Protocol Amend the Convention between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of India for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains

PRESS RELEASE, DATED 9-11-2012

The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of India,

Desiring to amend the Convention between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of India for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains signed at New Delhi on 25 January 1993 (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"),

Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE I

Sub-paragraph (f) of paragraph 1 of Article 3 shall be deleted and replaced by the following:

"(f) 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;"

ARTICLE II

Paragraph 2 of Article 3 shall be deleted. Paragraph 3 shall not be renumbered.

ARTICLE III

Paragraph 1 of Article 4 (Fiscal domicile) shall be deleted and replaced by the following:

"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, place of incorporation, or any other criterion of a similar nature, provided, however, that:

(a) this term does not include any person who is liable to tax in that State in respect only of income from sources in that State; and

(b) in the case of income derived or paid by a partnership, estate, or trust, this term applies only to the extent that the income derived by such partnership, estate, or trust is subject to tax in that State as the income of a resident, either in its hands or in the hands of its partners or beneficiaries."

ARTICLE IV

Article 11 (Dividends) of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the following:

"ARTICLE 11

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 beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed:

(a) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends where those dividends are paid out of income (including gains) derived directly or indirectly from immovable property within the meaning of Article 6 by an investment vehicle which distributes most of this income annually and whose income from such immovable property is exempted from tax;

(b) 10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends, in all other cases.

The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of these limitations. The provisions of 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 any other item 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 of this Article 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. In such case the provisions of Article 7 (Business profits) or Article 15 (Independent personal services), as may be the case, 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 situated in that other State, nor subject the company's undistributed profits to a tax on undistributed profits, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in that other State.

6. No relief shall be available under this Article if it was the main purpose or one of the main purposes of any person concerned with the creation or assignment of the shares or other rights in respect of which the dividend is paid to take advantage of this Article by means of that creation or assignment."

ARTICLE V

Article 25 (Partnerships) of the Convention shall be deleted and the subsequent articles shall not be renumbered.

ARTICLE VI

Article 28 (Exchange of information) of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the following Article:

"ARTICLE 28

Exchange of information

1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information (including documents or certified copies of the documents) as is foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or to the administration or enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting States 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 thereunder is not contrary to this Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Articles 1 and 2 of this Convention.

2. Any information received under paragraph 1 of this Article 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 of this Article, 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 purposes under the laws of both States and the competent authority of the supplying State authorises such use.

3. In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:

(a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;

(b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the laws or in the normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting State;

(c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy.

4. If information is requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this Article, the other Contracting State shall use its information gathering measures to obtain the requested information, even though that other State may not need such information for its own tax purposes. The obligation contained in the preceding sentence is subject to the limitations of paragraph 3 of this Article but in no case shall such limitations be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because it has no domestic interest in such information.

5. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because the information is held by a bank, other financial institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or because it relates to ownership interests in a person."

ARTICLE VII

A new Article 28A (Tax Examination Abroad) will be inserted after Article 28 (Exchange of Information) as follows:

"ARTICLE 28A

Tax Examinations Abroad

1. At the request of the competent authority of a Contracting State (the "requesting State"), the competent authority of the other Contracting State (the "requested State") may allow representatives of the competent authority of the requesting State to enter its territory to interview individuals and examine records with the prior written consent of the persons concerned. The competent authority of the requesting State shall notify the competent authority of the requested State of the time and place of the meeting with the individuals concerned.

2. At the request of the competent authority of the requesting State, the competent authority of the requested State may allow representatives of the competent authority of the requesting State to be present at the appropriate part of a tax examination in the territory of the requested State.

3. If the request referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article is acceded to, the competent authority of the requested State conducting the examination shall, as soon as possible, notify the competent authority of the requesting State about the time and place of the examination, the authority or official designated to carry out the examination and the procedures and conditions required by the requested State for the conduct of the examination. All decisions with respect to the conduct of the tax examination shall be made by the requested State conducting the examination."

ARTICLE VIII

A new Article 28B (Assistance in the Collection of Taxes) will be inserted after new Article 28A (inserted by Article VII of this Amending Protocol) as follows:

"ARTICLE 28B

Assistance in the Collection of Taxes

1. The Contracting States shall lend assistance to each other in the collection of revenue claims in respect of taxes covered by the Convention. This assistance is not restricted by Article 1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of this Article.

2. The term "revenue claim" as used in this Article means an amount owed in respect of taxes covered by this Convention, insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to this Agreement or any other instrument to which the Contracting States are parties, 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 accordance with the provisions of its laws as if the revenue claim were a revenue claim of that other State even if, at the time when such measures are applied, the revenue claim is not enforceable in the first-mentioned State or is owed by a person who has a right to prevent its collection.

5.  When a Contracting State may, under its law, take interim measures of conservancy by freezing of assets before a revenue claim is raised against a person, the competent authority of the other Contracting State, if requested by the competent authority of the first mentioned State, shall take measures for freezing the assets of that person in that Contracting State in accordance with the provisions of its law.

6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 3 and 4, a revenue claim accepted by a Contracting State for purposes of paragraph 3 or 4 shall not, in that State, be subject to the time limits or accorded any priority applicable to a revenue claim under the laws of that State by reason of its nature as such. In addition, a revenue claim accepted by a Contracting State for the purposes of paragraph 3 or 4 shall not, in that State, have any priority applicable to that revenue claim under the laws of the other Contracting State.

7. Proceedings with respect to the existence, validity or the amount of a revenue claim of a Contracting State shall not be brought before the courts or administrative bodies of the other Contracting State.

8. Where, at any time after a request has been made by a Contracting State under paragraph 3 or 4 and before the other Contracting State has collected and remitted the relevant revenue claim to the first-mentioned State, the relevant revenue claim ceases to be:

(a) in the case of a request under paragraph 3, a revenue claim of the first-mentioned State that 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, or

(b) in the case of a request under paragraph 4, a revenue claim of the first-mentioned State in respect of which that State may, under its laws, take measures of conservancy with a view to ensure its collection the competent authority of the first-mentioned State shall promptly notify the competent authority of the other State of that fact and, at the option of the other State, the first-mentioned State shall either suspend or withdraw its request.

9.  In no case shall the provisions of this Article be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:

(a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;

(b) to carry out measures which would be contrary to public policy;

(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 IX

A new Article 28C shall be inserted after new Article 28B (inserted by Article VIII of this Amending Protocol) as follows:

"ARTICLE 28C

Limitation of Benefits

1.  Benefits of this Convention shall not be available to a resident of a Contracting State, or with respect to any transaction undertaken by such a resident, if the main purpose or one of the main purposes of the creation or existence of such a resident or of the transaction undertaken by him, was to obtain benefits under this Convention.

2.  Where by reason of this Article a resident of a Contracting State is denied the benefits of this Convention in the other Contracting State, the competent authority of that other Contracting State shall notify the competent authority of the first-mentioned Contracting State."

ARTICLE X

1. Each of the Contracting States shall notify the other, through diplomatic channels, of the completion of the procedures required by its law for the bringing into force of this Protocol. This Protocol shall enter into force on the date of the later of these notifications and shall thereupon have effect:

(a) in both States in the case of taxes withheld at source, in respect of amounts paid on or after the date this Protocol enters into force;

(b) in India, in respect of taxes levied for fiscal years beginning on or after the date this Protocol enters into force;

(c) in the United Kingdom:

(i) in respect of income tax and capital gains tax, for any year of assessment beginning on or after 6th April in the calendar year next following that in which this Protocol enters into force;

(ii) in respect of corporation tax, for any financial year beginning on or after 1st April in the calendar year next following that in which this Protocol enters into force;

(iii) in respect of petroleum revenue tax, for any chargeable period beginning on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which this Protocol enters into force.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article, the provisions of Articles VI, VII & VIII of this Protocol shall apply in respect of any matter referred to in these Articles even if such matters pre-date the entry into force of this Protocol or the effective date of any of its provisions.

In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.

Done on this 30th day of October 2012, in London on two original copies each in the English and Hindi languages, both texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence between the two texts, the English text shall be the operative one.