S.I. No. 521/2001 - Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income and Capital Gains) (Republic of India) Order, 2001

1. WITH REFERENCE TO ARTICLES 3 AND 23

Where a person resident in Ireland is a member of a partnership which is resident in India and by virtue of this Convention any profits, income or gains of the partnership are relieved from tax in Ireland, the Convention shall not affect any liability to tax in Ireland of such person in respect of such person's share of any profits, income or gains of the partnership; any such share of profits, income or gains shall be treated for the purposes of Article 23 as profits, income or gains from sources in India and the appropriate part of the Indian tax borne by the partnership shall be allowed as a credit against any Irish tax computed by reference to the said share of the profits, income or gains.

2. WITH REFERENCE TO ARTICLE 7

If, in accordance with the laws of a Contracting State, profits are attributed to a permanent establishment of an enterprise carrying on insurance business, on the basis of an apportionment of the total profits of the enterprise to its various parts, nothing in paragraph 2 shall preclude that Contracting State from determining the profits to be taxed by such an apportionment; the method of apportionment adopted shall, however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the principles contained in Article 7.

3. WITH REFERENCE TO ARTICLE 24

The provisions of this Article shall not be construed as preventing India from charging the profits of a permanent establishment of an Irish company in India at a rate of tax which is higher than that imposed on the profits of a similar Indian company, nor as being in conflict with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 7 of this Convention.

4. WITH REFERENCE TO COLLECTION ASSISTANCE

It is understood that at the date of signature of this Convention, the laws of Ireland do not permit it to lend assistance in the collection of taxes on income, profits or gains of another country. However, if after the date of signature of this Convention, the laws of Ireland in this respect change and Ireland enters into an arrangement with another country to permit such assistance in collection, then Ireland shall inform the Indian competent authority and, if requested by such authority, shall immediately enter into negotiations for the purpose of incorporating provisions with regard to collection assistance in this Convention.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Convention.

DONE in duplicate at New Delhi on this 6th day of November, in 2000, in the English and Hindi languages, both the texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence between the two texts, the English text shall prevail.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF

OF IRELAND

THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA

PHILIP McDONAGH

A. BALAFUBRAMANIAN

Given under the Official Seal of the Government,

this 20

th

day of November, 2001.

BERTIE AHERN,

Taoiseach.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order gives force of law in Ireland to the Convention with India which is set out in the Schedule. The principal provisions of the new Convention are summarised below.

This Convention with India, which was signed in Dublin on 6 November, 2000, is comprehensive in scope and is based on the OECD Model Convention.

It provides for the allocation of taxing rights between Ireland and India and for the granting of relief from double taxation with regard to items of income and capital gains which, under the laws of Ireland and the laws of India, may be taxed in both countries.

In many cases, the Convention awards the taxation right over items of income and gains to the country of residence of the recipient only, for example, for items such as business profits and gains on movable property, provided such income or gains do not arise through a permanent establishment or fixed base in the country of source, profits from the operation of ships or aircraft engaged in international traffic and pensions. In other cases, such as remuneration in respect of services rendered to the Government of either country, the Convention awards the sole taxation right to the country of source.

Where both countries continue to have taxing rights, for example in the case of dividend, interest and royalty income, business profits arising through a permanent establishment which an enterprise resident in one country has in the other country, or in the case of capital gains arising from the disposal of immovable property or shares linked with immovable property, the Convention provides that the country of residence of the recipient of the income or gain will give credit against its tax on the income or gains for the tax paid in the other country on the same income or gains.

The Convention also provides for safeguarding nationals and enterprises of one country against discriminatory taxation in the other country, for consultation between the competent authorities of the two countries for the purpose of resolving any doubts or difficulties arising as to the interpretation or application of the Convention and for the exchange of information that is relevant for carrying out the provisions of the Convention or of the domestic laws of each country in relation to the taxes covered by the Convention.

The Convention will enter into force when each country notifies the other of the completion of its procedures for bringing the Convention into force. It will thereupon have effect in both countries for tax periods beginning in the following year. An amendment to the text of the General Definitions, Entry into Force and Termination Articles of the Convention was agreed by means of an Exchange of Diplomatic Letters between both countries, in order to reflect the alignment of the income tax and capital gains tax years in Ireland with the calendar year.

5. For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3, profits, income and gains owned by a resident of a Contracting State which may be taxed in the other Contracting State in accordance with the provisions of this Convention shall be deemed to arise from sources in that other Contracting State.

6. Income which in accordance with the provisions of this Convention is not to be subjected to tax in a Contracting State may be taken into account for calculating the rate of tax to be imposed in that Contracting State on other income.

Article 24

NON-DISCRIMINATION

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 Convention.

Article 12

ROYALTIES AND FEES FOR TECHNICAL SERVICES

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, if the activities of such an agent are carried out wholly or almost wholly for the enterprise and the conditions made or imposed between them in their commercial and financial relations differ from those which would have been made or imposed if this had not been the case, that agent shall not be considered to be an agent of an independent status for the purpose 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

WHEREAS it is enacted by

sections 826

(1) and

828

of the

Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997

(No. 39 of 1997), that if the Government by order declare that arrangements specified in the order have been made with the government of any territory outside the State in relation to affording relief from double taxation in respect of income tax, corporation tax or capital gains tax and any taxes of a similar character, imposed by the laws of the State or by the laws of that territory, and that it is expedient that those arrangements should have the force of law, the arrangements shall, notwithstanding anything in any enactment other than

section 168

of the

Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997

, have the force of law

AND WHEREAS it is further enacted by

section 826

(6) of the

Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997

, that where such an order is proposed to be made, a draft of the order shall be laid before Dáil Éireann and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by Dáil Éireann

AND WHEREAS a draft of the following Order has been laid before Dáil Éireann and a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by Dáil Éireann

NOW, the Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by

sections 826

(1) and

828

of the

Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997

(No. 39 of 1997), hereby order as follows