CONVENTION

BETWEEN THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion in respect of Taxes on Income and on Capital

 

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Russian Federation, desiring to conclude a Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital 

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1

Persons concerned

This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

 

Article 2

Taxes covered

1. This Convention shall apply to taxes on income and on capital imposed on behalf of of a Contracting State, its political subdivisions or its local authorities, irrespective of the system of

2. The existing taxes to which the Convention shall apply are

(a) in the case of Luxembourg:

(i) the personal income tax;

(ii) the impôt sur le revenu des collectivités;

(iii) the special tax on directors’ fees

(iv) the wealth tax and

(v) the municipal business tax based on operating profit and capital;

(hereinafter referred to as “Luxembourg tax”):

(b) in respect of the Russian Federation;

(i) the tax on the profits of enterprises and organizations

(ii) the tax on the income of banks;

(iii) tax on income from insurance activity

(iv) personal income tax;

(v) corporate wealth tax; and

(vi) personal wealth tax; 

(hereinafter referred to as “Russian tax”).

3. The Convention shall also apply to any identical or substantially similar taxes imposed after the date of signature of the Convention in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any substantial changes which may be made to their respective taxation laws.

 

Article 3

General definitions

1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires

(a) “Contracting State” means, as the context requires, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourg) or the Russian Federation (Russia);

(b) “Luxembourg” means the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. When used in a geographical sense, the term “Luxembourg” means the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;

(c) the term “Russia” means the Russian Federation. When used in a geographical sense, the term “Russia” includes the territorial sea, the economic zone and the continental shelf, over which the Russian Federation may exercise its sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with the rules of international law and where the tax legislation of the Russian Federation is in force;

(d) the term “person” includes natural persons, corporations and any other groups of persons

(e) the term “company” means any body corporate or any entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes

(f) the term “international traffic” means any transportation by ships, boats, aircraft, or any other means of transport, operated by a resident of a Contracting State, except where such transportation is solely for the purpose of where such transportation is solely between points in the other Contracting State;

(g) the term “competent authority” means:

(i) in relation to Luxembourg, the Minister of Finance of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg or his authorized representative;

(ii) in respect of Russia, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation or its authorized representative.

2. For the purposes of the application of this Convention by a Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall have the meaning which it has under the law of that State concerning the taxes to which the Convention, unless the context otherwise requires.

Article 4

Resident

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term “resident of a Contracting State” means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a similar nature.

2. Where, under the provisions of paragraph 1, an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, the individual’s status shall be determined in the following manner:

(a) such person 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 in which he has a permanent home available to him resident of the State with which his personal and economic relations are  closest (center of vital interests);

(b) if the State in which such person has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has no permanent home in any of the States, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State in which he has an habitual abode

(c) if such person has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State of which he has the nationality;

(d) if each of the Contracting States considers such person to be its national or if he is not a national of either of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement.

3. Where, under the provisions of paragraph 1, a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State in which his place of effective management is situated.

 

Article 5

Permanent Establishment

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term “permanent establishment” means a fixed place of business through which a resident of a Contracting State carries on business wholly or partly in the other Contracting State.

2. The term “permanent establishment” includes

(a) a place of management,

(b) a branch office

(c) an office

(d) a factory,

(e) a workshop, and

(f) a mine, oil or gas well, quarry or other place of extraction of natural resources.

3. The term “permanent establishment” shall likewise mean a construction, assembly or installation site, a derrick or a vessel used for the exploration or exploitation of natural resources  or the technical supervision of such objects, but only if the duration of such site or activity exceeds 12 months.

4. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Article, there shall be no “permanent establishment” if:

(a) use is made of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery of goods or merchandise belonging to such resident;

(b) goods owned by the resident are stored solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery;

(c) stock of goods owned by the Resident is warehoused solely for the purpose of processing by another person;

(d) a fixed place of business is used solely for the purpose of purchasing goods or gathering information for the Resident;

(e) a fixed place of business is used solely for the purpose of carrying on any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character in the interest of the resident

(f) a fixed place of business is used solely for the purpose of carrying on the activities referred to in subparagraphs (a) to (e).

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a resident of a Contracting State carries on business in activities in the other Contracting State through an agent, such resident shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in that permanent establishment in that State in respect of any business carried on by the agent in the interest of that resident, if that agent has authority to conclude contracts in that other State on behalf of that resident, exercises such authority on a regular basis, and if his activity is not limited to the activities mentioned in paragraph 4.

6. A resident of a Contracting State shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other State merely because he carries on business in that other State through a broker, commission agent or any other or any other agent of an independent status, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their in the ordinary course of their business.

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 or which carries on business in that other State (whether through a permanent (whether through a permanent establishment or otherwise) shall not of itself be sufficient to make either company a permanent establishment of the other. a permanent establishment of the other.

 

Article 6

Income from Real Property

1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from real 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 is situated. The term shall in any case include property accessory to immovable property, livestock and equipment of agricultural and forestry holdings, rights to which the provisions of private law concerning land ownership property, the usufruct of real estate and the rights to variable or fixed payments for the operation or rights to variable or fixed payments for the exploitation or concession of the exploitation of mineral deposits, springs and other natural resources. Ships, boats and aircraft are not considered real estate.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct operation, rental or leasing, and any other form of exploitation of real property.

4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to income from the real estate of an property of an enterprise as well as to income from real estate used for the exercise of a independent profession.

 

Article 7

Business Profits

1. 1. Profits derived by a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State unless the resident carries on business in the other Contracting State through the use of a tax shelter. unless the resident carries on business in the other Contracting State through an permanent establishment situated therein. If the resident carries on business in such a manner, the profits of the resident 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 a resident of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, there shall be attributed in each Contracting State where a resident of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing at arm’s length with same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently with the resident who permanent establishment.

3. In determining the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses and incurred for the purposes of that permanent establishment, including executive and general management and general administrative expenses incurred, whether in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere, shall be allowed as deductions. a permanent establishment is situated, or elsewhere.

4. No profit shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of its having merely purchased goods or merchandise for the goods for the resident.

5. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to the permanent establishment shall be determined the same method each year, unless there are good and sufficient reasons for proceeding otherwise.

6. Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Convention, the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article.

 

Article 8

Income from International Traffic

1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the operation in international traffic of the means of transport referred to in means of transport referred to in subparagraph (f) of paragraph 1 of Article 3 shall be taxable only in that

2. For the purposes of this Convention, income from international traffic includes income derived from the direct operation, hire or other use of the means of transport referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, including the use, maintenance or hire of containers and equipment necessary for the transportation of containers.

3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall also apply to income derived from participation in a pool, joint operation or international transport organization.

 

Article 9

Correction of income

1. Where

(a) a company of a Contracting State participates directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of a company of the other Contracting State, or

(b) the same persons participate directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of a company of a Contracting State and of a company of the other Contracting State, and in either case the two companies are, in their commercial or financial relations bound by conditions agreed upon or imposed which differ from those which would be agreed upon between companies, the income which, without these conditions, would have been realized by one of the companies but could not in fact have been realized because of those conditions, may be included in the income of that company and taxed accordingly.

2. Where a Contracting State includes in the income of a company of that State – and taxes accordingly – income on which a company of the other Contracting State has been taxed in that other State, and the income so included is income which would have accrued to the company of the first-mentioned State if the conditions agreed upon between the two companies had been those which would have been agreed upon between the other State shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of tax imposed therein. on such income. In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be given to the other provisions of this Convention and, if necessary, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall consult each other.

 

Article 10

Dividends

1. Dividends paid by a company that 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 person receiving the dividends is the beneficial owner thereof, the tax so charged shall not exceed

(a) 10 percent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner has a direct interest of at least 30 percent in the capital of the company paying the dividends and an acquisition price of at least 75,000 ECU or its equivalent in national currency;

(b) 15 percent of the gross amount of the dividends, in all other cases. This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits used to pay the dividends.

3. The term “dividends” as used in this article means income from shares, shares or profit sharing certificates, mining shares, founder’s shares or other profit shares, with the exception of and income from other shares which is subject to the same tax regime as income from shares by the legislation of the State of which the distributing company is a resident.

4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, is a dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State of which the company paying the company paying the dividends is a resident, carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in the other Contracting 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 it. In this case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.

5. Where a company that is a resident of a Contracting State derives profits or income from the other Contracting State, that other State shall not be obliged to pay the dividends to the company. State, that other State may not impose any tax on dividends paid by the company except to the extent that such dividends are paid to a resident of that other State or to the extent that the dividends are effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed base situated in that other State, or the company, except to the extent that such dividends are paid to a resident of that other State or to the extent that 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 shall it impose any tax on the distributed profits, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of the company shall not be liable to any tax on the undistributed profits of the company, 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 income from government securities and income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attached to such securities. Penalties for late payment shall not be considered as interest within the meaning of this in this section.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the interest resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises, either business activity through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performing independent personal services from a independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected the debt-claim giving rise to the interest is effectively connected with it. In such a 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 debtor and the beneficial owner or where both beneficiary, the amount of the interest, taking into account the claim for which it is paid, exceeds the amount of the for which it is paid, exceeds that which would have been agreed upon by the debtor and the beneficial owner in the provisions of this article shall apply only to the latter amount. In such a case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the law of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.

 

Article 12

Royalties

1. Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in that other State if such resident is the beneficial owner.

2. The term “royalties” as used in this Article means payments of any kind paid for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work scientific work, including motion pictures, a patent, a trademark, a design or a patent design, secret plan, formula or process, as well as for the use of or the granting of the right to the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial or scientific equipment and for information information relating to experience acquired in the industrial, commercial or scientific field.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the royalties resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, either a business activity through a permanent establishment situated therein, or independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is connected is effectively connected with it. In such a 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 debtor and the beneficial owner or where both with third parties, the amount of the royalties, taking into account the service for which they are paid, is for which they are paid, exceeds the amount that would have been agreed upon by the debtor and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this article shall apply only to the latter 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 other In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.

 

Article 13

Capital Gains

1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of real 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 a resident of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State, or of movable property pertaining to a fixed base of which a belongs 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 permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or fixed base, may be taxed in that other State.

3. Gains from the alienation of means of transport referred to in subparagraph (f) of paragraph 1 of Article 3 operated in international traffic or movable property pertaining to such means of transport shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the transferor is a resident. 

4. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.

 

Article 14

Income from Independent Personal Services

1. Income derived by an individual who is a resident of a Contracting State from professional services or from other activities of an independent character shall be taxable only in that State. However, income of such individual may, under the following conditions, also be taxed in the other Contracting State:

(a) if he has a fixed base regularly available in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities,or

(b) if its stay in the other Contracting State extends over a period or periods totaling 183 days or more in any 12-month period.

2. The term “professional services” includes, in particular, independent activities of a scientific, literary, artistic, educational or pedagogical activities, as well as the independent activities of doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, dentists and accountants.

 

Article 15

Income from dependent professions

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 exercised in that State remuneration received in respect thereof 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 the calendar 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 is in another State.

3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article

(a) remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment exercised aboard a means of transport referred to in subparagraph (f) of paragraph 1 of Article 3 shall be taxable only in that State

(b) income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from an employment connected with a place of business in the other Contracting State which does not constitute a permanent establishment within the meaning of paragraph 3 of Article 5 shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State

(c) income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the performance of technical services within the meaning of paragraph 3 of Article 5 in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State if the aforesaid services are an integral part of the contract.

 

Article 16

Remuneration of Members of a Board of Directors

Directors’ fees and similar remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in his capacity as board of directors or a similar organ of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

Article 17

Income of Artists and Sportsmen

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from his personal activities as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture, film or video artist, exercised in the other Contracting State artist, such as a theater, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or a musician, or as an athlete, may be taxed in that other State. taxable in that other State.

2. Where income from activities which an entertainer or sports person performs personally and in that capacity is attributed not to the artist or sportsman himself but to another person, such income may be taxed, notwithstanding the notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, such income may be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the artist or sportsman are carried on.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, income derived from the personal activities exercised by artists or sportsmen in a Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that State if the visit to that State is made as part of an exchange program established by the Contracting States or their by their subdivisions or local authorities.

 

Article 18

Pensions

Pensions and annuities of every kind arising in a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.

 

Article 19

Remuneration of Public Officials

1. (a) Remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or 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 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 performing the services.

2. Remuneration paid to an individual in respect of an employment with an enterprise or organization of a Contracting State that carries on a trade or business shall not be regarded as remuneration in connection with the performance of public functions and shall be taxable in accordance with the provisions of Articles 15 and 16 of the Convention.

 

Article 20

Payments to Students, Trainees, Researchers and Professors

Amounts which a student, trainee, researcher or professor who is, or was immediately before entering a Contracting State, a resident of the other Contracting State and who is present in the first-mentioned State solely for the purpose of furthering his education or training, engaging in a resident of the other Contracting State who is present in the first-mentioned State solely for the purpose of furthering his education or training, or for the purpose of training, research or teaching, receives for his maintenance, education or training expenses shall not be taxable in that State, provided that such remuneration is derived from sources outside that State.

 

Article 21

Other Income

1. Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not dealt with in the preceding Articles of this Convention shall be taxable only in that State.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply 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 performing independent personal services from a fixed base situated the 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 a case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.

 

Article 22

Assets

1. 1. 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. Capital represented by movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which a resident of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State, or by 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 of independent personal services, may be taxed in that other State.

3. Capital represented by means of transport referred to in subparagraph (f) of paragraph 1 of Article 3 or by containers owned by a resident of a Contracting State and used for the transport in international traffic as well as other movable property pertaining to the operation of such means of means, shall be taxable only in that State.

4. All other elements of capital of a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.

 

Article 23

Methods for Eliminating Double Taxation

1. In Luxembourg, double taxation shall be avoided in the following manner:

(a) Where a resident of Luxembourg receives income or has capital which, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, may be taxed in Russia, Luxembourg shall exempt such income or capital from tax, subject to the provisions of subparagraphs (b) and (c), but may, in calculating the amount of tax on the remainder of the income or capital of the resident apply the same rates of tax as if the income or capital had not been exempted.

(b) Where a resident of Luxembourg receives income which, in accordance with the provisions of Article 10, may be taxed in Russia, Luxembourg shall allow a deduction from the tax it levies on the income of that resident in an amount equal to the tax paid in Russia. This deduction may not exceed the fraction of the tax calculated before deduction, corresponding to these

1. c) Where a company which is a resident of Luxembourg receives dividends from sources in Russia, Luxembourg shall exempt such dividends from tax, provided that such company which is a resident of Luxembourg holds since the beginning of its fiscal year at least 30 percent of the capital of the capital of the company paying the dividends. The above-mentioned shares or units of the company which is a resident in Russia are, under the same conditions, exempt from Luxembourg wealth tax.

2. In Russia, double taxation is avoided as follows:

Where a resident of Russia receives income or possesses capital which, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, may be taxed in Luxembourg, an amount equal to the income or capital tax on income or capital paid in Luxembourg shall be deducted from the tax imposed on the income or capital of such resident in Russia. This deduction may not, however, exceed the fraction of the tax on income or capital due in accordance with the legislation of Russia.

 

Article 24

Non-discrimination in tax matters

1. A resident 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 or liability to which a resident of that other State is or may be imposed on a resident of that other State. This provision shall not be construed to Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State the personal allowances, reliefs and personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities to its own residents.

2. The taxation of income and profits derived by a resident of a Contracting State through a permanent establishment which he has in the other Contracting State, and of capital constituted by property forming part of the business property of that permanent establishment, shall not be less favorable than the taxation of the income, profits and capital of residents of that other State carrying on the same or similar activity and under the same conditions.

3. The provisions of this Article shall not be construed to require a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State the tax benefits that it grants to residents of third States under tax agreements.

4. The provisions of this Article shall apply to the taxes covered by this Convention.

 

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 in taxation not in accordance with Contracting States result or will result for that person in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, that person may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States submit its case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which it is a resident. The case must be submitted within three years from the first notification of the measure which results in taxation not in accordance with the in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.

2. The competent authority shall endeavor, if the objection appears to it to be well founded and if it is not itself able to resolve the case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State. authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation not in accordance with the Convention. The agreement shall be applied irrespective of the time limits provided by the domestic law of the Contracting States.

3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavor by mutual agreement to resolve any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of the Convention. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Convention.

4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate directly with each other with a view to reaching an agreement as provided in the preceding paragraphs.

 

Article 26

Exchange of Information

1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is necessary to the provisions of this Convention or of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Convention to the extent that the  provisions of this Convention or of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Convention insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Convention. is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Article 1. The 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) concerned with the assessment or collection of, or proceedings or prosecution in respect of, the taxes covered by the Convention or in the determination of appeals in relation to such taxes. Such persons or authorities shall use such information only for such information only for such purposes. Such persons or authorities may disclose such information in public court hearings public court hearings or in judgments.

2. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 be construed to require a Contracting State to

(a) to take administrative action at variance with the laws and 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 information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy.

 

Article 27

Members of Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts

The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the fiscal privileges of members of diplomatic missions and consular posts which are granted to them by general rules of international law or by the provisions of special agreements between the two Contracting States.

 

Article 28

Previous Agreements in Force

The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the fiscal provisions of agreements previously signed between the two Contracting States. However, where the present Convention provides for more. However, where this Convention provides for a more advantageous tax regime, this Convention shall apply.

 

Article 29

Exclusion of Certain Companies

This Convention shall not apply to holding companies within the meaning of the special legislation of Luxembourg law of July 31, 1929 and the Grand-Ducal decree of December 17, 1938, nor to companies subject to similar tax legislation in Luxembourg. It does not apply income derived by a resident of Russia from such companies, nor to shares or other capital securities of such companies owned by such person.

 

Article 30

Entry into force of the Convention

1. This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged as soon as possible.

2. The Convention shall enter into force upon the exchange of the instruments of ratification and its provisions shall be

(a) to taxes due at source on income allocated or paid on or after the third day of January following the year in which the Convention enters into force; and

(b) other taxes for taxable periods beginning on or after the first day of January in the year following the year in which the Convention enters into force.

Article 31

Termination of the Convention

This Convention shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State. Each Contracting State may denounce the Convention through diplomatic channels with a minimum of six months before the end of each calendar year. In this case, the Convention will cease to be

(a) to taxes due at source on income allocated or paid on or after the first day of January in the year following the year in which the Convention is terminated

(b) to other taxes for taxable periods ending on or before the 31st day of December in the year of termination of the Convention.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized thereto, have executed this Agreement.

DONE at Moscow, this 28th day of June 1993, in duplicate, each in the French and Russian languages, both texts being equally authentic.