{"id":1747,"date":"2014-08-22T09:58:54","date_gmt":"2014-08-22T04:28:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itatonline.org\/articles_new\/?p=1747"},"modified":"2014-08-22T10:00:57","modified_gmt":"2014-08-22T04:30:57","slug":"analysis-of-an-important-judgement-on-international-taxation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/analysis-of-an-important-judgement-on-international-taxation\/","title":{"rendered":"Analysis  Of An Important Judgement On International Taxation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"articleblogheader\">\n<div class=\"articlepicture2\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.itatonline.org\/images\/AnantNPai.jpg\" alt=\"Shri. Anant Pai\" width=\"69\" height=\"98\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Analysis  Of An Important Judgement On International Taxation<\/p>\n<p>CA Anant N. Pai <br \/>\nA recent verdict of the Authority of Advance Rulings (AAR) has created a controversy over the role of a Protocol in interpreting Tax Treaties, in the context of the &#8220;Most Favoured Nation&#8221; (MFN) clause. The author has conducted a careful analysis of the judgement, explained its implications and provided valuable guidance on the way forward\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"chandrika\">\n<p><strong>1.<\/strong> The AAR decision in the case of <strong>Steria (India) Ltd<\/strong>,  reported in [2014] 364 ITR 381 (AAR), poses an interesting challenge to tax  professionals in evaluating the role of  a Protocol in interpreting Tax Treaties. <\/p>\n<p>    <strong>2.<\/strong> The Applicant in this case, Steria (India) Ltd [&lsquo;S&rsquo;] is  an Indian public company stated to be a leading provider of IT driven business  services for its clients&rsquo; core business processes. <\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<div class=\"\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>  Groupe Steria SCA [&#8216;SF&#8217;], is a French  partnership firm. SF centralizes  technical skills to carry on management functions such as legal finance, human  resources, communication risk control, information systems, controlling and  consolidation, delivery and industrialization, technology and the management  information services etc. <\/p>\n<p>  &lsquo;S&rsquo; entered into a Management Services Agreement  with &#8216;SF,&#8217; whereby &#8216;SF&#8217; provides &lsquo;S&rsquo; various management services with a view to rationalize and standardize its  Indian business practices in accordance  with the international best practices.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>3. <\/strong>In this factual  situation, &lsquo;S&rsquo; sought a ruling of the Authority on the following  questions:-<\/p>\n<p>   1. <em>&ldquo; On the facts and circumstances of the  case, whether the payment made by applicant &#8216;S&#8217; for the management services  provided by &#8216;SF&#8217; will not be taxable in India in the hands of &#8216;SF&#8217; as per the  provisions of the DTAA entered into between India and France?&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>  <em> 2. &ldquo;On the facts and circumstances of the  case, if the consideration for management services is not subject to tax in the  hands of &#8216;SF&#8217; in India, whether the applicant will be liable to withhold tax as  per the provisions of section 195 from the payments made \/ to be made to &#8216;SF&#8217;  under the Management Services Agreement?&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>  <strong>4. <\/strong>Before the AAR, it was  not in dispute that the services  rendered being management services were classifiable as Technical Services both  under Section 9 (1)(vii) of the Income  Tax Act and Article 13 of the DTAA  between India and France. It was submitted  that &#8216;SF&#8217; being a non-resident in India and tax resident of France, was  entitled to be governed by the provisions of India-France DTAA as per provision  of section 90(2), to the extent they are more beneficial as compared to the  provisions of the Act. <\/p>\n<p>  The attention of the AAR was drawn to the Most favoured Nation (MFN) clause 7 of the Protocol signed along with  the Indo-France DTAA, which read as under :-<\/p>\n<p>  <em>&ldquo; In  respect of Articles 11 (Dividend), 12 (Interest) and 13 (Royalties, fees for  technical services and payments for the use of equipment), if under any  Convention, Agreement or Protocol signed after 1-9-1989 between India and a  third state which is a member of the OECD, India limits its taxation at source  on dividends, interest, royalties, fees for technical services or payments for  the use of equipment to a rate lower or scope more restricted than the rate of  scope (<strong>this appears a misprint &ndash; the  correct words should be rate or scope <\/strong>) provided for in this Convention on  the said items of income, the same rate or scope as provided for in that  Convention, Agreement or Protocol on the said items shall also apply under this  Convention, with effect from the date on which the present Convention or the  relevant Convention, Agreement or Protocol enter in to force, which ever enters  in to force later.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>  The Applicant argued that though there was no &lsquo;make  available&rsquo; condition in Article 13 (Fees  for Technical Services) of the Indo-France DTAA, such condition existed in the corresponding Article 13  (4)(c) of the subsequently signed  Indo-UK DTAA. According to the Applicant, by virtue of this development, &lsquo;SF&rsquo;  also became entitled to the  benefit of the &lsquo;make available condition&rsquo; on account of the MFN clause in the Protocol to the  Indo-France DTAA,<\/p>\n<p>  The Applicant submitted that in its instant case &lsquo;SF&rsquo; had not made available any technical  knowledge, experience skill, know-how or processes to S and therefore, the  payments made by it to &lsquo;S&rsquo; did not constitute Fees for Technical Services under  Article 13 of the Indo-France DTAA. The Applicant therefore proposed to the AAR that &#8216;SF&#8217; being a non-resident in India and tax  resident of France, was entitled to be governed by the provisions of  India-France DTAA as per provision of section 90(2), to the extent they are  more beneficial as compared to the provisions of the Income Act and in these circumstances, payments made to &lsquo;SF&rsquo;  were not taxable as Fees for Technical Services . <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>5. <\/strong>The Revenue, on the  other hand, submitted that fees for technical services includes fees for  managerial, technical or consultancy nature and the services rendered by &#8216;SF&#8217;  falls under the broad definition of technical services both as per provisions of the Act as well as  under the India-France DTAA. There was  more particularly so because there was no requirement of &#8216;make available&#8217; under  article 13 of the DTAA between India and France.<\/p>\n<p>  The Revenue also  disputed the Applicant&rsquo;s version that &lsquo;SF&rsquo; did not make &#8216;make available&#8217; technical knowledge  to the resident company. According to the  Revenue, both &lsquo;SF&rsquo; and &ldquo;S&rdquo; interacted through their employees and in the  process, &lsquo;S&rsquo; benefitted from the  consulting provided by &lsquo;SF&rsquo;s employees. The knowledge\/skill of employees of  Applicant company improved through this interaction, consultation, training  etc. provided by the non-resident company and in this process, the knowledge\/skill\/know-how was made available by  &lsquo;SF&#8217; to &lsquo;S&rsquo;. <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>6. <\/strong>In its ruling, the AAR has held that the  benefit of the MFN clause was not available to &lsquo;SF&rdquo; with regard to the &lsquo;make  available&rsquo; condition. The findings of the AAR are summarized hereunder:-<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(a) <\/strong> The Applicant does not dispute the managerial  services rendered were technical services as defined in the Act and the Article  13 of the DTAA between India and France. The Applicant has canvassed its case solely on the basis of the Protocol to the Tax Treaty between Indian  and France. <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(b) <\/strong> According to the AAR, a Protocol cannot be treated as the  same with the provisions contained in the treaty itself, though it may be an  integral part of the Treaty. What is stated by the Protocol is for India to  limit its taxation at source for the detail items mentioned therein. The  restrictions are on the rates and &#8216;make available&#8217; clause cannot be read in the  items. <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(c)<\/strong> According to the AAR, changes in the Treaty are being  giving effect by Notifications only.<\/p>\n<p>  On the basis of the Protocol, a Notification  No.9602 [F.No.501\/16\/80-FTD], dated 6-9-1994 as amended by Notification No. SO  650(E), dated 10-7-2000 was issued by Govt. of India. {Readers may refer to the  text of notification dated 10-7-2000 in Annexure} <\/p>\n<p>  (The said Notifications meant to implement the Protocol signed with  Indo-France DTAA to align it with lower  rates of taxation charged on  Dividends, Interest, Royalties, Fees for Technical Services in  DTAAs signed by India with Germany and United States, both of which were  OECD Members.)<\/p>\n<p>  According to the AAR, these Notifications did  not include anything about the &#8216;make available&#8217; provision. If the intention of  the Protocol or the Government was to  include &#8216;make available&#8217; clause in the Tax Treaty between India and France, it  should have been done so in the said Notifications. <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(d) <\/strong>Tax Treaties are between two sovereign  nations . Every country has a particular relation with another countries and  same treatment are not given to all the countries. Say, for example,  definitions of fees for technical services are more restrictive with some countries  than the others. Every Treaty has particular purpose depending on the  relationship between the two countries. While agreeing with various judgments  that ordinary meaning of the Treaties should be given while interpreting the  provision of the Tax Treaties and even to the extent of liberal interpretation  of the Treaty, no clause can be imported like &#8216;make available&#8217; in the  Treaty so as to change tax complexion of  the Treaty provision. <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(e) <\/strong>Protocol or Memorandum of Association can  be made use for interpreting provision of the Treaty, it will not be  correct\/proper to import words, phrases or clause that is not available into  the Treaties between two Sovereign nations, on the basis of Treaties with  another countries. <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(f) <\/strong>In this particular case, it may be stated  at the most that India is under obligation as per the terms of the Protocol to  limit its tax rate or rate of scope as was done in the notification , but such type of action will not be within the  purview of this Authority.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(g) <\/strong>The submission of the Applicant that the  services being managerial, which was omitted in the definition of fees for  technical services in the revised Indo-UK DTAA entered in 1993, the managerial  services rendered by the Applicant will also automatically omitted in the  definition of fees for technical services under the Tax Treaty between  Indo-France by application of the Protocol, was also accepted by the AAR for  the reasons cited above regarding application of the Protocol in the  Treaty. <\/p>\n<p>  Based on the above observations, the AAR has  held that the payments made by the Applicant to &lsquo;SF&rsquo; were taxable as Fees for  Technical Services and that Applicant was liable to deduct tax at sources u\\s  195 on these payments.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>7. <\/strong>It is true that authorities have given  tax payers the benefit of the MFN clause in context of the India treaties with  OECD countries. The instances of such rulings may be found in the decisions of  Karnataka High Court in CIT vs. ISRO Satellite Centre [2013] 35 taxmann.com 352  [Karn], Poonawala Aviation Pvt. Ltd [2012] 343 ITR 202 [AAR] and Idea Cellular  Ltd. [2012] 343 ITR 381 [AAR]. <\/p>\n<p>  But, in all these cases, the issue, whether a  change in the terms of DTAA can be allowed only there is specific notification  issued to the amending effect, was not under consideration. <\/p>\n<p>  Whereas I am not faulting the decision of the  AAR in the Steria case, I am only asking the Readers to examine whether a  different view can be taken on the lines proposed by me hereunder.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>8. According to me, it should not be  seen as a rule that a Protocol is only a mere interpretative aid to the Treaty.  On the other hand, it can ably supplement the Treaty by adding substantive  content to the Treaty. [<em>By substantive  content, I mean that content which determines or varies the legal rights of  parties.<\/em>].<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  The  substantive content added by the Protocol effectively amalgamates with the  Treaty and thereby becomes an integral part of the same. To the extent of this  substantive content added, the legal rights of tax payers created in the Treaty  would get amended or even redefined by the Protocol. <\/p>\n<p>  This is precisely what the MFN clause in the  Protocol does to the Treaty. It responds to a situation where the Treaty has to  revise in order to align itself to a more favourable tax treatment given by the  Treaty partner to a third State. The rights of the Treaty partner are  favourable enhanced by this revision. <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>9. <\/strong>However, the manner in which the revision  will take place, will depend on the intention of the Treaty partners as  formalized in the Protocol. <\/p>\n<p>  According to me, a revision of the Treaty  triggered by the MFN clause can take place in two ways :-<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>In the first case, the  Protocol may provide a mechanism by which that the Treaty will automatically  ambulate to align with the more favourable treatment given by the Treaty  partner to the Third State. In such case, the Treaty should be seen as &lsquo;self  updating&rsquo;. No subsequent Protocol is  required to be negotiated to amend the  Treaty as there is built-in &lsquo;self-revision&rsquo; mechanism in the original  Protocol.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  In the second case, the Protocol may require  that the amendments to the Treaty would  have to be bilaterally negotiated by the  Treaty partners. In this situation, the amendments to the Treaty are not  automatic and have to be bilaterally agreed in a subsequent Protocol.<\/p>\n<p>  In short,  whether the Treaty will &lsquo; self- amend&rsquo; or  will have to be bilaterally amended &#8211;  will depend on the intention of the Treaty partners &ndash; to be gathered from  the language in which the MFN clause  is couched in the Protocol.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>10.<\/strong> Sometimes, the provision for automatic revision may be  tangibly clear by use of the expression  &lsquo;automatically&rsquo; or so in the MFN clause. This has been observed in the MFN clause in the Protocol to the Czech Republic-Bulgaria  DTTA of 1996.<\/p>\n<p>  Yet,  according to me, the absence of the word &lsquo;automatically&rsquo; does necessarily  suggest the converse &#8211; that the revision  is otherwise not automatic . <strong>In my view, if the provisions of the  Protocol vest the tax payer of the State, which is the beneficiary of the MFN  clause, with a right to concessional tax treatment and this right is not made  conditional or subject to requirement of  further bilateral negotiations between the Treaty partners, then it may be  assumed that the right is final without requiring any further procedure for its  implementation. In such circumstance, the Treaty should be seen as  automatically self-revising without any further procedure.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>  <strong>11.<\/strong> It is in light of the above discussion, the Readers may  test whether &#8211; when the MFN clause in Protocol to the Indo-France DTTA is  triggered, the Treaty automatically updates to the triggered situation or not.<\/p>\n<p>   This proposition, more particularly,  assumes importance in context of section 90 (1) of the Indian Income Tax Act.  As per this section, the Central Government may enter in to Double Taxation  Avoidance Agreement with any country outside India and may by notification in  the Official Gazette, make such provisions as may be necessary for implementing  the agreement.<\/p>\n<p>   The AAR in the Steria case noted  that as per the practice followed in India, changes in the DTAAs are  implemented by way of notifications amending the DTAA.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong> 12.<\/strong> <strong>In  my view is that if the DTAA is self updating, no new notification is required to administer its subsequent  updates. This is because the original DTAA (along with the contemporary  Protocol) has been &lsquo;implemented&rsquo; by  notification under which the DTAA was initialized, As a part and parcel of this  implementation, the MFN clause in the Protocol also gets &lsquo;implemented&rsquo; causing  the DTAA to also become &lsquo;implemented&rsquo; as  an automatically self updating Treaty. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>   <strong>In  short, if a self updating Treaty is &lsquo;implemented&rsquo; under the original  notification and no further notification is required u\\s 90 (1) for subsequent  updates.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>   This is the view that I wish the Readers to examine.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong> 13.<\/strong> In the Steria case, the MFN  clause 7 of the Protocol signed along with the Indo-France DTAA, read as under :-<\/p>\n<p>  <em>&ldquo; In respect of Articles  11 (Dividend), 12 (Interest) and 13 (Royalties, fees for technical services and  payments for the use of equipment), if under any Convention, Agreement or  Protocol signed after 1-9-1989 between India and a third state which is a  member of the OECD, India limits its taxation at source on dividends, interest,  royalties, fees for technical services or payments for the use of equipment to  a rate lower or scope more restricted than the rate of scope ( <strong>this appears a misprint &ndash; the correct words  should be rate or scope <\/strong>) provided for in this Convention on the said items  of income, the same rate or scope as provided for in that Convention, Agreement  or Protocol on the said items shall also apply under this Convention, with  effect from the date on which the present Convention or the relevant  Convention, Agreement or Protocol enter in to force, which ever enters in to  force later.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>   <strong>14.<\/strong> A reading of the clause should suggest  that if the MFN clause is triggered on account of a more favourable treatment given by India to  a third State, which is an OECD member, then  similar treatment will also be carried under Article 13 (Royalties, fees for technical  services &#8230;&#8230;) to French tax resident.  Once the MFN clause triggered, the transition of the MFN treatment from the  DTAA to the hands of the French tax payer is not fettered by any pre-conditions  and therefore, appears to me as automatic.<\/p>\n<p>   In this scenario, a view can be  taken that no subsequent notification is required u\\s 90 (1) of the Indian  Income Tax Act to implement the MFN clause for the following reasons:-<\/p>\n<p>  <strong> (a) Firstly, <\/strong>the  Indo-France DTAA has become a self updating Treaty by virtue of the MFN clause  in the Protocol. The updating is automatic once the MFN clause is triggered.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong> (b) Secondly,<\/strong> the  Indo-France DTAA, as a self updating Treaty, has been implemented by the  original notification when the DTAA was initialized in full compliance with the  provisions of section 90 (1). <\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(c) Thirdly, <\/strong>no  further implementation is required by subsequent notifications for updates to  the DTAA as the DTTA is fully implemented as a self-updating Treaty.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>(d) Fourthly, <\/strong>the  DTAA, being self updating, was self sufficient and fully resourced to confer  the French tax payer the benefit of the MFN clause.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>15. If the Readers can agree with the above  propositions, then it should follow that the subsequent Notification no. S.O.  650 (E) dated 10-7-2000, professing to amend Article 13 of the Indo-France DTAA  become only clarificatory and not substantive in character. The notification  cannot be said to amend the Treaty as the Treaty, being self updating, as  already amended itself.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>  The fact that the  subsequent notification referred only to  concessional rates of taxing Fees for Technical Services under Article 13 and  did not deal with issue of the scope of this Article changing in context of  the MFN clause in the Protocol &#8211; should therefore not have made a difference  to the Applicant&rsquo;s case before the AAR. This is because the Applicant  ought to have been entitled to the benefit of the MFN clause by virtue of the  DTAA being self-updating and recourse to the subsequent notification was not  required under section 90 (1) of the Indian Income Tax Act.<\/p>\n<p>  <strong>16. <\/strong>Article 13 (4) of the  Indo-France DTAA and the Indo-UK DTAA defines what constitutes &ldquo;fees for  technical services&rdquo; and thereby determines the scope of taxing an item of  income under this Article. Article 13  (4) of the Indo-UK DTAA does include within the scope of &ldquo;fees for technical  services&rdquo; managerial services. It also excludes from its scope technical and  consultancy services, which do not make available technical knowledge,  experience, skill or processes. <\/p>\n<p>  India by signing the DTAA with UK, an OECD country has  restricted the scope of taxing managerial services as &ldquo;fees for technical  services&rdquo; under Article 13, thereby conferring UK with a more favourable tax  treatment than France.<\/p>\n<p>  In these  circumstances, in the case before the AAR, &lsquo;SF&rdquo; ought to have been entitled to  the benefit of the MFN clause in full as canvassed by the Applicant.<\/p>\n<p>  This is the possible view which the Readers may consider.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>  Annexure <\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p align=\"center\"><strong><em>Text of Amending  Notification no. S.O. 650 (E) dated 10-7-2000.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>    <em>Whereas  the Convention between the Republic of India and the French Republic for the  avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect  to taxes on income and on capital came into force on the 1st day of August,  1994, after the notification by both the Contracting States to each other of  the completion of the procedures required under their laws for bringing into  force the said Convention. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>And  whereas the Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred by section  90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), section 24A of the Companies  (Profits) Surtax Act, 1964 (7 of 1969) and section 44A of the Wealth-tax Act,  1957 (27 of 1957), had directed that all the provisions of the said Convention  annexed to the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of  Finance (Department of Revenue) (Foreign Tax Department) No. G.S.R. 681(E),  dated 7th September, 1994, shall be given effect to in the Union of India. <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>And  whereas paragraph 7 of the Protocol dated 29th September, 1992, to the  aforesaid Convention provides that if after the 1st day of September, 1989,  under any Convention Agreement or Protocol concluded between India and a third  State which is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and  Development, India should limit its taxation at source on dividends, interest,  royalties, fees for technical services or payments for the use of equipment to  a rate lower or a scope more restricted than the rate or scope provided for in  this Convention on the said items of income, then, as from the date on which  the Convention between India and France or the relevant India Convention,  Agreement or Protocol enters into force, whichever enters into force later, the  same rate or scope as provided for in that Convention, Agreement or Protocol on  the said items of income shall also apply under this Convention ; <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>And  whereas in the Convention between India and Germany which entered into force on  the 26th October, 1996, and the Convention between India and the United States  of America which entered into force on the 18th December, 1990, which States  are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the  Government of India has limited the taxation at source on dividends, interest,  royalties, fees for technical services and payments for the use of equipment to  a rate lower or a scope more restricted than that provided in the Convention  between India and France on the said items of income ; <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>Now,  therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred under section 90 of the  Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby directs that  the following modifications shall be made in the Convention notified by the  said notification which are necessary for implementing the aforesaid Convention  between India and France, namely :&mdash; <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>I. With  effect from the 1st April, 1997, for the existing paragraph 2 of article 11  relating to &quot;Dividends&quot;, the following paragraph shall be read:<\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>&quot;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 Contracting State, but if the  recipient is the beneficial owner of the dividends, the tax so charged shall  not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends.&quot; <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>II.  With effect from the 1st April, 1995, for the existing paragraph 2 of article  12 relating to &quot;Interest&quot;, the following paragraph shall be read: <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>&quot;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 &mdash;- <\/em><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td width=\"47\" valign=\"top\">\n<p>        <em>(a)<\/em> <\/td>\n<td width=\"20\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"553\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><em>10 per cent of the gross amount of the    interest on loans made or guaranteed by a bank or other financial institution    carrying on bona fide banking or financial business or an insurance company    or by an enterprise which holds directly or indirectly at least 10 per cent    of the capital of the company paying interest ; <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"47\" valign=\"top\">\n<p align=\"right\"><em>(b)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"553\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><em>15 per cent of the gross amount of the    interest in all other cases.&quot; <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><em>III.  With effect from the 1st April, 1997, for paragraph 2 of article 12 relating to  &quot;Interest&quot;, referred to in paragraph II above, the following  paragraph shall be read: <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>&quot;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.&quot; <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>IV.  With effect from the 1st April, 1995, for the existing paragraph 2 of article  13 relating to &quot;Royalties and fees for technical services and payments for  the use of equipment&quot;, the following paragraph shall be read: <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>&quot;2. However, such royalties, fees and  payments may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and  according to the laws of that Contracting State but if the recipient is the  beneficial owner of these categories of income, the tax so charged shall not  exceed&mdash; <\/em><\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" cellpadding=\"0\">\n<tr>\n<td width=\"47\" valign=\"top\">\n<p>        <em>(a)<\/em> <\/td>\n<td width=\"20\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"553\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><em>in the case of royalties and fees 20 per    cent of the gross amount of such royalties or fees ; and <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td width=\"47\" valign=\"top\">\n<p align=\"right\"><em>(b)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"20\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td width=\"553\" valign=\"top\">\n<p><em>in the case of payments referred to in    paragraph 5 of this article, 10 per cent of the gross amount of such    payments.&quot; <\/em><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<p><em>V. With  effect from the 1st April, 1997, for paragraph 2 of article 13 relating to  &quot;Royalties and fees for technical services and payments for the use of  equipment&quot;, referred to in paragraph IV above, the following paragraph  shall be read : <\/em><\/p>\n<p>    <em>&quot;2. However, such royalties and fees  and payments may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and  according to the laws of that Contracting State, but if the recipient is the  beneficial owner of these categories of income, the tax so charged shall not  exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of such royalties, fees and  payments.&quot; <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<table width=\"100%\" border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"5\" cellspacing=\"0\" bgcolor=\"#FFFFCC\">\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Disclaimer: <\/strong>The  contents of this document are solely for informational purpose. It does not  constitute professional advice or a formal recommendation. While due care has  been taken in preparing this document, the existence of mistakes and omissions  herein is not ruled out. Neither the author nor itatonline.org and its  affiliates accepts any liabilities for any loss or damage of any kind arising  out of any inaccurate or incomplete information in this document nor for any  actions taken in reliance thereon. No part of this document should be  distributed or copied (except for personal, non-commercial use) without  express written permission of itatonline.org<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A recent verdict of the Authority of Advance Rulings (AAR) has created a controversy over the role of a Protocol in interpreting Tax Treaties, in the context of the &#8220;Most Favoured Nation&#8221; (MFN) clause. The author has conducted a careful analysis of the judgement, explained its implications and provided valauable guidance on the way forward <\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/analysis-of-an-important-judgement-on-international-taxation\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1747"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itatonline.org\/articles_new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}