CONVENTION 

BETWEEN THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG AND THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME AND ON CAPITAL 

 

The Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Government of the United Arab Emirates,

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 Covered

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

2. It is understood that nothing in this Convention shall effect the right of the United Arab Emirates, any of its local Governments or its local authorities thereof to apply its domestic laws and regulations related to the taxation of income and profits derived from hydrocarbons and its associated activities situated in the territory of the United Arab Emirates.

 

Article 2

Taxes Covered

1. This Convention shall apply to taxes on income and on capital imposed on behalf of a Contracting State or of its local Governments or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.

2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income and on capital all taxes imposed on total income, on total capital, or on elements of income or of capital, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable 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 Convention shall apply are in particular:

 

a) in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg:

(i) the income tax on individuals (l’impôt sur le revenu des personnes physiques);

(ii) the corporation tax (l’impôt sur le revenu des collectivités);

(iii) the capital tax (l’impôt sur la fortune); and

(iv) the communal trade tax (l’impôt commercial communal);

(hereinafter referred to as “Luxembourg tax”);

b) in the United Arab Emirates:

(i) the income tax; and

(ii) the corporation tax;

(hereinafter referred to as “United Arab Emirates tax”).

4. The Convention shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes that are 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 significant changes that have been made in their taxation laws.

 

Article 3

General Definitions

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

a) the term “Luxembourg” means the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and, when used in a geographical sense, means the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg;

b) the term “United Arab Emirates” means the United Arab Emirates and, when used in a geographical sense, means the area in which the territory is under its sovereignty as well as the territorial sea, airspace and submarine areas over which the United Arab Emirates exercises, in conformity with international law and the law of the United Arab Emirates, sovereign rights, including the mainland and islands under its jurisdiction in respect of any activity carried on in connection with the exploration for or the exploitation of the natural resources;

c) the term “person” includes an individual, a company and any other body of persons;

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

e) the term “enterprise” applies to the carrying on of any business;

f) the terms “enterprise of a Contracting State” and “enterprise of the other Contracting State” mean respectively an enterprise carried on by a resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident of the other Contracting State;

g) the term “international traffic” means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise that has its place of effective management in a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State;

h) the term “competent authority” means:

(i) in Luxembourg, the Minister of Finance or his authorised representative;

(ii) in the United Arab Emirates, the Minister of Finance and Industry or his authorised representative;

i) the term “national” means:

(i) any individual possessing the nationality of a Contracting State;

(ii) any legal person, partnership or association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in a Contracting State;

j) the term “business” includes the performance of professional services and of other activities of an independent character.

2. In the application of this Convention by either of the Contracting States, 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 Convention applies.

 

Article 4

Resident

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term “resident of a Contracting State” means:

a) in the case of the United Arab Emirates:

(i) the United Arab Emirates, a local Government, a local authority or a governmental institution thereof;

(ii) the United Arab Emirates nationals;

(iii) an individual who under the laws of the United Arab Emirates is considered as a resident of that State; and

(iv) a company or any other legal entity which is created under the laws of the United Arab Emirates;

b) in the case of Luxembourg:

any person who, under the laws of the State of Luxembourg, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a similar nature, and also includes the State of Luxembourg and any local authority thereof.

2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows:

a) he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the 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 only of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests);

b) if the State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either State, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has an habitual abode;

c) if he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State of which he is a national;

d) if he is a national of both States or of neither of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement. 

3. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which its place of effective management is situated.

 

Article 5

Permanent Establishment

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term “permanent establishment” means a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on.

 

2. The term “permanent establishment” includes especially:

a) a place of management;

b) a branch;

c) an office;

d) a factory;

e) a workshop, and

f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural Resources.

3. A building site or construction or installation project constitutes a permanent establishment only if it lasts more than 12 months.

4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the term “permanent establishment” shall be deemed not to include:

a) the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise;

b) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery;

c) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise;

d) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of purchasing goods or merchandise or of collecting information, for the enterprise;

e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character;

f) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in subparagraphs a) to e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character.

 

5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person – other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 6 applies – is acting on behalf of an enterprise and has, and habitually exercises, in a Contracting State an authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise, that enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in that State in respect of any activities which that person undertakes for the enterprise, unless the activities of such a 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 shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business.

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 establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself constitute either company a permanent establishment of the other.

 

Article 6

Income from Immovable Property

1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable property (including income from agriculture or forestry) situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

2. The term “immovable property” shall have the meaning which it has under the law of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. The term shall in any case include property accessory to immovable property, livestock and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, rights to which the provisions of general law respecting landed property apply, usufruct of immovable property and rights to variable or fixed payments as consideration for the working of, or the right to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships; boats and aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable property.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property.

4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to the income from immovable property of an enterprise.

 

Article 7

Business Profits

1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein. If the enterprise carries on business as aforesaid, the profits of the enterprise may be taxed in the other State but only so much of them as is attributable to that permanent establishment.

2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, there shall in each Contracting State be attributed to that permanent establishment the profits which it might be expected to make if it were a distinct and separate enterprise engaged in the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently with the enterprise of which it is a permanent establishment.

3. In 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 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 contained in this Article.

5. No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the enterprise.

6. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to the permanent establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year unless there is good and sufficient reason to the contrary.

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

 

Article 8

Shipping and Air Transport

1. Profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to profits referred to in those paragraphs derived by a resident of a Contracting State from its participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency.

3. In this Article:

(a)the term “profits” includes:

(i) profits, net profits, gross receipts and revenues derived directly from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic,

(ii) interest on sums generated directly from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic which is incidental to such operation, and

(iii) income derived from the selling of tickets through other enterprises;

(b)the term “operation of ships or aircraft” in international traffic by a person, includes:

(i) the charter or rent of ships or aircraft, and

(ii) the rent of containers and related equipment by that person provided that such charter or rent is incidental to the operation by that person of ships or aircraft in international traffic.

 

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. [Replaced by paragraph 1 of Article 17 of the MLI] [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 Convention 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 beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed:

a) 5 percent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company (other than a partnership) which holds directly at least 10 percent of the capital of the company paying the dividends;

b) 10 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 out of which the dividends are paid.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the beneficial owner of the dividends is that other State itself, a local Government, a local authority or its financial institution thereof, which is a resident of that other State.

4. The term “dividends” as used in this Article means income from shares, “jouissance” shares or “jouissance” rights, mining shares, founders’ shares or other rights, not being debt-claims, participating in profits, as well as income from other corporate rights which is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from shares by the laws of the State of which the company making the distribution is a resident.

5. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 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, and the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In such a case the provisions of Article 7 shall apply.

6. 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 company’s undistributed profits to a tax on the company’s undistributed profits, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in such other States.

 

Article 11

Interest

1. Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in that other State.

2. The term “interest” as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in the debtor’s profits, and in particular, income from government securities and income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures. Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purpose of this Article.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the interest, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises, through a permanent establishment situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In Such case the provisions of Article 7 shall apply.

4. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the interest, having regard to the debt-claim for which it is paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.

 

Article 12

Royalties

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 of the royalties.

2. 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, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 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, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In such a case the provisions of Article 7 shall apply.

4. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.

 

Article 13

Capital Gains

1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

 

2. Gains from the alienation of movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise), may be taxed in that other State.

 

3. Gains from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic, or movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.

 

4. Gains derived from the alienation of shares, bonds and any other securities or similar instruments, listed on a recognized securities market of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State.

 

5. Gains derived from the alienation of shares in a company other than those referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4 such as securities, bonds, debentures and the like, shall be taxable only in the State of which the alienator is a resident.

 

Article 14

Income from Employment

 

1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 15, 17 and 18, 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 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 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 vehicle operated in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.

 

Article 15

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 16

Artistes and Sportsmen

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7 and 14, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or a musician, or as a 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 and 14, 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 of this Article income derived from such activities performed within the framework of cultural agreements concluded between the Contracting State are reciprocally exempted from tax only if such activities are sponsored by the Government of a Contracting State or financed by public funds of both Contracting States and the activities are not carried out for the purpose of profits.

 

Article 17

Pensions

1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 18, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State in consideration of past employment shall be taxable only in that State.

 

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, pensions and other payments made under the social security legislation of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.

 

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, pensions and other similar remuneration arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State, provided that such payments derive from contributions paid to a pension scheme by the recipient or on his behalf and that these contributions or the pensions or other similar remuneration have been subjected to tax in the first-mentioned State under the ordinary rules of its tax laws.

 

Article 18

Government Service

1. a) Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or subdivision or authority shall be taxable only in that State.

b) However, such salaries, wages and other similar remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that 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 a) Any pension paid by, or out of funds created by, a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or = subdivision or authority shall be taxable only in that State.

 b) However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the individual is a resident of, and a national of, that State.

3. The provisions of Articles 14, 15, 16 and 17 shall apply to salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, and to pensions in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof.

 

Article 19

Students and Trainees

1. A student or business apprentice who, immediately before visiting a Contracting State is or was a resident of the other Contracting State and who is present in the first-mentioned Contracting State for the purpose of his education or training shall be exempt from tax in that first-mentioned Contracting State on:

a) payments made to him by persons residing outside that first-mentioned Contracting State for the purpose of his maintenance, education or training; and

b) income from activity in that first-mentioned Contracting State, provided that such income shall not exceed the amount necessary for his maintenance, education or training.

2. An individual who, immediately before visiting a Contracting State is or was resident of the other Contracting State and who is temporary present in the first mentioned State for the purpose of study, research or training as a recipient of a grant, allowance or award from a scientific, educational, religious or charitable organisation or under a technical assistance programme entered into by the Government of a Contracting State shall, from the date of his arrival in the first mentioned State in connection with that visit, be exempt from tax in the State, for a period not exceeding the period of the grant.

 

Article 20

Teachers and Researchers

An individual who is a resident of a Contracting State immediately before making a visit to the other Contracting State and who, at the invitation of any university, college, school or other similar educational institution or scientific research institution visits that other State for a period not exceeding two years solely for the purpose of teaching or research or both at such educational institution or scientific research institution shall be exempted from tax for a period not exceeding two years in that other State on any remuneration for such teaching or research.

 

Article 21

Other Income

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

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to income, other than income from immovable property as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, 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, and the right or property in respect of which the income is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In such a case the provisions of Article 7 shall apply.

 

Article 22

Capital

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 an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

3. Capital represented by ships and aircraft operated in international traffic and by movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships and aircraft, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.

4. All other elements of capital such as shares and securities of a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.

 

Article 23

Elimination of Double Taxation

1. Subject to the provisions of the law of Luxembourg regarding the elimination of double taxation which shall not affect the general principle hereof, double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:

a) Where a resident of Luxembourg derives income or owns capital which, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, may be taxed in the United Arab Emirates, Luxembourg shall, subject to the provisions of subparagraphs b), c) and d), exempt such income or capital from tax, but may, in order to calculate the amount of tax on the remaining 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 derives income which, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 7, 10, 13(2) and 16 may be taxed in the United Arab Emirates, Luxembourg shall allow as a deduction from the income tax on individuals or from the corporation tax of that resident an amount equal to the tax paid in the United Arab Emirates, but only, with respect to Articles 7 and 13(2), if the business profits and the capital gains are not derived from activities of a permanent establishment in the United Arab Emirates in agriculture, industry, infrastructure and tourism. Such deduction shall not, however, exceed that part of the tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to such items of income derived from the United Arab Emirates. That means if income is derived from a permanent establishment in the United Arab Emirates being active in agriculture, industry, infrastructure and tourism, this income will be exempted in Luxembourg even if no tax has been paid in the United Arab Emirates.

c) Where a company which is a resident of Luxembourg derives dividends from United Arab Emirates sources, Luxembourg shall exempt such dividends from tax, provided that the company which is a resident of Luxembourg holds directly at least 10 percent of the capital of the company paying the dividends since the beginning of the accounting year and if this company is subject in the United Arab Emirates to an income tax corresponding to the Luxembourg corporation tax. The abovementioned shares in the United Arab Emirates company are, under the same conditions, exempt from the Luxembourg capital tax. The exemption under this subparagraph shall also apply notwithstanding that the United Arab Emirates company is exempted from tax or taxed at a reduced rate in the United Arab Emirates and if these dividends are derived out of profits from activities in agriculture, industry, infrastructure or tourism in the United Arab Emirates.

d) The provisions of subparagraph a) shall not apply to income derived or capital owned by a resident of Luxembourg where the United Arab Emirates applies the provisions of this Convention to exempt such income or capital from tax or applies the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 10 to such income. 2. In the case of the United Arab Emirates, double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:

Where a resident of the United Arab Emirates derives income which in accordance with the provisions of this Convention may be taxed in Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates shall allow as a deduction from tax on income of that person an amount equal to the tax on income paid in Luxembourg. Such deduction shall not exceed that part of income tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to the income which may be taxed in Luxembourg.

 

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, in particular with respect to residence, are or may be subjected. This provision shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, also apply to persons who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

2. The taxation on a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State shall not be less favourably levied in that other State than the taxation levied on enterprises of that other State carrying on the same activities. This provision shall not be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents.

3. Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 4 of Article 11, or paragraph 4 of Article 12, apply, interest, royalties and other disbursements paid by an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable profits of such enterprise, be deductible under the same conditions as if they had been paid to a resident of the first-mentioned State. Similarly, any debts of an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable capital of such enterprise, be deductible under the same conditions as if they had been contracted to a resident of the first-mentioned State.

4. Enterprises of a Contracting State, the capital of which is wholly or partly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by one or more residents of the other Contracting State, shall not be subjected in the first-mentioned State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-mentioned State are or may be subjected.

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

 

Article 25

Mutual Agreement Procedure

1. [The first sentence of paragraph 1 of Article 25 of this Convention is replaced by the first sentence of paragraph 1 of Article 16 of the MLI] [Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident or, if his case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 24, to that of the Contracting State of which he is a national.]

The case must be presented within three years from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. 

2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the objection appears to it to be justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with the Convention. Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits in the domestic law of the Contracting States.

 

3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement 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 with each other directly, including through a joint commission consisting of themselves or their representatives, for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs.

 

Article 26

Exchange of Information

1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or to the administration or enforcement of the domestic laws concerning taxes of every kind and description imposed on behalf of the Contracting States, or of its local Governments or local authorities, insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Articles 1 and 2.

 

2. Any information received under paragraph 1 by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic 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, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, the determination of appeals in relation to the taxes referred to in paragraph 1, or the oversight of the above. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.

 

3. In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:

a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws 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 trade process, or information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (order public).

 

4. If information is requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this Article, the other Contracting State shall use its information gathering measures to obtain the requested information, even though that other State may not need such information for its own tax purposes. The obligation contained in the preceding sentence is subject to the limitations of paragraph 3 but in no case shall such limitations be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because it has no domestic interest in such information.

 

5. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 3 be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information upon request solely because the information is held by a bank, other financial institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or because it relates to ownership interests in a person.

 

Article 27

Members of Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts

Nothing in this Convention shall affect the fiscal privileges of members of diplomatic missions or consular posts under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.

 

Article 28

Special Provision

In order to avoid treaty shopping, the two Contracting States shall co-operate and consult each other if such an event takes place and try to find a mutual solution.

 

Article 29

Entry Into Force

1. The Contracting States shall notify each other in writing, through diplomatic channels, that the procedures required by its law for the entry into force of this Convention have been satisfied. The Convention shall enter into force on the date of receipt of the last notification.

 

2. This Convention shall be applicable:

i) in respect of taxes withheld at source, to income derived on or after 1 January of the calendar year next following the year in which the Convention enters into force;

ii) in respect of other taxes on income, and taxes on capital, to taxes chargeable for any taxable year beginning on or after 1 January of the calendar year following the year in which the Convention enters into force.

 

Article 30

Termination

1. This Convention shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State. Either Contracting State may terminate the Convention, through diplomatic channels, by giving notice of termination at least six months before the end of any calendar year beginning after the expiration of a period of five years from the date of its entry into force.

 

2. The Convention shall cease to have effect:

i) in respect of taxes withheld at source, to income derived on or after 1 January in the calendar year next following the year in which the notice is given;

ii) in respect of other taxes on income, and taxes on capital, to taxes chargeable for any taxable year beginning on or after 1 January in the calendar year following the year in which the notice is given.