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Double Taxation Agreement
22 May 1968
as amended by Protocols of 10 February 1971, 14 May
1973, 12 June 1986 and 15 October 1987
Article 1
1) The taxes which are the subject of this Convention are
:
a) in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland: the income tax including surtax, the corporation tax
and the capital gains tax (hereinafter referred to as "United Kingdom tax");
b) in France: the income tax, the corporation tax, including
any withholding tax, prepayment (precompte) or advance payment with respect
to the aforesaid taxes (hereinafter referred to as "French tax").
2) This Convention shall also apply to any identical or substantially
similar future taxes which are imposed in addition to, or in place of,
the existing taxes by either Contracting State or by the Government of
any territory to which this Convention is extended under Article 29. The
competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify to each other
any changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws.
Article 2
1) In this Convention:
a) the term "United Kingdom" means Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, including any area outside the territorial sea of
the United Kingdom which is, in accordance with international law, an area
within which the United Kingdom may exercise rights with respect to the
sea bed and subsoil and their natural resources;
b) the term "France" means the European and Overseas
Departments (Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique and Reunion) of the French
Republic, including any area outside the territorial sea of France which
is, in accordance with international law, an area within which France may
exercise rights with respect to the sea bed and subsoil and their natural
resources;
c) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting
State" mean the United Kingdom or France as the context requires;
d) the term "competent authorities" means, in the case
of the United Kingdom, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or their authorised
representative; in the case of France, the Minister of Economy and Finance
(le Ministre de l'Economie et des Finances) or his authorised representative;
and, in the case of any territory to which this Convention is extended
under Article 29, the competent authority for the administration in such
territory of the taxes to which this Convention applies;
e) the term "tax" means United Kingdom tax or French
tax as the context requires;
f) the term "person" comprises an individual, a company
and any other body of persons;
g) the term "company" means any body corporate or any
entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;
h) 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;
i) the term "international traffic" includes any voyage
of a ship or aircraft other than a voyage solely between places in the
Contracting State which is not the Contracting State of which a person
deriving the profits of the operation of a ship or aircraft is a resident.
2)In the application of the provisions of this Convention
by a Contracting State any term not otherwise defined shall, unless the
context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has under the laws
of that Contracting State relating to the taxes which are the subject of
this Convention.
Article 3
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. But this term does
not include any person who is liable to tax in that State in respect only
of income from sources in that State.
2) Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph (1)
an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then this case
shall be determined in accordance with the following rules:
a) He shall be deemed to be a resident of the
Contracting State in which he has a permanent home available to him. If
he has a permanent home available to him in both Contracting States, he
shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting State with which his
personal and economic relations are closest (centre of vital interests).
b) If the Contracting State in which he has his centre
of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home
available to him in either Contracting State, he shall be deemed to be
a resident of the Contracting State in which he has an habitual abode.
c) If he has an habitual abode in both Contracting States
or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting
State of which he is a national.
d) If he is a national of both Contracting 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 of the Contracting State in which its
place of effective management is situated.
4) The term "resident of a Contracting State" and "resident
of the other Contracting State" means a person who is a resident of the
United Kingdom, or a person who is a resident of France, as the context
requires.
Article 4
1) For the purposes of this Convention, the term "permanent
establishment" means a fixed place of business in which the business of
the enterprise is wholly or partly carried on.
2) The term "permanent establishment" shall include especially:
a) a place of management;
b) a branch;
c) an office;
d) a factory;
e) a workshop;
f) a mine, quarry or other place of extraction of natural
resources;
g) a building site or construction or assembly project
which exists for more than twelve months.
3) The term "permanent establishment" shall not be deemed
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 for collecting information,
for the enterprise;
e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely
for the purpose of advertising, for the supply of information, for scientific
research or for similar activities which have a preparatory or auxiliary
character, for the enterprise.
4) A person acting in a Contracting State on behalf of an
enterprise of the other Contracting State - other than an agent of an independent
status to whom paragraph (5) applies - shall be deemed to be a permanent
establishment in the first-mentioned State if he has, and habitually exercises
in that State, an authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise,
unless his activities are limited to the purchase of goods or merchandise
for the enterprise.
5) 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 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.
6) 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.
7) An insurance enterprise of a Contracting State shall
be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State
if it collects premiums there or insures risks situated there through an
agent established there but not including any such agent as is mentioned
in paragraph (5).
Article 5
1) Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from
immovable property (including income from agriculture and forestry) situated
in the other Contracting State, including income derived from rights attached
to such property, may be taxed in that other State.
2)
a) The term "immovable property" shall, subject to the
provisions of sub-paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) below, have the meaning which
it has under the law of the Contracting State in which the property in
question is situated.
b) Shares or rights in a company or legal person, the
assets of which consist mainly of immovable property situated in one of
the Contracting States, shall be treated as immovable property situated
in that State. For the purposes of this provision, immovable property pertaining
to the industrial, commercial or agricultural operation of such a company
or legal person or the performance of independent professional activities
shall not be taken into account.
c) The term "immovable property" 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.
d) Ships and aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable
property.
3) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall apply to income
derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable
property.
4) The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall also
apply to the income from immovable property of an enterprise and to income
from immovable property used for the performance of independent professional
activities.
Article 6
1) The industrial or commercial 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 industrial or commercial 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) 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 industrial or commercial 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 at arm's length with the enterprise of which it is a permanent
establishment.
3) In the determination of the industrial or commercial
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,
excluding expenses which would not be deductible if the permanent establishment
were a separate enterprise.
4) 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.
5) The term "industrial or commercial profits" means income
derived by an enterprise from the conduct of a trade or business including
income derived by an enterprise from the furnishing of services of employees
or other personnel, but does not include income dealt with in Article 5,
in Article 9 (dividends) excluding paragraph (8), in Article 11 (interest)
excluding paragraph (4), and in Article 12 (royalties) excluding paragraph
(3), nor does it include income received by an individual as compensation
for personal (including professional) services.
6) In so far as it has been customary in a Contracting
State to determine according to its law 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.
7) 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.
Article 7
1) Profits which a resident of one of the Contracting States
derives from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic
shall be taxable only in that State.
2) Where profits within paragraph (1) of this Article
are derived by a resident of a Contracting State from participation in
a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency, the profits
attributable to that resident shall be taxable only in the Contracting
State of which he is a resident.
Article 7A
1) In this Article:
a) the term "Treaty" means the Treaty between
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the French
Republic concerning the Construction and Operation by Private Concessionaires
of a Channel Fixed Link signed at Canterbury on 12 February 1986;
b) the term "Fixed Link" has the meaning given by paragraph
(2) of Article 1 of the Treaty;
c) the term "Concession" means the Concession Agreement
concerning the development, financing, construction and operation of a
fixed link across the English Channel signed at Paris on 14 March 1986
between the Secretary of State for Transport in the Government of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Le Ministre de l'Urbanisme,
du Logement et des Transports representing the French State of the one
part, and The Channel Tunnel Group Limited and France-Manche SA of the
other part;
d) the term "Concessionaire(s)" means The Channel Tunnel
Group Limited and France-Manche SA or any transferee or successor permitted
in accordance with the Concession;
e) the term "holding companies " means: i. the company
which is a resident of the United Kingdom and beneficially owns all the
issued share capital of the Concessionaire which is an enterprise of the
United Kingdom; and ii. the company which is a resident of France and holds
all the issued share capital of the Concessionaire which is an enterprise
of France, with the exception of shares held compulsorily by other shareholders
in accordance with French commercial law; and
f) the term "associated company" means: i. either of
the holding companies; or ii. a company in which one of the Concessionaires
owns directly or indirectly more than 50 per cent either of the voting
power or of the ordinary share capital; or iii. a company in which one
of the holding companies owns directly or indirectly more than 50 per cent
either of the voting power or of the ordinary share capital; and for this
purpose "ordinary share capital" means: iv. in the United Kingdom all the
issued share capital in the company, other than share capital the holders
of which have a right to a dividend at a fixed rate but have no other right
to share in the profits of the company; v. in France all the issued share
capital in the company the holders of which have no special right to a
dividend nor a special voting right.
2) The provisions of this Article shall apply for the purposes
of the taxation by the Contracting States of profits derived from the construction
and operation of the Fixed Link, notwithstanding anything to the contrary
in Article 6, so long as:
a) one of the Concessionaires is an enterprise
of one Contracting State and the other Concessionaire is an enterprise
of the other Contracting State; and
b) the Concession provides for the application by the
Concessionaires of the principle of equal sharing of costs and revenues
between the two Concessionaires; and
c) the Concessionaires share such costs and revenues
equally during the construction and operation of the Fixed Link.
3) The Contracting States shall for the purposes of their
taxation laws compute the profits of each of the Concessionaires separately
(whether or not any partnership exists between them) on the basis that
the costs and revenues which are shared between them in accordance with
paragraph (2)(c) have been respectively incurred and received by each of
them in equal shares.
4) If and so long as the holders of shares in one of the
Concessionaires, or in one of the holding companies, are required simultaneously
to hold an equivalent number of shares of the same description in the other
Concessionaire or, as the case may be, the other holding company, the profits
of each of the Concessionaires computed in accordance with paragraph (3)
shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which it is an enterprise.
5) If at any time the requirements of paragraph (4) are
not satisfied, the profits of each of the Concessionaires computed in accordance
with paragraph (3) shall be attributable as to one half thereof to a permanent
establishment which the Concessionaire has in the Contracting State of
which it is not an enterprise and shall be taxable in that Contracting
State accordingly.
6)
a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 15, salaries,
wages and other similar remuneration received by an employee of one of
the Concessionaires or an associated company in respect of an employment
which is exercised within the Fixed Link in both Contracting States may
be taxed in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management
of that Concessionaire or associated company is situated.
b) For the purposes of paragraph (2) of Article 15, remuneration
shall not be regarded as borne by a permanent establishment which a Concessionaire
has in the Contracting State of which it is not an enterprise by reason
only that a partnership exists between the two Concessionaires.
Article 8
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.
Article 9
A - Dividends paid by companies which are residents
of the United Kingdom
1)
a) Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of
the United Kingdom to a resident of France may be taxed in France.
b) Where a resident of France is entitled to a tax credit
in respect of such a dividend under paragraph (2) of this Article tax may
also be charged in the United Kingdom, and according to the law of the
United Kingdom, on the aggregate of the amount or value of that dividend
and the amount of that tax credit at a rate not exceeding 15 per cent.
c) Except as provided in sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph,
dividends which are paid by a company which is a resident of the United
Kingdom to a resident of France who is the beneficial owner of those dividends
shall be exempt from any tax in the United Kingdom which is chargeable
on dividends.
2) A resident of France who receives dividends from a
company which is a resident of the United Kingdom shall, subject to the
provisions of paragraphs (3), (4) and (5) of this Article and provided
that he is the beneficial owner of those dividends, and subject to tax
in France in respect of those dividends, be entitled to the tax credit
in respect thereof to which an individual resident in the United Kingdom
would have been entitled had he received those dividends, and to the payment
of any excess of that tax credit over his liability to United Kingdom tax.
3) For the purposes of paragraph (2) of this Article,
if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a pension fund (caisse de retraite)
which is a resident of France and which has been approved for tax purposes
by France, the pension fund (caisse de retraite) shall be deemed to be
subject to tax in France in respect of those dividends.
4) The provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article shall
not apply where the recipient of the dividends is a company which controls
the company paying those dividends.
5) If the beneficial owner of the dividends is a company
which owns 10 per cent or more of the class of shares in respect of which
the dividends are paid then paragraph (2) of this Article shall not apply
to the dividends to the extent that they can have been paid only out of
income which accrued to the company paying the dividends in a period ending
12 months or more before the relevant date. For the purposes of this paragraph
the term "relevant date" means the date on which the beneficial owner of
the dividends became the owner of 10 per cent or more of the class of shares
in question. Provided that this paragraph shall not apply if the shares
were acquired for bona fide commercial reasons and not primarily for the
purposes of securing the benefit of this Article.
B - Dividends paid by companies which are residents
of France
6) Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of
France to a resident of the United Kingdom may be taxed in the United Kingdom.
Such dividends may also be taxed in France but where such dividends are
beneficially owned by a resident of the United Kingdom the tax so charged
shall not exceed:
a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends
if the beneficial owner is a company which controls the company paying
those dividends;
b) in all other cases 15 per cent of the gross amount
of the dividends.
7)
a) A resident of the United Kingdom who receives from
a company which is a resident of France dividends which, if received by
a resident of France, would entitle such resident to a fiscal credit (avoir
fiscal), shall be entitled to a payment from the French Treasury equal
to such credit (avoir fiscal) subject to the deduction of the tax provided
for in sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (6) of this Article.
b) The provision of sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph
shall apply only to a resident of the United Kingdom, being either:
i. an individual; or
ii. a company or a pension fund approved for tax purposes
by the United Kingdom which: aa) does not control the company paying the
dividends referred to in sub- paragraph (a) of this paragraph; and bb)
is not entitled in computing the amount of credit to be allowed against
United Kingdom tax in respect of tax payable in a territory outside the
United Kingdom to take into account the French tax payable on the profits
out of which the said dividends are paid.
c) The provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph
shall not apply if the recipient of the dividends, being other than a pension
fund referred to in sub-paragraph (b)(ii) of this paragraph, is not subject
to United Kingdom tax in respect of those dividends.
d) Payment from the French Treasury provided for under
sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph shall be deemed to be dividends for
the purposes of this Convention.
8)
a) Where the prepayment (precompte) is levied in respect
of dividends paid by a company which is a resident of France to a resident
of the United Kingdom who is not entitled to the payment from the French
Treasury referred to in paragraph (7) of this Article with respect to such
dividends, that resident of the United Kingdom shall be entitled to the
refund of the prepayment, subject to the deduction of tax with respect
to the refunded amount in accordance with paragraph (6) of this Article.
b) Amounts refunded under the provisions of sub-paragraph
(a) of this paragraph shall be deemed to be dividends for the purposes
of this Convention.
C - General
9) The provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), (6) and (7)
of this Article shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the dividends,
being a resident of a Contracting State, has in the other Contracting State
of which the company paying the dividends is a resident, a permanent establishment
or performs in that other State independent professional activities 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 Articles 6 or 14 of this
Convention, as the case may be, shall apply.
10) 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 treated as a distribution by the taxation
law of the State of which the company making the distribution is a resident.
11) For the purposes of this Article, a company shall
be deemed to control another company when either alone or together with
one or more associated companies it controls directly or indirectly at
least 10 per cent of the voting power in that other company, and two companies
shall be deemed to be associated if one is controlled directly or indirectly
by the other, or both are controlled directly or indirectly by a third
company.
Article 10
Repealed
Article 11
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 if that resident is the beneficial owner of the interest.
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. The term "interest" shall not include any item which is
treated as a distribution under the provisions of Article 9.
3) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply if
the beneficial owner of the interest, being a resident of a Contracting
State carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the interest
arises, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs
in that other State independent professional activities 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 6 or 14 of this Convention,
as the case may be, shall apply.
4) Any provision in the laws of either Contracting State
relating only to interest paid to a non-resident company shall not operate
so as to require such interest paid to a company which is a resident of
the other Contracting State to be treated as a distribution or dividend
by the company paying such interest. The preceding sentence shall not apply
to interest paid to a company which is a resident of one of the Contracting
States and in which more than 50 per cent of the voting power is controlled,
directly or indirectly, by a person or persons who are residents of the
other Contracting State.
5) Interest 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 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
indebtedness 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 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 interest paid exceeds, for whatever reason, 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 of interest. 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.
7) The provisions of this Article shall not apply if the
debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid was created or assigned
mainly for the purposes of taking advantage of this Article and not for
bona fide commercial reasons.
Article 12
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 that 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 and films or tapes for radio or television broadcasting),
any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process,
or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial, or scientific
equipment, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific
experience and shall include gains derived from the sale or exchange of
any rights or property giving rise to such royalties.
3) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply if
the beneficial owner of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting
State, has in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise
a permanent establishment, or performs in that other State independent
professional activities from a fixed base situated therein, and the rights
or property giving rise to the royalties is effectively connected with
such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions
of Articles 6 or 14, as the case may be, 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 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.
5) The provisions of this Article shall not apply if the
right or property giving rise to the royalties was created or assigned
mainly for the purposes of taking advantage of this Article and not for
bona fide commercial reasons.
Article 13
1) Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from
the alienation of immovable property, as defined in paragraph (2) of Article
5, which is situated in the other State may be taxed in that other State.
For the purposes of this provision the second sentence of paragraph (2)(b)
of Article 5 shall not apply.
2) Gains from the alienation of movable property forming
part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise
of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of movable
property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting
State in the other Contracting State for the purposes of performing professional
services, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent
establishment (alone or together with the whole enterprise) or of such
a fixed base, may be taxed in the other State. However, gains derived by
a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships and aircraft
operated in international traffic and movable property pertaining to the
operation of such ships and aircraft shall be taxable only in that Contracting
State.
3) Gains from the alienation of any property other than
that referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be taxable only in the
Contracting State in which the alienator is resident.
4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (3), gains
derived by an individual who is a resident of a Contracting State from
the alienation of more than 25 per cent of the shares held, alone or together
with related persons, directly or indirectly, in a company which is a resident
of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. The provisions
of this paragraph shall only apply if:
a) the individual is a national of the other
Contracting State without also being a national of the first-mentioned
Contracting State; and
b) the individual has been a resident of the other Contracting
State at any time in a five year period immediately preceding the alienation
of the shares. The provisions of this paragraph shall also apply to gains
from the alienation of other rights in such company which, for the purpose
of capital gains taxation, are subjected to the same treatment as gains
from the alienation of shares by the laws of that other Contracting State.
Article 14
1) Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State in
respect of independent professional activities 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 taxed in the other Contracting
State but only so much of it as is attributable to that fixed base.
2) The term "independent professional activities" means
all the activities - other than commercial, industrial or agricultural
activities - carried on by a person who receives the proceeds or bears
the losses arising from those activities.
Article 15
1) Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18, 19 and 20,
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
period of 12 months; and
b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer
who is not a resident of the other State; and
c) the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment
or a fixed base which the employer has in the other State.
3) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article,
remuneration in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship or aircraft
in international traffic may be taxed in the Contracting State in which
the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
Article 16
Directors' fees and similar payments derived by a resident
of a Contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors
of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be
taxed in that other State.
Article 17
1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15,
income derived by public entertainers, such as theatre, motion picture,
radio or television artistes, and musicians, and by athletes, from their
personal activities as such may be taxed in the Contracting State in which
these activities are exercised.
2) Such income derived from the United Kingdom by a resident
of France may also be taxed in France.
Article 18
1) Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of
Article 19, any pension and other similar remuneration paid in consideration
of past employment to a resident of a Contracting State and any annuity
paid to such a resident shall be taxable only in that State.
2) The term "annuity" means a stated sum payable periodically
at stated times during life or during a specified or ascertainable period
of time under an obligation to make the payments in return for adequate
and full consideration in money or money's worth.
Article 19
1)
a) Subject to the provisions of sub-paragraph (b) of
this paragraph, remuneration or pensions paid out of public funds of the
United Kingdom or Northern Ireland or of the funds of any local authority
in the United Kingdom to any individual in respect of services rendered
to the Government of the United Kingdom or Northern Ireland or a local
authority in the United Kingdom in the discharge of functions of a governmental
nature, shall be taxable only in the United Kingdom.
b) Where the individual is a French national without
also being a United Kingdom national, sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph
shall not apply, but the remuneration or pension shall, for the purposes
of Article 24, be deemed to be income from a source within the United Kingdom.
2)
a) Subject to the provisions of sub-paragraph (b) of
this paragraph, remuneration or pensions paid by, or out of funds created
by, France or a local authority thereof to any individual in respect of
services rendered to the Government of France or local authority thereof,
in the discharge of functions of a governmental nature, shall be taxable
only in France.
b) Where the individual is a national of the United Kingdom
without also being a French national, sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph
shall not apply, but the remuneration or pension shall, for the purposes
of Article 24, be deemed to be income from a source within France.
3) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not
apply to remuneration or pensions in respect of services rendered in connection
with any trade or business.
4) Notwithstanding anything in this Convention:
a) the pensions referred to in paragraphs (4), (5) and
(6) of Article 81 of the French General Tax Code shall be exempt from United
Kingdom tax, regardless of the nationality of the pensioner, so long as
they are exempt from French tax;
b) the following pensions shall be exempt from French
tax, regardless of the nationality of the pensioner, so long as they are
exempt from United Kingdom tax:
i) wounds pensions granted to members of the
naval, military or air forces of the Crown;
ii) retired pay of disabled officers granted on account
of medical unfitness attributable to or aggravated by naval, military or
air force service;
iii) disablement or disability pensions granted to members,
other than commissioned officers, of the naval, military or air forces
of the Crown on account of medical unfitness attributable to or aggravated
by naval, military or air force service;
iv) disablement pensions granted to persons who have
been employed in the nursing services of any of the naval, military or
air forces of the Crown on account of medical unfitness attributable to
or aggravated by naval, military or air force service;
v) injury and disablement pensions payable under any
scheme made under the Injuries in War Compensation) Act 1914, the Injuries
in War Compensation Act, 1914 (Session 2), the Injuries in War (Compensation)
Act, 1915, the Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act,
1939, the Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions) Act, 1939, or under
any War Risks Compensation Scheme for the Mercantile Marine. Provided that
paragraph (1) of this Article shall apply to such part of any income from
those pensions as is not exempted from United Kingdom tax.
Article 20
A professor or teacher who immediately before visiting a
Contracting State is a resident of the other Contracting State and who
receives remuneration for teaching during a period of temporary residence
in the first-mentioned Contracting State not exceeding two years at a university,
college, school or other educational institution shall be exempt from tax
in the first-mentioned Contracting State in respect of the remuneration
from such teaching.
Article 21
A student or business apprentice who immediately before visiting
a Contracting State is a resident of the other Contracting State and is
present in the first-mentioned Contracting State solely for the purpose
of his education or training shall not be taxed in that first-mentioned
Contracting State on payments which he receives for the purposes of his
maintenance, education or training provided that such payments are made
to him from sources outside that first-mentioned Contracting State.
Article 22
1) Items of income beneficially owned by 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 referred to in Article
5, if the beneficial owner 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
professional activities 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 Articles 6 or 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
Article 23
1) Subject to paragraph (3) of this Article, individuals
who are residents of France shall be entitled to the same personal allowances,
reliefs and reductions for the purposes of United Kingdom taxation as British
subjects not resident in the United Kingdom.
2) Subject to paragraph (3) of this Article, individuals
who are residents of the United Kingdom shall be entitled to the same personal
allowances, reliefs and reductions for the purposes of French tax as French
nationals resident in the United Kingdom.
3) Nothing in this Convention shall entitle an individual
who is a resident of a Contracting State and whose income from the other
Contracting State consists solely of dividends, interest or royalties (or
solely of any combination thereof) to the personal allowances, reliefs
and reductions of the kind referred to in this Article for the purposes
of taxation in that other Contracting State.
Article 24
Double taxation of income shall be avoided as follows:
a) Subject to the provisions of the law of the United
Kingdom regarding the allowance as a credit against United Kingdom tax
of tax payable in a territory outside the United Kingdom (which shall not
affect the general principle hereof):
i) French tax payable under the laws of France
and in accordance with this Convention, whether directly or by deduction,
on profits, income or chargeable gains from sources within France (excluding
in the case of a dividend, tax payable in respect of the profits out of
which the dividend is paid) shall be allowed as a credit against any United
Kingdom tax computed by reference to the same profits, income or chargeable
gains by reference to which the French tax is computed;
ii) when a dividend is paid by a company which is a resident
of France to a company resident in the United Kingdom which directly controls
at least 10 per cent of the voting power in the French company, the credit
shall also take into account the French tax payable by the Company in respect
of the profits out of which such dividend is paid if, at the time when
the dividend is paid, a company resident in France bears, in respect of
any dividend received from a company which is a resident of the United
Kingdom, taxation in France which is no more burdensome than the taxation
of any such dividend under the internal law of France in force at the date
of the signature of this Convention.
b) In the case of France:
i) income other than that mentioned in sub-paragraph
(ii) below shall be exempt from the French taxes mentioned in paragraph
(1) of Article I while the income is, under the Convention, taxable in
the United Kingdom;
ii) as regards income mentioned in Articles 9 and 17
which has borne United Kingdom tax in accordance with the provisions of
these Articles, France shall allow to a resident of France receiving such
income from the United Kingdom a tax credit corresponding to the amount
of tax levied in the United Kingdom. Such tax credit, not exceeding the
amount of French tax levied on such income, shall be allowed against taxes
mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(b) of Article 1 of this Convention, in the
bases of which such income is included;
iii) notwithstanding the provisions of sub-paragraphs
(i) and (ii) French tax may be computed on income chargeable in France
by virtue of this Convention at the rate appropriate to the total of the
income chargeable in accordance with French law.
c) A resident of a Contracting State who maintains one or
more places of abode in the other Contracting State shall not be subject
in that other State to an income tax according to an imputed income based
on the rental value of the place or places of abode.
d) For the purposes of this Article profits or remuneration
for personal (including professional) services performed in a Contracting
State shall be deemed to be income from sources within that Contracting
State, and the services of an individual whose services are wholly or mainly
performed in ships or aircraft operated by a resident of one of the Contracting
States shall be deemed to be performed in that Contracting State.
Article 25
1) The 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.
2) The term "national" means:
a) in relation to the United Kingdom, any British citizen
or any British subject not possessing the citizenship of any other Commonwealth
country or territory, provided he has the right of abode in the United
Kingdom; and any legal person, partnership, association or other entity
deriving its status as such from the law in force in the United Kingdom;
b) in relation to France:
i) all individuals who have French nationality;
ii) all legal persons, associations and other entities
deriving their status as such from the law in force in France.
3) 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; provided
that this paragraph shall not prevent a Contracting State from imposing
the tax referred to in Article 10.
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 Contracting 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 that first-mentioned
State are or may be subjected.
5) In determining for the purpose of United Kingdom tax
whether a company is a close company the term "recognised stock exchange"
shall include any stock exchange set up in France in accordance with the
French legislation.
6) Nothing contained in this Article shall be construed
as obliging either Contracting State to grant to individuals not resident
in that State any of the personal allowances and reliefs for tax purposes
which are granted to individuals so resident.
7) In this Article the term "taxation" means taxes of
every kind and description.
8) Payments made by an individual who is a resident of
a Contracting State to a pension scheme established in the other Contracting
State may be relieved from tax in the first-mentioned Contracting State
provided that:
a) the individual was contributing to the pension
scheme before he became a resident of the first-mentioned State; and
b) the pension scheme is accepted by the competent authority
of that State as corresponding to a pension scheme recognised as such for
tax purposes by that State. In such case relief from tax shall be given
in the same way as if the pension scheme was recognised as such by that
State and payments to the pension scheme by the enterprise paying his remuneration
shall not be deemed to be taxable income of the individual.
Article 26
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 Convention, he may, notwithstanding
the remedies provided by the national laws of those States, present his
case to the competent authorities of either Contracting State.
2) The competent authorities shall endeavour, if the objection
appears to them to be justified and if they are not themselves able to
arrive at an appropriate solution, to resolve the case by mutual agreement
with the competent authorities of the other Contracting State, with a view
to the avoidance of taxation not in accordance with the Convention.
3) The competent authorities of the Contracting States
shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties arising
as to the application of the Convention. In particular the competent authorities
may consult together to endeavour to resolve disputes arising out of the
application of paragraph (2) of Article 6 or Article 8, or the determination
of the source of particular items of income.
4) The competent authorities of the Contracting States
may communicate with each other directly for the purposes of reaching an
agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs or for the purpose of
giving effect to the provisions of the Convention and for resolving any
difficulty as to the application of the Convention.
5) In France where the income or profits of an enterprise
are adjusted pursuant to Article 8, taxes shall be imposed on such income
or profits, or refund of taxes shall be allowed, in accordance with the
agreement reached by the competent authorities respecting such adjustments.
6) In the United Kingdom where profits on which an enterprise
of the United Kingdom has been charged to United Kingdom tax are also included
in the profits of an enterprise of France in accordance with Article 8,
the amount included in the profits of both enterprises shall be treated
for the purposes of Article 24 as income from a source in France of an
enterprise of the United Kingdom and credit shall be given accordingly
in respect of the extra French tax chargeable as a result of the inclusion
of the said amount.
Article 27
1) The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall
exchange such information as is necessary for carrying out the provisions
of this Convention or for the prevention of fraud or for the administration
of statutory provisions against legal avoidance in relation to the taxes
which are the subject of the Convention. Any information so exchanged shall
be treated as secret and shall not be disclosed to any persons other than
persons (including a Court or administrative body) concerned with the assessment
or collection of, or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of
appeals in relation to, the taxes which are the subject of the Convention.
2) In no case shall the provisions of paragraph (1) be
construed so as to impose on the competent authorities of either Contracting
State the obligation:
a) to carry out administrative measures at variance
with the laws or administrative practice prevailing in either Contracting
State;
b) to supply particulars which are not obtainable under
the laws or in the normal course of the administration in that or the other
Contracting State; or
c) to supply information which would disclose any trade,
business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process,
or information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy
(ordre public).
Article 28
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall
settle the mode of application of this Convention. In particular they shall
agree if necessary on the procedures relating to the application of Articles
9, 10 and 11.
Article 29
1) This Convention may be extended, either in its entirety
or with any necessary modifications, to any territory to which this Article
applies and which imposes taxes substantially similar in character to those
to which the Convention applies. Any such extension shall take effect from
such date and subject to such modifications and conditions, including conditions
as to termination, as may be specified and agreed between the Contracting
States in Notes to be exchanged for this purpose.
2) Unless otherwise agreed by both Contracting States,
the termination of the Convention by one of them under Article 31 shall
terminate, in the manner provided for in that Article, the application
of the Convention to any territory to which it has been extended under
this Article.
3) The territories to which this Article applies are:
a) in relation to the United Kingdom: any territory
other than the United Kingdom for whose international relations the United
Kingdom is responsible;
b) in relation to France: the French overseas territories.
Article 29A
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Convention-
l) An enterprise of a Contracting State which carries
on activities offshore in connection with the exploration or exploitation
of the sea bed and subsoil and their natural resources in areas which are,
in accordance with international law, under the jurisdiction of the other
Contracting State shall, subject to paragraphs (2), (4) and (5) of this
Article, be deemed, except as regards paragraph (2) of Article 15 of the
Convention, to be carrying on in respect of those activities a business
in that other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated
therein.
2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article shall
not apply where the activities referred to therein are carried on in the
areas specified in that paragraph for a period not exceeding in the aggregate
30 days in any period of 12 months. However, for the purposes of this paragraph:
a) where an enterprise carrying on activities
referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article in those specified areas is
associated with another enterprise carrying on substantially similar activities
there the former enterprise shall be deemed to be carrying on all such
activities of the latter enterprise except to the extent that those activities
are carried on at the same time as its own activities;
b) an enterprise shall be regard as associated with another
enterprise if one is controlled directly or indirectly by the other, or
both are controlled directly or indirectly by a third person or persons.
3) A resident of a Contracting State who carries on activities
offshore, in connection with the exploration or exploitation of the sea
bed and subsoil and their natural resources in the areas specified in paragraph
(1) of this Article, which consist of independent professional activities
as defined in Article 14(2) of this Convention shall be deemed to be performing
those activities from a fixed base in the other Contracting State. However,
this paragraph shall not apply where such activities are carried on in
those specified areas for a period not exceeding in the aggregate 30 days
in any period of 12 months.
4) Profits derived by a resident of a Contracting State
from the transportation of supplies or personnel to a location where activities
in connection with the exploration or exploitation of the sea bed and subsoil
and their natural resources are being carried on in areas which are under
the jurisdiction of a Contracting State or from the operation of tugboats
and similar vessels in connection with such activities, shall be taxable
only in the Contracting State of which he is a resident.
5) The provisions of Article 15 of this Convention, and
not paragraph (1) of this Article, shall apply in respect of an employment.
6) Where a resident of France derives income which in
accordance with the provisions of this Article may be taxed in the United
Kingdom, France may tax such income but shall allow as a deduction from
the French tax on that income an amount equal to the tax paid in the United
Kingdom. Such deduction shall however not exceed that part of the French
tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to
the income which may be taxed in the United Kingdom.
Article 30
1) Each of the Contracting States shall notify to the other
the completion of the procedure required by its law for the bringing into
force of this Convention. This Convention shall enter into force on the
date of the later of these notifications and shall thereupon have effect:
a) in the United Kingdom: i. as respects income
tax (including surtax), for any year of assessment beginning on or after
6th April, 1966 other than income tax in respect of dividends paid before
6th April, 1966; ii. as respects corporation tax, for any financial year
beginning on or after 1st April, 1964; and iii. as respects capital gains
tax, for any year of assessment beginning on or after 6th April, 1966;
b) in France: i. for withholding tax and prepayment (precompte)
relating to any amounts payable on or after 1st January, 1966; ii. as respects
other taxes for the assessment year 1966 and subsequent years.
2) The Convention between the United Kingdom and France signed
at Paris on 14th December 1950 shall terminate and cease to have effect
in relation to any tax with effect from the date on which this Convention
has effect in relation to that tax in accordance with paragraph (1) of
this Article. Where, however, any provision of the Convention of 14th December,
1950 would have afforded greater relief from United Kingdom tax than this
Convention, any such provision of the said Convention of 14th December,
1950 shall continue to have effect:
a) as respects income tax (including surtax)
for any year of assessment beginning before the date of the entry into
force of this Convention; and
b) as respects corporation tax for any financial year
beginning before the said date.
Article 31
This Convention shall continue in effect indefinitely but
either Contracting State may, on or before the thirtieth day of June in
any calendar year after the year 1971 give notice of termination to the
other Contracting State and, in such event, this Convention shall cease
to be effective:
a) in the United Kingdom: i. as respects income
tax (including surtax) and capital gains tax for any year of assessment
beginning on or after 6th April in the calendar year next following that
in which the notice is given; ii. as respects corporation tax, for any
financial year beginning on or after 1st April in the calendar year next
following that in which the notice is given;
b) in France: i. for withholding tax and prepayment (precompte)
relating to any amounts payable on or after lst January in the calendar
year next following that in which the notice is given; ii. as respects
other taxes for the assessment year next following that in which the notice
is given and for subsequent years.
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