DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH THE STATE OF QATAR ORDER
Table of Provisions (10)
Statutory Text (10 Articles)
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE STATE OF QATAR
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 123.110
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON
INCOME WITH THE STATE OF QATAR ORDER
9th December, 2009
LEGAL NOTICE 69 of 2010, as modified by S.L.123.183.
This title of this order is the Double Taxation Relief
(Taxes on Income) (State of Qatar) Order.
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE GOVERNMENT OF MALTA
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
The Government of Malta 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,
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 subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of
the manner in which they are levied.
2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income, all taxes imposed on total
income or on elements of income.
It is hereby declared:-
(a) tthat the arrangements specified in the Agreement set
out in the Schedule to this Order have been made with
the State of Qatar with a view to affording relief from
double taxation in relation to the following taxes
imposed by the laws of the State of Qatar
-
taxes on income
(b) that it is expedient that those arrangements should
have effect;
(c) that the Convention has entered into force on the 9th
December, 2009.
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The existing taxes to which the Agreement shall apply are
(a) in the case of Qatar
taxes on income
(hereinafter referred to as "Qatari tax"); and
(b) in the case of Malta
the income tax;
(hereinafter referred to as "Malta tax").
The Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar
taxes that are imposed after the date of signature of the Agreement in addition to, or
in place of the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States
shall notify each other of any significant changes that have been made in their
respective tax laws.
ARTICLE 3
GENERAL DEFINITIONS
1. For the purposes of this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires
(a) the term "Qatar" means the State of Qatar’s lands, internal waters,
territorial sea including its bed and subsoil, the air space over them, the
exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf, over which the State
of Qatar exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with
the provisions of international law and Qatar’s national laws and
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regulations;
(b)
the term "Malta" means the Republic of Malta and, when used in a
geographical sense, means the Island of Malta, the Island of Gozo and
the other islands of the Maltese archipelago including the territorial
waters thereof, as well as any area of the sea-bed, its sub-soil and the
superjacent water column adjacent to the territorial waters, wherein
Malta exercises sovereign rights, jurisdiction, or control in accordance
with international law and its national law, including its legislation
relating to the exploration of the continental shelf and exploitation of its
natural resources;
(c)
the term "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" means
Qatar or Malta as the context requires;
(d)
the term "person" includes an individual, a company and any other body
of persons;
(e)
the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity that is
treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;
(f)
the terms "enterprise of a Contracting State" and "enterprise of the other
Contracting State" mean respectively an enterprise carried on by a
resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident
of the other Contracting State;
(g)
the term "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;
(h)
the term "competent authority" means
(i) in the case of Qatar, the Minister of Economy and Finance, or his
authorized representative, and
(ii) in the case of Malta, the Minister responsible for finance, or his
authorized representative;
(i)
the term "national", in relation to a Contracting State, means
(i) any individual possessing the nationality of that Contracting
State;
(ii) any legal person, partnership or association deriving its status as
such from the laws in force in that Contracting State.
2. When implementing the provisions of this Agreement at any time by a
Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise
requires, have the meaning which it has at that time under the law of that State
concerning the taxes to which the Agreement applies, any meaning under the
applicable tax laws of that State prevailing over a meaning given to the term under
other laws of that State.
ARTICLE 4
RESIDENT
1. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "resident of a Contracting
State" means
(a) in the case of Qatar, any individual who has a permanent home, his
centre of vital interest, or habitual abode in Qatar, and a company
incorporated or having its place of effective management in Qatar. The
term also includes the State of Qatar and any local authority, political
subdivision or statutory body thereof;
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(b) in the case of Malta, any person who, under the law of Malta, is liable to
tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management
or any other criterion of a similar nature, and also includes Malta and
any political subdivision or local authority thereof. This term, however,
does not include any person who is liable to tax in Malta in respect only
of income from sources in Malta.
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 Contracting State in
which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent
home available to him in both Contracting States, he shall be deemed to
be a resident only of the Contracting State in 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
Contracting State, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the
Contracting State in which he has an habitual abode;
(c) if he has an habitual abode in both Contracting States or in neither of
them, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State
of which he is a national;
(d) if the residence status of an individual cannot be determined in
accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) above,
then 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 only of the State in which its place of effective management is situated.
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)
premises used as sales outlet; and
(g)
a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of exploration,
extraction or exploitation of natural resources.
3. The term "permanent establishment" also encompasses
(a) a building site, a construction, assembly or installation project or any
supervisory activity in connection with such site or project, but only
where such site, project or activity continues for period or periods
aggregating more than six months; and
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(b) the furnishing of services, including consultancy services, by an
enterprise through employees or other personnel engaged by the
enterprise for such purpose, but only if the activities of that nature
continue (for the same or a connected project) within a Contracting
State for period or periods aggregating more than six months within any
twelve month period.
4. 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, 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; or
(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.
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
on behalf of an enterprise and has, and habitually exercises, in a Contracting State an
authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise, that enterprise shall be
deemed to have a permanent establishment in that State in respect of any activities
which that person undertakes for 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.
Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, an insurance
enterprise of a Contracting State shall, except in regard to reinsurance, be deemed to
have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State if it collects premiums
on the territory of that other Contracting State or insures risks situated therein
through a person, other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 7
applies.
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, and conditions are made or imposed between that
enterprise and the agent in their commercial and financial relations which differ
from those which would have been made between independent enterprises, he will
not be considered an agent of an independent status within the meaning of this
paragraph.
The fact that a company which is a resident of a Contracting State controls
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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 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 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 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 the determination of 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, which are allowed under the provisions of the domestic law of the
Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is situated.
4. Insofar as it has been customary in a Contracting State to determine the
profits to be attributed to a permanent establishment 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 as may be customary; the method of apportionment
adopted shall, however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the
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principles contained in this Article.
5. 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.
6. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to
the permanent establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year
unless there is good and sufficient reason to the contrary.
7. Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in
other Articles of this Agreement, then the provisions of those Articles shall not be
affected by the provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE 8
SHIPPING AND AIR TRANSPORT
1. Profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State from the operation of ships or
aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in that State.
2. 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
may 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.
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 shall be taxable only in that other State.
2. The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from shares or
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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 Contracting State of which the company making the
distribution is a resident.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1 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 the 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.
4. 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 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 shall be taxable only in that other State.
2. 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 purposes of this Article.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1 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 the 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.
4. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the
beneficial owner of the interest 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
1. Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other
Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
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2. However, such royalties 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 is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not
exceed 5 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.
3. 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, tapes or
discs for radio or television broadcasting), any patent, trade mark, design or model,
plan, secret formula or process, or for information concerning industrial, commercial
or scientific experience.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner
of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the
other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, through a permanent
establishment situated therein, or performs in the other State independent personal
services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of
which the royalties 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 shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is a
resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the royalties, 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 was incurred, and such royalties are borne by such permanent
establishment or fixed base, then such royalties 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, 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 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 a fixed base, may be taxed in that other State.
3. Gains from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic
or movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft by an
enterprise of a Contracting State, shall be taxable only in that State.
4. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of
shares deriving more than 75 per cent of their value directly or indirectly from
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immovable property situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that
other State. The provisions of this paragraph shall not apply if the immovable
property is used in a manufacturing activity carried on for a continuous period of at
least five years.
5. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in
paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 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 Contracting 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 twelve-
month period commencing or ending in the taxable 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, 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 (one hundred eighty three) days in any
twelve-month period commencing or ending in the taxable 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 from an employment exercised on board a ship or aircraft operated in
international traffic by an enterprise of a Contracting State may be taxed in that
State.
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4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, salaries, wages,
allowances and other remuneration received by an employee in a top-level
managerial position in an airline enterprise of a Contracting State, who is stationed
in the other Contracting State, shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State.
ARTICLE 16
DIRECTORS’ FEES
Directors’ fees and 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 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. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from activities exercised
in the other Contracting State as envisaged in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article,
shall be exempted from tax in that other State if the visit to that other State is
supported wholly or substantially by funds of either Contracting State, a political
subdivision or a local authority thereof, or takes place under a cultural agreement or
arrangement between the Governments of the Contracting States.
ARTICLE 18
PENSIONS AND ANNUITIES
1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other
similar remuneration and annuities paid to a resident of a Contracting State shall be
taxable only in that State.
2. The term "annuity" means a stated sum payable periodically at stated times
during life or during a specified or ascertainable period of time under an obligation
to make the payments in return for adequate and full consideration in money or
money’s worth.
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 other State and the individual is a resident of that other State
who
(i) is a national of that other State; or
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(ii) did not become a resident of that other State solely for the
purpose of rendering the services.
2. (a) Any pension and other similar remuneration 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 and other similar remuneration shall be taxable
only in the other Contracting State if the individual is a resident of, and
a national of, that State.
3. The provisions of Articles 15, 16, 17, and 18 of this Agreement shall apply
to salaries, wages, pensions and other similar remuneration in respect of services
rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State or a
political subdivision or a local authority thereof.
ARTICLE 20
TEACHERS AND RESEARCHERS
1. An individual who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State
a resident of the other Contracting State and who, at the invitation of the
Government of the first-mentioned Contracting State or of a university, college,
school, museum or other cultural institution in that first mentioned Contracting State
or under an official program of cultural exchange, is present in that Contracting
State for a period not exceeding three consecutive years solely for the purpose of
teaching, giving lectures or carrying out research at such institution shall be exempt
from tax in that Contracting State on his remuneration for such activity.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to income from
research if such research is undertaken not in the public interest but primarily for the
private benefit of a specific person or persons.
ARTICLE 21
STUDENTS AND TRAINEES
1. Payments which a student or business apprentice or trainee who is or was
immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting
State and who is present in the first-mentioned Contracting 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 Contracting State, provided that such
payments arise from sources outside that Contracting State.
2. In respect of grants, scholarships and remuneration from employment not
covered by paragraph 1, a student, business apprentice or trainee described in
paragraph 1 shall, in addition, be entitled during such education or training to the
same exemptions, relief or reductions in respect of taxes available to residents of the
State which he is visiting.
ARTICLE 22
OTHER INCOME
1. Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not
dealt within 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, derived by a
resident of a Contracting State, if the recipient of such income carries on business in
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE STATE OF QATAR
the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, or
performs in the 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.
ARTICLE 23
ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE TAXATION
Subject to the relevant provisions of the laws of the Contracting States (and
without prejudice to the principle hereof), where a resident of a Contracting State
derives income which, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, is
taxable in the other Contracting State, then the first-mentioned State shall allow as a
deduction or credit, as the case may be, from the tax on income of that resident an
amount equal to the tax paid in the other Contracting State provided that such
deduction or credit shall not exceed that part of the tax, as computed before the
deduction or credit is given, which is attributable to the income derived from that
other Contracting State.
ARTICLE 24
NON-DISCRIMINATION
1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other
Contracting State to any taxation or any requirements 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 favourably
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 obliging a
Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal
allowances, relief and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or
family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents.
3. Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 4 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.
4. 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 requirements 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.
5. The non-taxation of Qatari nationals under the general tax law of Qatar shall
not be regarded as a discrimination under the provisions of this Article.
6. In this Article the term "taxation" means taxes which are the subject of this
Agreement.
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE STATE OF QATAR
ARTICLE 25
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 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 24, 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. The provisions of this paragraph shall also
apply to a Contracting State and any local authority, political subdivision or
statutory body thereof.
2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the objection appears to it to be
justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the
case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting
State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with the
Agreement.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to
r e s o l v e b y m u t u a l a g r e e m e n t a n y d i ff i c u l t i e s o r d o u b t s a r i s i n g a s t o t h e
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 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 thereunder is not contrary to this Agreement. The
exchange of information is not restricted by Article 1.
2. Any information received under paragraph 1 by a Contracting State shall be
treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic law
of that State. However, if the information is originally regarded as secret in the
transmitting State it 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 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.
3. In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 be construed so as to
impose on a Contracting State the obligation
(a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws or the
administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;
(b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the laws or in the
normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting
State;
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE STATE OF QATAR
(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
(ordre public).
ARTICLE 27
MEMBERS OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND CONSULAR POSTS
Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the fiscal privileges of members of
diplomatic missions or consular posts under the general rules of international law or
under the provisions of special agreements.
ARTICLE 28
ENTRY INTO FORCE
1. The Contracting States shall notify each other in writing, through diplomatic
channels, of the completion of the procedures required by their laws for the bringing
into force of this Agreement. The Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth
day from the date of the later of these notifications.
2. The provisions of this Agreement shall have effect
(a) with regard to taxes withheld at source, in respect of amounts paid or
credited on or after the first day of January of the calendar year
immediately following the year in which the Agreement enters into
force; and
(b) with regard to other taxes, in respect of taxable years beginning on or
after the first day of January of the calendar year immediately following
the year in which the Agreement enters into force.
ARTICLE 29
TERMINATION
1. This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting
State. Either Contracting State may terminate the Agreement, through diplomatic
channels, by giving written notice of termination at least six months before the end
of any calendar year following the expiration of a period of five years from the date
of its entry into force.
2. This Agreement shall cease to have effect
(a) with regard to taxes withheld at source, in respect of amounts paid or
credited on or after the first day of January of the calendar year
immediately following the year in which the notice is given; and
(b) with regard to other taxes, in respect of taxable years beginning on or
after first day of January of the calendar year immediately following the
year in which the notice is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have
signed this Agreement.
Done in duplicate at Doha the 26th day of August of the year 2009, in the Arabic
and English languages, both texts being equally authentic.
TONIO BORG
EMIR H.H. SHEIK HAMAD
BIN KHALIFA AL THANI
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE STATE OF QATAR