اجتناب از اخذ مالیات مضاعف وجلوگیری از فرار مالی در مالیات های بر درآمد سرمایه واموال (سرمایه) (انگلیسی)
desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on property (capital )
تاریخ انعقاد:1374/04/23
تاریخ اجرا:1380/08/24
In The Name of God
Agreement
between
the Government
of the Islamic Republic of Iran
and
the Government
of the Republic of BELARUS
for the avoidance
of double taxation AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION with respect to taxes on income and on PROPERTY (capital)
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN
AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on property (capital )
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1
PERSONAL SCOPE
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 and on property (capital) imposed on behalf of each Contracting State or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.
2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income and on property (capital) all taxes imposed on total income, on total property (capital) or on elements of income or of property (capital), including taxes on gains from the alienation of property, taxes on the total amounts of wages or salaries paid by enterprises as well as taxes on capital appreciation.
3.The existing taxes to which the Agreement shall apply are in particular:
a) in the case of Islamic Republic of Iran :
(i) the income tax;
(ii) the property tax
( hereinafter referred to as the Islamic Republic of Iran direct tax);
b) in the case of the Republic of Belarus:
(i) the tax on income and profits of legal persons;
(ii) the income tax on individuals;
(iii) the tax on immovable property; and
(iv) the land tax;
(hereinafter referred to as “Republic of Belarus tax”).
4. The Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes classified in accordance with definition of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article which 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 within a reasonable period of any 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 terms “a Contracting State” and “the other Contracting State” mean the Islamic Republic of Iran or the Republic of Belarus, as the context requires;
the term “Islamic Republic of Iran” means the territories under the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
the term “Republic of Belarus” means the Republic of Belarus and, when used in a geographical sense, means the territory over which the Republic of Belarus exercises under the laws of Belarus and in accordance with international law sovereign rights and jurisdiction;
b) the term “tax ” means any tax covered by Article 2 of this Agreement;
c) the term “person” includes an individual, a company and any other body of persons;
d) the term “company” means any legal person or any entity which is treated as a legal person for tax purposes;
e) the term “registered office” means the place where a company is actually managed and controlled, the place where the decision-making at the highest level on the important policies essential for the management of a company takes place, the place that plays a leading part in the management of a company from an economic and functional point of view and the place where the most important accounting books are kept;
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, boat, aircraft, or road and railway vehicle operated by an enterprise of a Contracting State, except when the ship, boat, aircraft or road and railway vehicle is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State;
h)the term “competent authority” means:
(i) in the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance or his authorized representative;
(ii) in the case of the Republic of Belarus, the Main State Tax Body at the Cabinet of Ministries of the Republic of Belarus or its authorized representatives;
i) the term “national” means:
i) any individual possessing the nationality of a Contracting State;
ii) any legal person, deriving its status as such from the laws in force in a Contracting State.
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 laws 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 registration, or any other criteria of a similar nature. However, this term does not include any person who is liable to tax in that State only in respect of income from sources in that State or capital situated therein.
2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article 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 (center of vital interests);
b) if the State in which he has his center 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 Contracting State in which he has an habitual abode;
c) if he has a habitual abode in both Contracting 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 neither of the Contracting States, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the questions by mutual agreement.
3. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1, a person of 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 registered office is situated.
4. In case difficulties arise as where the registered office as defined in subparagraph e) of paragraph 1 of Article 3, is situated the dispute shall be settled by the competent authorities of the Contracting States.
Article 5
PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT
1. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “permanent establishment” means a fixed place of business through which an enterprise of a Contracting State wholly of partly carries on the business in the other Contracting state.
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 exploration, exploitation or extraction of natural resources.
3. A building site, a construction, assembly or installation project or supervisory activities in connection therewith constitutes a permanent establishment but only where such site, project or activities continue for a period of more than twelve months.
4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the following activities of an enterprise of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State shall be deemed not to be treated as carrying on through the permanent establishment:
a)the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, displayordelivery 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 of 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.
5 . Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person – other than an agent of independent status to whom paragraph 6 – is acting in a Contracting State 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.
6. An enterprise of a Contracting State shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that other Contracting State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, where such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business.
However, when the activities of such an agent are devoted wholly on behalf of that enterprise, he shall not be considered an agent of an independent status if the transactions between the agent and the enterprise were not made under arms length conditions.
7. 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, of which carries on business in that 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 laws of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. Ships, boats, aircraft or road and railway vehicles 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, including income related to the transfer of obtaining of rights for managing immovable property.
4. The provisions of paragraph 1 and 3 of this Article shall also apply to the income from immovable property of an enterprise and to the income from immovable property used for the performance of independent personal services.
Article 7
BUSINESS PROFITS
1.The profits from business activity derived by 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 of this Article, 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 permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses so incurred, whether in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere.
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 principles embodied 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.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 effected by the provisions of this Article.
Article 8
INTERNATIONAL TRAFFIC
Profits derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the operation of ships, boats, aircraft, or road and railway vehicles, in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the registered office of the enterprise is situated.
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.
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)10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the recipient is a company (excluding partnership) which holds directly at least 25 per cent of the capital of the company paying the dividends;
b)15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases.
3.The term “dividends” as used in this Article means income from shares or other rights concerning shares, not being debt-claims, participating in profits, as well as income from other rights which is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from shares under the laws of the Contracting State of which the company making the distribution is a resident.
4.The provisions of paragraph 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 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 situated in that other State, nor subject the companys 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 that 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 be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises and according to the laws of the State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the interest the tax so charged should not exceed 5 per cent of the gross amount of the interest.
3.Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest arising in a Contracting State and derived by the Government, municipalities, the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran the National Bank of Belarus, shall be exempt from tax in the first-mentioned State.
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 debtors 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 paragraph 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 Articles 7 or 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
6.Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is the State itself, 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 indebtness 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
1. Royalties 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 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, 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 recordings for radio and television, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial or scientific equipment.
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 that 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 that State itself, a local authority or 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 Contacting State a permanent establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the right or property giving rise to the royalties is effectively connected, and such royalties are borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting 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 paid, 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
GAINS FROM THE ALIENATION OF PROPERTY ( 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 property – other than immovable 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 property – other than immovable 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 be taxed in that other State.
3.Gains derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships, boats, aircraft or road and railway vehicles operated in international traffic or property – other than immovable property – pertaining to the operation of such ships, boats, aircraft or road and railway vehicles, shall be taxable only in that Contracting State in which the registered office of the enterprise is situated.
4.Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of shares or other corporate rights in a company the assets of which directly or indirectly consist mainly of immovable property situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
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 similar activities of an independent character shall be taxable only in that State unless he has a fixed base regularly available to him in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities. If he has such a fixed base, the income may be fixed in the other State but only so much of it as is attributable to that fixed base.
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.
3. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term ” fixed base” means a fixed place such as an office or room, through which the activity of an individual performing independent personal services is wholly or partly carried on .
Article 15
DEPENDENT PERSONAL SERVICES
1.Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18, 19, and 20 of this Agreement, 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 twelve 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 that 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, aircraft or road and railway vehicle operated in international traffic, may be taxed in the Contracting State in which the registered office of the enterprise is situated.
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 be taxed in that other State.
Article 17
ARTISTS AND SPORTSMEN
1.Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer, such as a theater, motion picture, radio or television artist, or a musician, or as a sportsman, 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 sportsman in his capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsman 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 sportsman are exercised.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, the income derived by an entertainer or a sportsman from the activities performed in the other Contracting State within the cultural agreement concluded between the Governments of the Contracting States, shall be exempt from tax in that other State.
Article 18
PENSIONS
1.Subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 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 the Contracting State in which they arise. This provision shall also apply to life annuities paid to a resident of a Contracting State.
2. Pensions and life annuities paid, and other periodical or occasional payments made by a Contracting State in respect of insuring personal accidents shall be taxable only in this State.
3.The term ” annuity” as used in this Article means a stated sum (other than salaries and wages) payable periodically at stated times during life, or during a specified or ascertainable period of times under an obligation to make the payments in return for adequate and full consideration in money or moneys worth.
Article 19
GOVERNMENT SERVICES
1. Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, other than a pension, paid by , or out of funds created by a Contracting State or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or local authority shall be taxable only in that State.
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.The provisions of the 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 local authority thereof.
Article 20
TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
1.Payments which a student or business apprentice who is a national of a Contracting State and who is present in the other 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 other State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that other State.
2.Likewise, remuneration received by a teacher or by an instructor who is a national of a Contracting State and who is present in the other Contracting State and the primary purpose of teaching or engaging in scientific research for a period or periods not exceeding two years shall be exempt from tax in that other State on his remuneration from personal services for teaching or research, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that other State.
This paragraph shall not apply to income from research if such research is undertaken primarily for the private benefit of a specific person or persons.
Article 21
OTHER INCOME
1.Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, which are not expressly mentioned in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement shall be taxable only in that State, except that if such items of income are derived from sources in the other Contracting State. If such items of income are derived from sources in the other Contracting State, it may also be taxed in that other 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.
Article 22
PROPERTY (CAPITAL)
1.Property (capital) represented by immovable property referred to in Article 6, owned by a resident of a Contracting State and situated in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other State.
2.Property (Capital) represented by property – other than immovable 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 by property – other than immovable 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, may be taxed in that other State.
3.Property (Capital) represented by ships, boats, aircraft, road and railway vehicles, operated in international traffic and by property – other than immovable property – pertaining to the operation of such ships, boats, aircraft or road and railway vehicles shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the registered office of the enterprise is situated.
4.All other elements of property (capital) of a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 23
METHOD FOR THE ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE TAXATION
1.Where a resident of a Contracting State derives income or owns property (capital) which, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in the other Contracting State, the first-mentioned State shall allow:
a) as a deduction from the tax on the income of that resident, an amount equal to the income tax paid in that other State.
b) as a deduction from the tax on the property (capital) of that resident, an amount equal to the property (capital) tax paid in that other State.
Such deduction in either case shall not, however, exceed that part of the income tax or property (capital) tax as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable, as the case may be, to the income or the property (capital)which may be taxed in that other State.
2. Where in accordance with any provision of the Agreement income derived or property (capital) owned by a resident of a Contracting State is exempt from tax in that State, such State may nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income or property (capital) of such resident, take into account the exempted income or property (capital).
Article 24
NON-DISCRIMINATION
1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith, which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which nationals of that other State in the same circumstances 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.
3.Enterprises of a Contracting State, 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 that the taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-mentioned State are or may be subjected.
4.These provisions shall not be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents.
Article 25
MUTUAL AGREEMENT PROCEDURE
1.Where a resident of a Contracting State 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 national laws 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 other Contracting State of which he is a national. The case must be presented within two 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 double taxation which is not in accordance with the Agreement.
3.The competent authorities of the Contracting State shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of the Agreement. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Agreement.
4.The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs. The competent authorities, through consultations, shall develop appropriate bilateral procedures, conditions, methods and techniques for the implementation of the mutual agreement procedure provided for in this Article.
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 the Agreement, 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 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;
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 competent authorities of the Contracting States undertake to lend assistance to each other in the collection of taxes 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. A revenue claim of a Contracting State that has been accepted for collection by the competent authority of the other Contracting State shall be collected by the other State as though such claim were the other state’s own revenue claim as finally determined in accordance with the provisions of its laws relating to the collection of its taxes.
4. 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.
5. No assistance shall be provided under this Article for a revenue claim of a Contracting State in respect of a taxpayer to the extent that the revenue claim relates to a period during which the taxpayer was a resident of the other Contracting State.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2 (taxes covered), the provisions of this Article shall apply to all taxes collected by or on behalf of a Contracting State.
7. 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 that would be contrary to its public policy.
Article 28
MEMBERS OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND CONSULAR POSTS
Nothing in this Agreement shall effect 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 29
ENTRY INTO FORCE
1.This Agreement shall be ratified in either of Contracting States and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged as soon as possible.
2.The Agreement shall enter into force upon the exchange of instruments of ratification and its provisions shall have effect :
a) In respect of taxes withheld at the source, to amounts of income derived on or after 1 January in the calendar year next following the year in which the Agreement enters into force;
b) In respect of other taxes on income and on property (capital), to such taxes chargeable for any taxable year beginning on or after 1 January in the calendar year next following the 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 the Agreement, through diplomatic channels, by giving notice of termination at least six months before the end of any calendar year following after the period of five years from the date on which the Agreement enters into force.
In such event, the Agreement shall cease to have effect in both Contracting States:
a) in respect of taxes withheld at the source, to amounts of income derived on or after 1 January in the calendar year next following the year in which the notice has been given.
b) in respect of the other taxes and on property (capital), to such taxes chargeable for any taxable period beginning on or after 1 January in the calendar year next following the year in which the notice has been given.
In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorized thereto, by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
Done in duplicate at Minsk, this 14th day of 1995 in the Persian, Belarussian and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of any divergence of interpretation, the English text shall prevail.
For the Government For the Government
of the Islamic Republic of Iran of the Republic of Belarus
