law, take measures of conservancy with a view to ensure its collection, that revenue claim shall, at the request of the competent authority of that State, be accepted for purposes of taking measures of conservancy by the competent authority of the other Contracting State. That other State shall take measures of conservancy in respect of that revenue claim in accord .....

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..... her Contracting State; b) to carry out measures which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public); c) to provide assistance if the other Contracting State has not pursued all reasonable measures of collection or conservancy, as the case may be, available under its laws or administrative practice; d) to provide assistance in those cases where the administrative burden for that State is clearly disproportionate to the benefit to be derived by the other Contracting State. Article 28 MEMBERS OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND CONSULAR POSTS Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the fiscal privileges of members of diplomatic missions or consular posts 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 other in writing, through diplomatic channels, of the completion of the procedures required by the respective laws for the entry into force of this Agreement. 2. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the later of the notifications referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article. 3. The provisions of this Agreement shall have effe .....

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..... r 2016, each in the Hindi, Greek and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence of interpretation, the English text shall prevail. For the Government of the Republic of Cyprus Sd/- Name: (Harris Georgiades) Position : Minister of Finance For the Government of the Republic of India: Sd/- Name : (Ravi Bangar) Position : High Commissioner PROTOCOL At the signing of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Republic of Cyprus for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income, both sides have agreed upon the following provisions which shall be an integral part of the Agreement: I. Ad. Article 10 It is clarified that at present, dividends distributed by an Indian Company is exempt from tax by virtue of section 10 (34) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Accordingly, even though the treaty provides for withholding tax rate of 10%, so long as the present system of taxation of dividends in India continues, there will be no withholding tax from dividends paid by an In .....

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