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Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Republic of Korea for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes

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..... eement; And whereas, clause (a) of paragraph 3 of Article 30 of the said Agreement provides that the provisions 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 next 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 said Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Korea for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, as set out in the Annexure here to, shall be given effect to in the Union of India. [F. No. 500/121/1996-FTD-II] ] RAJAT BANSAL, Jt. Secy. ANNEXURE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASIO .....

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..... f the Sea of December 10, 1982; b) the term Korea means the Republic of Korea, and when used in a geographical sense, the territory of the Republic of Korea including its territorial sea, and any area adjacent to the territorial sea of the Republic of Korea which, in accordance with international law, has been or may hereafter be designated under the laws of the Republic of Korea as an area within which the sovereign rights or jurisdiction of the Republic of Korea with respect to the sea-bed and sub-soil, and their natural resources may be exercised; c) the terms a Contracting State and the other Contracting State mean the Republic of India or the Republic of Korea 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 Co .....

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..... ion or local authority thereof. This term, however, does not include any person who is liable to tax in that State in respect only of income from sources in that State. 2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows: a) he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, he shall 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 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 a 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 State .....

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..... belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise; d)the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of purchasing goods or merchandise or of collecting information, for the enterprise; e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character; f) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in subparagraphs a) to e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character. 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 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 ha .....

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..... ting State may 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 immovable property, livestock and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, rights to which the provisions of general law respecting landed property apply, usufruct of immovable property and rights to variable or fixed payments as consideration for the working of, or the right to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships, boats and aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable property. 3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property. 4. 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 o .....

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..... hen the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article. Article 8 SHIPPING AND AIR TRANSPORT 1. Profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic carried on by an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State. 2. For the purposes of this Article, the terms profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall include profits derived from a) the rental of a ship or aircraft on a bare boat charter basis; and b) the use, maintenance or rental of containers (including trailers and related equipment for the transport of containers) used for the transport of goods and merchandise, where such rental or such use, maintenance or rental, as the case may be, is incidental to the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic. 3. Interest on investments directly connected with the operation of aircraft and ships in international traffic shall also be regarded as profits derived from the operation of such aircraft and ships if they are integral to the carrying on of such bu .....

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..... t 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, 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 S .....

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..... rticle. 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 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. .....

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..... ical 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 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 establis .....

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..... e capital of that company. 7. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in 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 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; 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. .....

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..... ting 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. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, income derived by entertainers or sportspersons who are residents of a Contracting State from the activities exercised in the other Contracting State under a special programme of cultural exchange agreed upon between the Governments of both Contracting States, shall be exempt from tax in that other State. 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 oth .....

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..... a period not exceeding two years from the date of his first arrival in that other State. 2. This Article shall apply to income from research only if such research is undertaken by the individual in the public interest and not primarily for the benefit of some private person or persons. 3. For the purposes of this Article, 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. Article 21 STUDENTS 1. Payments which a student or business apprentice 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. The benefits of this Article shall extend only for such period of time as may be reasonable or customarily required to complete the educat .....

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..... s paid) under the laws of India and in accordance with this Agreement, whether directly or by deduction, in respect of income from sources within India shall be allowed as a credit against Korean tax payable in respect of that income. The credit shall not, however, exceed that proportion of Korean tax which the income from sources within India bears to the entire income subject to Korean tax. Article 24 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 may be subjected. This provision shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, also apply to persons who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States. 2. The taxation on a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State shall not be less favorably levied in that other State than the taxation levied on enter .....

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..... ing 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 cases not provided for in the Agreement. 4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly, including through a joint commission consisting of themselves or their representatives 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 foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Agreement or of the domestic laws concerning taxes covered by the Agreement insofar as the .....

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..... ed 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 27 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 political subdivisions or local authorities, 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 th .....

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..... mitted 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. 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 p .....

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..... dia, in respect of income derived in any fiscal year beginning on or after the first day of April next following the calendar year in which the Agreement enters into force; and b) in Korea, (i) in respect of taxes withheld at the source, on amounts paid or credited to non-residents on or after the first day of January in the first calendar year following that in which this Agreement enters into force; and (ii) in respect of other taxes, for the taxable year beginning on or after the first day of January in the first calendar year following that in which this Agreement enters into force. 4. The Convention between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Republic of Korea for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income signed at New Delhi on July 19, 1985, shall cease to have effect from the dates on which this Agreement becomes effective in accordance with paragraph 3. Article 31 TERMINATION This Agreement shall remain in force indefinitely until terminated by a Contracting State. Either Contracting State may te .....

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..... rticle 24(Non-discrimination), it is understood that: a) in the case of India, it shall not be construed as preventing India from charging the profits of a permanent establishment which a company of Korea has in India at a rate of tax which is higher than that imposed on the profits of a similar company of India, nor as being in conflict with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 7; b) in the case of Korea, where a company which is a resident of India has a permanent establishment in Korea, the profits of the permanent establishment may be subjected to an additional tax in Korea in accordance with its law, but the additional tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the amount of such profits after deducting therefrom income tax and other taxes on income imposed thereon in Korea. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Protocol, which shall have the same force and validity as if it were inserted word by word in the Agreement. DONE in duplicate at Seoul, this 18th day of May, 2015, in the Hindi, Korean and English languages, all texts being equally authen .....

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