DTAA BETWEEN INDIA & QUTAR

Agreement For Avoidance Of Double Taxation And Prevention Of Fiscal Evasion With Qatar

Whereas the annexed Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the State of Qatar for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income has come into force on the 15th day of January, 2000, on the notification by both the Contracting States to each other, under Article 29 of the said Agreement, of the completion of the procedures required by their respective laws for bringing into force of the said Agreement;

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 shall be given effect to in the Union of India.

Notification : No. GSR 96(E), dated 8-2-2000.

ANNEXURE

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF QATAR FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND FOR THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME

The Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the State of Qatar, 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 follows :

ARTICLE 1 : Persons covered - This Agreement shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

ARTICLE 2 : Taxes covered - 1. This Agreement shall apply to taxes on income imposed on behalf of a Contracting State or of its political sub-divisions or local authorities irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.

2. The existing taxes to which the Agreement shall apply are in particular :

(a)  In India :

the income-tax, including any surcharge thereon; and (hereinafter referred to as “Indian tax”);

(b)  In the State of Qatar :

the Income-tax ; (hereinafter referred to as “Qatari Tax”).

3. The Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Agreement in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes referred to in para 2. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of significant changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws.

ARTICLE 3 : General definitions - 1. For the purposes of this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires :

(a)  the term “India” means the territory of India and includes 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;

(b)  the term “The State of Qatar” means the territory of the State of Qatar as well as its territorial sea and its continental shelf over which it exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction according to the Qatari Law and in accordance with International Laws.

(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 which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;

(e)  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;

(f)  the term “international traffic” means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise which is a resident of a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State;

(g)  the term “competent authority” means 

(i)  in India : the Central Government in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) or their authorised representative;

(ii)  in the State of Qatar : the Minister of Finance, Economy and Commerce or his authorised representative;

(h)  the term “national” means :

(i)  any individual possessing the nationality of a Contracting State;

(ii)  any legal person, partnership or association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in a Contracting State;

(i)  the term “fiscal year” means :

(i)  in the case of India, “previous year” as defined in the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);

(ii)  in the case of the State of Qatar “taxable year” as defined in Qatar Income Tax Law;

(j)  the term “tax” means Indian tax or Qatari tax, as the context requires, but shall not include any amount which is payable in respect of any default or omission in relation to the taxes to which this Agreement applies or which represents a penalty or fine imposed relating to those taxes;

(k)  the terms “a Contracting State” and “the other Contracting State” mean the Republic of India or the State of Qatar as the context requires.

2. As regards the application of the Agreement by a Contracting State any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has under the law of that State concerning the taxes to which the Agreement applies.

ARTICLE 4 : Resident - 1. For the purposes of this Agreement, 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 or any other criterion of a similar nature. 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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 mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of natural resources;

(g)  a sales outlet;

(h)  a warehouse in relation to a person providing storage facilities for others; and

(i)  a farm, plantation or other place where agricultural, forestry, plantation or related activities are carried on.

3. A building site, construction, assembly project or supervisory activities in connection therewith constitute a permanent establishment only if such site, project or activity lasts more than six months.

4. An enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State and to carry on business through that permanent establishment if it provides services or facilities in connection with, or supplies plant and machinery on hire used for or to be used in the prospecting for, or extraction or exploitation of mineral oils in that State.

5. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the term “permanent establishment” shall be deemed not to include :

(a)  the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage or display or delivery of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise;

(b)  the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery;

(c)  the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise 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 sub-paragraphs (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.

6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person - other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 8 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 5 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; or

(c)  habitually secures orders in the first-mentioned State, wholly or almost wholly for the enterprise itself or for the enterprise and other enterprises controlling, controlled by, or subject to the same control, as that enterprise.

7. 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 paragraph 8 applies.

8. An enterprise shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business. However, when the activities of such an agent are devoted wholly or almost wholly on behalf of that enterprise, he will not be considered an agent of an independent status within the meaning of this paragraph.

9. The fact that a company which is a resident of a Contracting State controls or is controlled by a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State, or which carries on business in that other State (whether through a permanent establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself constitute either company a permanent establishment of the other.

ARTICLE 6 : Income from immovable property - 1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable property (including income from agriculture or forestry) situated in the other Contracting State may also 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 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 also 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 business 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. No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the enterprise.

5. 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.

6. 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 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. In the case of the State of Qatar for the purposes of the preceding paragraph the ships and aircraft shall mean Gulf Air Company and United Arab Shipping Company so long as the State of Qatar owns a share in these companies or any other air or sea transport enterprise designated by the Government of the State of Qatar.

3. Profits derived by a transportation enterprise which is a resident of a Contracting State from the use, maintenance, or rental of containers (including trailers and other equipment for the transport of containers) used for the transport of goods or merchandise in international traffic shall be taxable only in that Contracting State unless the containers are used solely within the other Contracting State.

4. For the purposes of this Article, interest on funds connected 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 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.

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 profits which would, but for those conditions, have accrued to one of the enterprises, but, by reason of those conditions have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly.

2. Where a Contracting State includes in the profits of an enterprise of that State - and taxes accordingly - profits on which an enterprise of the other Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other State and the profits so included are profits which would have accrued to the enterprise of the first mentioned State if the conditions made between the two enterprises had been those which would have been made between independent enterprises, then that other State shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of the tax charged therein on those profits. In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this Agreement and the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall, if necessary consult each other. However, in such circumstances a Contracting State shall not adjust the profits of an enterprise after the expiry of the time limits provided under its statute of limitations.

ARTICLE 10 : 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 recipient is the beneficial owner of the dividends the tax so charged shall not exceed :

(a)  5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company which owns at least ten per cent of the shares of the company paying the dividend; and

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

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 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, and according to the laws of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the interest the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the interest.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest arising in a Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that State provided it is derived and beneficially owned by :

(i)  the Government, a political sub-division or a local authority of the other Contracting State; or

(ii)  the Central Bank of the other Contracting State; or any other bank or governmental financial institutions/agencies that may be mutually agreed upon between the two Contracting States.

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 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 that State itself, a political sub-division, a local authority or 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 Contracting 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 recipient is the beneficial owner of the royalties or fees for technical services, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties or fees for technical services.

3. (a)    The term “royalties” as used in this Article means payments of any kind received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films and films or tapes for television or radio broadcasting, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or any industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience ;

(b) The term “fees for technical services” means payment of any kind in consideration for the rendering of any managerial, technical or consultancy services including the provision of services by technical or other personnel but does not include payments for services mentioned in Articles 14 and 15 of this Agreement.

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 in 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 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 State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.

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 of this Agreement.

ARTICLE 13 : Capital gains - 1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State may also be taxed in that other State.

2. Gains from the alienation of movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of movable property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of such fixed base, may also 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 from the alienation of shares of the capital stock of a company the property of which consists directly or indirectly principally of immovable property situated in a Contracting State may be taxed in that State.

5. Gains from the alienation of shares other than those mentioned in paragraph 4 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 paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.

ARTICLE 14 : Independent personal services - 1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of professional services or other activities of an independent 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 State is for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more 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.

ARTICLE 15 : Dependent personal services - 1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18 and 19, 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 first-mentioned State if :

(a)  the recipient is present in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any 12 month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned; and

(b)  the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other State; and

(c)  the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed base which the employer has in the other State.

3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration derived in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship or aircraft operated in international traffic, by an enterprise of a Contracting State may be taxed in that State.

4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the two Contracting States shall exempt salaries, wages, allowances and perquisites from tax in the case of employees of a designated national air transport carrier of either Contracting State provided that they are nationals of the other Contracting 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 of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may also 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 from activities performed in a Contracting State by entertainers or sportspersons if the visit to that State is substantially supported by public funds of one or both of the Contracting States or of political sub-divisions or local authorities thereof. In such a case, the income is 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) Remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or a political sub-division or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or sub-division or authority shall be taxable only in that State.

(b) However, such 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 sub-division or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or sub-division or authority shall be taxable only in that State.

(b) However, such 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 and 18 shall apply to remuneration and pensions in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State or a political sub-division or a local authority thereof.

ARTICLE 20 : Students and apprentices - A student or business apprentice who is or was a resident of a Contracting State immediately before visiting the other Contracting State and who is present in that other Contracting State solely for the purpose of his education or training shall be exempt from tax in that other State on :

(a)  payments made to him by persons residing outside that other State for the purposes of his maintenance, education or training; and

(b)  remuneration from employment in that other State, in an amount not exceeding US $ 1000 or its equivalent amount during any fiscal year, as the case may be, provided that such employment is directly related to his studies or is undertaken for the purpose of his maintenance.

ARTICLE 21 : Professors, teachers and research scholars - 1. A professor or teacher who is or was a resident of the Contracting State immediately before visiting the other Contracting State for the purpose of teaching or engaging in research, or both, at a university, college, school or other approved institution in that other Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that other State on any remuneration for such teaching or research for a period not exceeding two years from the date of his arrival in that other State.

2. This Article shall not apply to income from research, if such research is undertaken primarily for the private benefit of a person or persons.

3. For the purposes of this Article and Article 20, 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.

4. For the purposes of paragraph 1 “approved institution” means an institution which has been approved in this regard by the competent authority of the concerned 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 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 : Mutual Agreement Procedure - 1. Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, 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 25, 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 endeavor, 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 endeavourer to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of the Agreement. They may also consult each other 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 for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs. When it seems advisable in order to reach agreement to have an oral exchange of opinions, such exchange may take place through a Commission consisting of representatives of the competent authorities of the Contracting States.

ARTICLE 24 : Elimination of Double Taxation - 1. The laws in force in either of the Contracting States will continue to govern the taxation of income in the respective Contracting States except where provisions to the contrary are made in this Agreement.

2. In the case of 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 the State of Qatar, India shall allow as a deduction from the tax on the income of that resident an amount equal to the income-tax paid in the State of Qatar whether directly or by deduction at source. Such amount shall not, however, exceed that part of the income-tax as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to the income which may be taxed in the State of Qatar.

3. In the case of the State of Qatar double taxation shall be eliminated as follows :

Where a resident of the State of Qatar derives income which, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in India, the State of Qatar shall allow as a deduction from the tax on the income of that resident an amount equal to the income-tax paid in India. Such deduction shall not, however, exceed that part of the income-tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to the income which may be taxed in India.

4. The tax payable in the Contracting State mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article shall be deemed to include the tax which would have been payable but for the tax incentives granted under the laws of the Contracting State and which are designed to promote economic development.

ARTICLE 25 : 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 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 enterprises of that other State carrying on the same activities. 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 of this Agreement.

3. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, relief’s and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own nationals.

4. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as imposing a legal obligation on a Contracting State to extend to the residents of the other Contracting State the benefit of any treatment preference or privilege which may be accorded to any other State or its residents through agreements to which the first-mentioned Contracting State may be a party.

5. 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 more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-mentioned State are or may be subjected.

6. Except where the provisions 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.

7. In this Article, the term “taxation” means taxes which are the subject of this Agreement.

ARTICLE 26 : Exchange of information - 1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information (including documents), as is necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Agreement or of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Agreement insofar as the taxation there under is not contrary to the Agreement in particular for the prevention of fraud or evasion of such taxes. The exchange of information is not restricted by Article 1. 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) involved in the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by the Agreement. 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.

2. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 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 or documents 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.

ARTICLE 27 : Collection assistance - 1. The Contracting States undertake to lend assistance to each other in the collection of taxes to which this Agreement relates, together with interest, costs, and civil penalties relating to such taxes, referred to in this Article as a “revenue claim”.

2. Request for assistance by the competent authority of a Contracting State in the collection of a revenue claim shall include a certification by such authority that, under the laws of that State, the revenue claim has been finally determined. For the purposes of this Article, a revenue claim is finally determined when a Contracting State has the right under its internal law to collect the revenue claim and the taxpayer has no further rights to restrain collection.

3. Amounts collected by the competent authority of a Contracting State pursuant to this Article shall be forwarded to the competent authority of the other Contracting State. However, the first-mentioned Contracting State shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs, if any, incurred in the course of rendering such assistance to the extent mutually agreed between the competent authorities of the two States.

4. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as imposing on either Contracting State the obligation to carry out administrative measures of a different nature from those used in the collection of its own taxes or those which would be contrary to its public policy.

ARTICLE 28 : Diplomatic agents and consular officers - Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the fiscal privileges of diplomatic agents or consular officers 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, 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 thirty days after the receipt of the later of the notifications referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

3. The provisions of this Agreement shall have effect in India and in the State of Qatar in respect of income arising on or after the first day of the fiscal year next following the calendar year in which the Agreement enters into force.

ARTICLE 30 : Termination - This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State. Either Contracting State may terminate this Agreement, through diplomatic channels, by giving notice of termination at least six months before the end of any calendar year after the expiration of five years from the date of entry into force of the Agreement. In such event, the Agreement shall cease to have effect in India and the State of Qatar, in respect of income arising on or after the first day of the fiscal year next following the calendar year in which the notice of termination is given.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Agreement.

Signed in two originals at New Delhi, this seventh day of April, 1999 in Arabic, Hindi and English languages, all three texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence between the texts, the English text shall be the operative one.

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Updates

 India to revise DTAA with Qatar

The union cabinet approved the revision of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Qatar. According to the cabinet, the revision will also help prevent fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. "The revised DTAA updates the provisions for exchange of information to latest standard, includes 'Limitation of Benefits' provision to prevent treaty shopping and aligns other provisions with India's recent treaties," the cabinet said in a statement. The existing DTAA with Qatar was signed on April 7, 1999 and came into force on January 15, 2000.