Agreement Between The Republic of Albania and the Republic of Turkey For the Avoidance of Double Taxation With Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital
The Government of the Republic of Albania and The Government of the Republic of Turkey,
Desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and on capital,
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1: PERSONAL SCOPE
This Agreement shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.
Article 2: TAXES COVERED
This Agreement shall apply to taxes on income and on capital imposed on behalf of a Contracting State or of its political subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.
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.
The existing taxes to which the Agreement shall apply are in particular:
a) In the case of Turkey: i) the income tax (Gelir Vergisi); ii) the corporation tax (Kurumlar Vergisi); iii) the levies imposed on the corporation tax and the income tax; (Hereinafter referred to as “Turkish Tax”).
b) In the case of Albania: i) the profit tax; ii) taxes on the income of physical persons in the private sectors of trade, artisan, and other services; iii) individual income tax; (Hereinafter referred to as “Albanian Tax”).
The Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Agreement in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may agree in writing to have the Agreement apply to any other taxes imposed on income and on capital after the date of signature of the Agreement. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any significant changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws.
Article 3: GENERAL DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:
i) the term “Turkey” means the Turkish territory, territorial sea, as well as the maritime areas over which it has jurisdiction or sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing natural resources, pursuant to international law;
ii) the term “Albania” when used in a geographical sense means the territory of Albania including any area beyond the territorial seas of the Republic of Albania which, in accordance with international law and the laws of the Republic of Albania, is an area within which the Republic of Albania may exercise rights with respect to the seabed and subsoil and their natural resources;
b) the terms “a Contracting State” and “the other Contracting State” mean Turkey or Albania, as the context requires;
c) the term “tax” means Albanian tax and Turkish tax, as the context requires;
d) the term “person” includes an individual, a company, and any other body of persons;
e) the term “company” means any body corporate or any entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;
f) the term “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;
g) 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;
h) the term “competent authority” means:
i) in Turkey, the Minister of Finance or his authorised representative;
ii) in Albania, the Minister of Finance or his authorised representative;
i) the term “international traffic” means any transport by a ship, an aircraft, or a road vehicle by a Turkish or Albanian enterprise, except when the ship, aircraft, or road vehicle is operated solely between places situated in the territory of Turkey or of Albania.
As regards the application of this Agreement by a Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has under the law of that State concerning the taxes to which the Agreement applies.
Article 4: RESIDENT
For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “resident of a Contracting State” means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of incorporation (registration), place of management or any other criterion of a similar nature.
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 of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (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 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 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.
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 it has been incorporated (registered) or, where that person has not been incorporated (registered) in either State, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement endeavour to settle the question and to determine the mode of application of the Agreement to such person.
Article 5: PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT
For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “permanent establishment” means a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on.
The term “permanent establishment” includes especially:
a) a place of management; b) a branch; c) an office; d) a factory; e) a workshop; f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural resources.
A building site, construction, or installation project constitutes a permanent establishment only if it lasts more than twelve months.
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 sub-paragraphs a) to e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character.
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 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.
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, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business.
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
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.
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, fishing places of every kind, 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.
The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property.
The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to the income from immovable property of an enterprise and to income from immovable property used for the performance of independent personal services.
Article 7: BUSINESS PROFITS
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.
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.
In determining the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses so incurred, whether in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere.
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.
Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Agreement, then the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article.
Article 8: Shipping, Air and Land Transport
Article 9: Associated Enterprises
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.
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 by the first-mentioned State claimed to be 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, where that other State considers the adjustment justified. In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this Agreement and the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall if necessary consult each other.
Article 10: Dividends
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.
However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident and according to the laws of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the dividends the tax so charged shall not exceed: a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the recipient is a company (other than a partnership) which holds directly at least 26 per cent of the capital of the company paying the dividends; b) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases.
This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid.
The term “dividends” as used in this Article means income from shares, “jouissance” shares or “jouissance” rights, 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, and in the case of Turkey income derived from an investment fund and investment trust.
Profits of a company of a Contracting State carrying on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein may, after having been taxed under Article 7, be taxed on the remaining amount in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is situated and in accordance with paragraph 2.
The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident, through a permanent establishment situated therein, and the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In such case the provisions of Article 7 shall apply.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of this Article 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 that other State.
Article 11: Interest
Article 12: Royalties
Article 13: Capital Gains
Article 14: Independent Personal Services
Article 15: Dependent Personal Services
Article 16: Directors’ Fees
Directors’ fees and other similar payments derived by a resident of a Contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors or any similar body of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
Article 17: Artistes and Sportsmen
Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, 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.
Where income in respect of personal activities exercised by an entertainer or a sportsman in his capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsman himself but to another person, that income may, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14, and 16, be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the entertainer or sportsman are exercised.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, income derived by an entertainer or a sportsman from his personal activities as such being a resident of a Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in the other Contracting State in which these activities are exercised if the activities are exercised within the framework of a visit which is substantially supported by the other Contracting State, a political subdivision, a local authority, or a public institution thereof.
Article 18: Pensions
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 19, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State in consideration of past employment shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 19: Government Service
Remuneration, including pensions, paid by, or out of funds created by, a Contracting State or its political subdivision or local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or subdivision or authority thereof in the discharge of functions of a governmental nature shall be taxable only in that State.
The provisions of Articles 15, 16, and 18 shall apply to remuneration and pensions in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof.
Article 20: Students, Trainees, Business Apprentices, and Teachers
Payments which a student, trainee, or business apprentice who is a resident of a Contracting State and who is present in the other Contracting State solely for the purpose of his education or training receives for the purpose of his maintenance, education, or training shall not be taxed in that other State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that other State.
Likewise, remuneration received by a teacher or by an instructor who is a resident of a Contracting State and who is present in the other Contracting State for the primary purpose of teaching or engaging in scientific research for a period or periods not exceeding two years shall be exempt from tax in that other State on his remuneration from personal services for teaching or research, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that other State.
Article 21: Other Income
Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement shall be taxable only in that State.
The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to income, other than income from immovable property as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, if the recipient of such income, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the income is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
Article 22: Capital
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.
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 or by movable property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, may be taxed in that other State.
Capital represented by ships, aircraft, and road vehicles operated in international traffic, and by movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships, aircraft, and road vehicles, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the enterprise is a resident.
All other elements of capital of a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 23: Elimination of Double Taxation
Double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:
In Albania: a) Where a resident of Albania derives income or owns capital which, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in Turkey, Albania shall allow as a deduction from its tax on the income of that resident an amount equal to the income tax paid in Turkey, and as a deduction from its tax on the capital of that resident, an amount equal to the capital tax paid in Turkey. Such deduction shall not, however, exceed that part of the Albanian income tax or capital tax as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable, as the case may be, to the income or the capital which may be taxed in Turkey. b) Where in accordance with any provision of this Agreement income derived or capital owned by a resident of Albania is exempt from tax in Albania, Albania may nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income or capital of such resident, take into account the exempted income or capital.
In Turkey: a) Where a resident of Turkey derives income or owns capital which, exclusive of income covered by paragraph (d), hereinafter, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in Albania, Turkey shall exempt such income or capital from tax but may, in calculating tax on the remaining income or capital of that person, apply the rate of tax which would have been applicable if the exempted income or capital had not been so exempted. b) Where a resident of Turkey derives income which in accordance with the provisions of Articles 10, 11, 12, and paragraph 4 of Article 13 of this Agreement, may be taxed in Albania, Turkey shall allow as a deduction from the tax on the income of that person an amount equal to the tax paid in Albania. Such deductions shall not, however, exceed that part of the income tax computed before the deduction is given, which is appropriate to the income which may be taxed in Albania.
Article 24: Non-Discrimination
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.
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 10, the taxation on a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State shall not be less favorably levied in that other State than the taxation levied on enterprises of that other State carrying on the same activities. 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.
Except where the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 7 of Article 11, or paragraph 6 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.
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.
The provisions of this Article shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2, apply to taxes of every kind imposed on income and on capital.
Article 25: Mutual Agreement Procedure
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 the provisions of this Agreement, 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 the related year in accordance with the law of both Contracting States from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement.
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 Agreement.
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 Agreement. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Agreement.
The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs. When it seems advisable in order to reach agreement to have an oral exchange of opinions, such exchange may take place through a Commission consisting of representatives of the competent authorities of the Contracting States.
Article 26: Exchange of Information
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Agreement or of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Agreement insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Agreement. Any information received by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) involved in the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by the Agreement. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.
In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation: a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and the administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State; b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the laws or in the normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting State; c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or information, the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).
Article 27: Diplomatic Agents and Consular Officers
Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the fiscal privileges of diplomatic agents or consular officers under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.
Article 28: Entry into Force
This Agreement shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged at Tirana/Ankara as soon as possible.
The Agreement shall enter into force upon the exchange of instruments of ratification and its provisions shall have effect: a) in the Republic of Albania, in respect of income derived on or after the first day of January of the calendar year following that of the entry into force of the Agreement; b) in the Republic of Turkey, for taxes with respect to every taxable year beginning on or after the first day of January of the year following that of entry into force of the Agreement.
Article 29: Termination
This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State. Either Contracting State may terminate the Agreement through diplomatic channels, by giving notice of termination at least six months before the end of any calendar year following after the period of five years from the date on which the Agreement enters into force. In such event, the Agreement shall cease to have effect: a) in the Republic of Albania, in respect of income derived on or after the first day of January of the calendar year next following that in which the notice of termination is given; b) in the Republic of Turkey, for taxes with respect to every taxable year beginning on or after the first day of January of the year following that in which the notice of termination is given.
In witness whereof, the undersigned plenipotentiaries have signed the present Agreement and have affixed their seals thereto.
“Done in duplicate at Ankara this 4th day of April 1994 in the English Language.”
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