9911796707
TMI BlogDouble Taxation Agreement - Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with FinlandX X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ment shall have effect in India in respect of the taxes withheld at source, for amounts paid or credited on or after 1st April of the calendar year next following the year in which the Agreement enters into force; and in respect of taxes on income, for any fiscal year beginning on or after 1st April of the calendar year next following the year in which the Agreement enters 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 directs that all the provisions of the said Agreement and the Protocol, as set out in the Annexure hereto, shall be given effect to in the Union of India with effect from 1st day of April, 2011. Annexure AGREEMENT between The Republic of India And The Republic of Finland for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income The Government of the Republic of Finland and the Government of the Republic of India, 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s 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; c) 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; d) the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity that is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; e) the term "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean the Republic of Finland and the Republic of India as the context requires; f) 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; g) the term "national", in relation to a Contracting State, means: (i) any individual possessing the nationality of that Contracting State; and (ii) any legal person, partnership or association deriving its ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ll be deemed to be a resident only 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 vita! 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 of this Article, a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall determine by mutual agreement the State of which the person shall be deemed to be a resident for the purposes of this Agreement having regard to the person's place of incorporation, the place of effective management and any other relevant factors. Article 5 Permanent establishment 1. For th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... agraphs 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, except in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... letting, or use in any other form of such right to enjoyment may be taxed in the Contracting State in which the immovable property is situated. 5. 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 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 activitie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r merchandise for the enterprise. 6. 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. 7. 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 of an enterprise of a Contracting State from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in that State. 2. If the place of effective management of a shipping enterprise is aboard a ship, then it shall be deemed to be situated in the Contracting State in which the home harbor of the ship is situated, or, if there is no such home harbour, in the Contracting State of which the operator of the ship is a resident. 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 in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 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 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 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 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, throug ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... from time to time between the competent authorities of the Contracting States; c) interest arising in a Contracting State on a loan guaranteed by any of the bodies mentioned or referred to in sub-paragraph (a) or sub-paragraph (b) and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in that other State. 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. 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 resp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience, b) The term "fees for technical services" as used in this Article means payments of any kind, other than those mentioned in Articles 14 and 15 of this Agreement as consideration for managerial or technical or consultancy services, including the provision of services of technical or other personnel. 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 its ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... shment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of such fixed base, may 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 derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the alienation 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. 5. Gains from the alienation of shares other than those mentioned in paragraph 1 in a company which is a resident of a Contracting State may be taxed in that State. 6. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this Article, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident. Article 14 Independent personal services 1. Income derived by an individual who is a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rprise of a Contracting State, may be taxed in that State. Article 16 Directors' fees Directors' fees and other similar payments derived by a resident of a Contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors or any other similar organ of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. Article 17 Artistes and sportspersons 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or a musician, or as a sportsperson, from his personal activities as such exercised in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other State. 2. Where income in respect 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 derived from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uch pension shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the individual is a resident of, and a national of, that State. 3. The provisions of Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 shall apply to salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, and to pensions, in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State or a political sub-division, a statutory body or a local authority thereof. Article 20 Students and trainees 1. Payments which a student, or an apprentice or business, technical, agricultural or forestry trainee, who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State and who is present in the first-mentioned State solely for the purpose of his education or training receives for the purpose of his maintenance, education or training shall not be taxed in that State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that State. 2. A student at a university or other institution for higher education in a Contracting State, or an apprentice or business, technical, agricultural or forestry trainee, who is or was immediately before visiting the other Contracting State a resident of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... empt from Finnish tax. 2. In 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 Finland, India shall allow as a deduction from the tax on the income of that resident, an amount equal to the tax paid in Finland. Such deduction shall not, however, exceed that portion of the tax as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable, as the case may be, to the income which may be taxed in Finland. 3. Where in accordance with any provision of the Agreement income derived by a resident of a Contracting State is exempt from tax in that Contracting State, that State may nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income of such person, take into account the exempted income. Article 23 Non-discrimination 1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith, which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which nationals of that other State in the same circumstances, in particular with respect to residence, are or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident or, if his case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 23, to that of the Contracting State of which he is a national. The case must be presented within three years from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement. 2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the objection appears to it to be justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with the Agreement. Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits in the domestic law of the Contracting States. 3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of the Agreement. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion, 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 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 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 26 Assistance in the collection of taxes 1. The Contracting States shall lend assistance to each other in the collection of revenue claims. This assistance is not restricted by Articles 1 and 2. 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 of every kind and description imposed on behalf of the Contracting States, or of their ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... this Article shall be construed as creating or providing any right to such proceedings before any court or administrative body of the other Contracting State. 7. 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, as 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. 8. In no case shall the provisions of this Article be construed so as t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the calendar year next following the year in which the Agreement enters into force; (ii) in respect of other taxes on income for taxes chargeable for any tax year beginning on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following the year in which the Agreement enters into force; b) in India: (i) in respect of taxes withheld at source, for amounts paid or credited on or after 1st April of the calendar year next following that in which the Agreement enters into force; (ii) in respect of taxes on income, for any fiscal year beginning on or after 1st April of the calendar year next following that in which the Agreement enters into force. 3. The Agreement between the Republic of Finland and the Republic of India for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and on capital, signed at Helsinki on 10th June, 1983, as modified by the Protocol signed at New Delhi on 9th April, 1997 (hereinafter referred to as "the 1983 Agreement"), shall cease to have effect with respect to taxes to which this Agreement applies in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2. The 1983 Agreement shall terminate on the last date on which it has effect in accordance with the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... carried on in Finland shall, in the case of Finland, for the purposes of the Agreement be treated as income from immovable property referred to in Article 6 of the Agreement. II. ad Articles 10,11 and 12 It is agreed that if after coming into force of this Agreement, any agreement or convention between India and a Member State of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development provides that India shall exempt from tax dividends, interest, royalties or fees for technical services (either generally or in respect of specific categories of dividends, interest, royalties or fees for technical services) arising in India, or limit the tax charged in India on such dividends, interest, royalties or fees for technical services (either generally or in respect of specific categories of dividends, interest, royalties or fees for technical services) to a rate lower than that provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 10 or paragraph 2 of Article 11 or paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the Agreement, such exemption or lower rate shall be made applicable to the dividends, interest, royalties or fees for technical services (either generally or in respect of those specific categories of dividends ..... 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