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TMI BlogAgreement for Avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with foreign countries - FijiX X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rovisions of the Agreement shall have effect in India in respect of income derived in any fiscal year beginning on or after the first day of April following the calendar year in which the Agreement enters into force; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961) , the Central Government hereby notifies that all the provisions of the said Agreement, as annexed hereto, shall be given effect to in the Union of India. [F. No. 503/11/2005-FTD-II] RAJAT BANSAL Joint Secretary to the Government of India ANNEXURE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI 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 of the Republic of Fiji, 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 cooperation between the two countries, have agreed as follo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Fiji 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 in the other Contracting State; (i) the term competent authority means: (i) in India: the Finance Minister, Government of India, or his authorized representative; (ii) in Fiji: the Commissioner of Inland Revenue or his authorized representative; (j) the term national means: (i) any in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es 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 endeavour to settle the question by mutual agreement. Article 5 PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT 1. For the purposes of this Agreement, 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 sales outlet; (g) a warehouse in relation to a per ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ate 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 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 parag ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ries 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 incurred, whether in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere, in accordance with the provisions of and subject to the limitations of the tax laws of that State. 4. Insofar as it has been customary in a Con ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e carrying on of such business, and the provisions of Article 11 shall not apply in relation to such interest. 5. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to profits from the participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency. 6. For the purposes of this Article, profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall include profits derived from the carriage by ships or aircraft of passengers, livestock, mail, goods or merchandise unless such carriage is used solely within the other contracting State. 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 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 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 Agreement. 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 beneficial owner of the royalties or fe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ties 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 royalties or fees for technical services shall be deemed to arise in that Contracting State. 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 o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... period or periods amounting to or exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any period of 12 - months; 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. Article 15 DEPENDENT PERSONAL SERVICES 1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18, 19, 20 and 21, salaries, wages and other similar remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment shall be taxable only in that State unless the employment is exercised in the other Contracting State. If the employment is so exercised, such remuneration as is derived therefrom may be taxed in that other State. 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment exercised in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the firs ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 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 that State and the individual is a resident of that State who, (i) is a national of that State; or (ii) did not become a resident of that State solely for the purpose of rendering the services. 2. (a) Any pension paid by, or out of funds created 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 pension shall be taxable only in the other Co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cation or training. 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 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. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, items of income of a resident of a Contracting State not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement and arising in the other Contracting State may also be taxed in that other State. Article 23 METHODS FOR ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE TAXAT ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ll not be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents. This provision shall not be construed as preventing a Contracting State from charging the profits of a permanent establishment which a company of the other Contracting State has in the first mentioned State at a rate of tax which is higher than that imposed on the profits of a similar company of the first mentioned Contracting State, nor as being in conflict with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 7. 3. Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 7 of Article 11, or paragraph 7 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 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs. Article 26 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 necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Agreement or 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 thereunder is not contrary to the Agreement. The exchange of information is not restricted by Articles 1 and 2. 2. Any information received 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, or the determination of appeals in relation to the taxes referred to in the first sentence. Such persons or authorities ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pect of 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 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 reven ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t-mentioned State shall either suspend or withdraw its request. 8. 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 (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 LIMITATION OF BENEFITS 1. The provisions of this Agreement shall in no case prevent a Contracting State from the application of the provisions of its domestic law and measures concerning tax avoidance or evasion, whether or not described as such. 2. A resident of a Contracting State shall not be entitled to the benefits of this Agreement if its affairs were arr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of interpretation, the English text shall prevail. For the Government of the of India: For the Government of the Republic of Fiji: (P. CHIDAMBARAM) MINISTER OF FINANCE (AIYAZ SAYED-KHAIYUM) ATTORNEY GENERAL AND MINISTER OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE PROTOCOL At the moment of signing the Agreement this day concluded between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Fiji for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income, the undersigned have agreed upon the following provisions which shall be an integral part of the Agreement. 1. With reference to Article 2, it is understood that `land sales tax' in Fiji means tax on sale proceeds on land which were held for continuous period of 12 years; 2. It is understood that the term may be taxed in the other State wherever appearing in the Agreement should not be construed as preventing the country of residence from taxing the income. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized thereto, have s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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