Agreement Between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the Russian Federation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY
AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and with a view to promote economic cooperation between the two countries,
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
Article 1: Personal Scope
This Agreement shall apply to persons who, in respect of taxation, are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.
Article 2: Taxes Covered
This Agreement shall apply to taxes on income imposed in a Contracting State, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.
There shall be regarded as taxes on income all taxes imposed on total income, or on elements of income, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable property.
The existing taxes to which this Agreement shall apply are, in particular:
- In the case of the Russian Federation – the taxes on income and profits imposed in accordance with the following Laws of the Russian Federation: i) “On taxes on profits of enterprises and organisations” ii) “On the income tax on individuals” (hereinafter referred to as “Russian tax”).
- In the case of the Republic of Turkey: i) the income tax (Gelir Vergisi), ii) the corporation tax (Kurumlar Vergisi), iii) the levies imposed on income tax and corporation tax (hereinafter referred to as “Turkish tax”).
This Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes on income which are imposed after the date of signature of this Agreement in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any substantial changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws, necessary for the implementation of this Agreement.
Article 3: General Definitions
- For the purposes of this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires: a) The terms “a Contracting State” and “the other Contracting State” mean, depending on the context, the Russian Federation (Russia) or the Republic of Turkey (Turkey). b) The terms “the Russian Federation” and “the Republic of Turkey” mean their territories, territorial seas, as well as their continental shelves and exclusive economic zones established in accordance with international law. c) The term “tax” means any tax covered by Article 2 of this Agreement. d) The term “person” means 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 “registered office” means, in the case of Turkey, the legal head office registered under the Turkish Code of Commerce. 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 “international traffic” means any transport by a ship, a boat, an aircraft, or a road vehicle operated by an enterprise of a Contracting State, except when the ship, boat, aircraft, or road vehicle is operated solely between places situated in the territory of the same Contracting State. i) The term “competent authority” means:
- In the case of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Finance or its authorized representative.
- In the case of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Finance or its authorized representative. j) The “beneficial owner” clause should be interpreted to mean that a resident of a third country will not be allowed to receive benefits from the Tax Agreement with regard to dividends, interests, and royalties derived from Russia or Turkey. However, this restriction shall not be applied to residents of the Contracting States.
- As regards the application of this Agreement at any time by a Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning that it has at that time under the law of that State for the purposes of the taxes to which this Agreement applies, with any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that State prevailing over a meaning given to the term under other laws of that State.
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 management (registered office), 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 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 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 Contracting 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 each State considers him to be its national or if he is a national 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 State in which its legal head office is situated.
Article 5: Permanent Establishment
For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “permanent establishment” means a fixed place of activities through which an enterprise of one Contracting State wholly or partly carries out any business in the other Contracting State.
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.
For the purpose of this Agreement: a) a building site, a construction, assembly or installation project or supervisory activities in connection therewith constitutes a permanent establishment, but only if such site, project or activities continue for a period of more than 18 months. A site exists from the date on which the contractor begins his work, including any preparatory work, in the construction. In the calculation of the period of 18 months, the date of the handing over of such site or project is considered as the final date of the construction site or project. The period between the date of handing over and the date of taking over shall not be taken into account in the calculation of the period of 18 months. b) If, after the entry into force of this Agreement, each of the Contracting States agrees with one or more other states on a longer period for the activities mentioned in subparagraph a) and those agreements enter into force, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall decide on the extension of the period mentioned in subparagraph a).
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 an 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 or 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 in a Contracting State on behalf of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, that enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the first-mentioned Contracting State in respect of any activities which that person undertakes for the enterprise, if such a person has and habitually exercises in that State an authority to conclude contracts in the name of 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 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.
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 one 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. This term includes property accessory to immovable property, livestock and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, fishing places of every kind, rights to which the provisions of domestic 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, aircraft, and road vehicles are not regarded as immovable property.
The provisions of paragraph 1 apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property.
Paragraphs 1 and 3 also apply to 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 derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the other Contracting State may be taxed in the first-mentioned State only if they are derived through a permanent establishment situated therein, and only so much of them as is attributable to the activity of such permanent establishment.
Subject to 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 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, the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article.
Article 8: Profits from Shipping, Air and Land Transport
Profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State derived from the other Contracting State from the operation of ships in international traffic shall be taxable in the first-mentioned State. However, such profits may also be taxed in the other Contracting State, but the tax chargeable in that other State on such profits shall be reduced by an amount equal to 50 percent.
Profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State derived from the other Contracting State from the operation of an aircraft or a road vehicle in international traffic shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State.
Notwithstanding Article 6 and the preceding paragraphs of this Article, payments in respect of leasing of a ship or an aircraft made by a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State may be subject to withholding tax in the first-mentioned State.
Paragraphs 1 and 2 also apply to profits from participation in a pool, a joint business, or an international operating agency.
Article 9: Possible Adjustments to Income
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 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 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, according to the laws of that State. If the recipient is the beneficial owner of the dividends, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 percent of the gross amount of the dividends.
The term “dividends” as used in this Article means income from 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.
Profits of a company which is a resident 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 the laws of that State, provided that the rate of tax so charged shall not exceed the rate mentioned in paragraph 2.
Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on or carried on business in the other Contracting State in which the dividends arise, through a permanent establishment situated therein. In such case, the provisions of Articles 7 or 14 of this Agreement, as applicable, shall apply.
Article 11: Interest
Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises, according to the laws of that State. If the recipient is the beneficial owner of the interest, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 percent of the gross amount of the interest.
Notwithstanding paragraph 2:
- Interest arising in Russia and paid to the Government of Turkey or to the Central Bank of Turkey or to the Turkish Eximbank shall be exempt from Russian tax.
- Interest arising in Turkey and paid to the Government of Russia or to the Central Bank of Russia or to the Foreign Trade Bank of Russia shall be exempt from Turkish tax.
The term “interest” as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, including income from government securities, bonds, and debentures, and any other income treated as income from loans by the tax laws of the State in which the income arises.
Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the interest, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on or carried on business in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or in the case of a resident of Turkey, performs in Russia independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case, the provisions of Articles 7 or 14 of this Agreement, as applicable, shall apply.
Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is the Government of that Contracting State, a regional or local authority thereof, or a resident of that Contracting State. However, if the person paying the interest has a permanent establishment or a fixed base in a Contracting State 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 the interest shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
Where, due to a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner of interest or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the interest 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, considering the other provisions of this Agreement.
Article 12: Royalties
Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
However, such royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise, according to the laws of that State. If the recipient is the beneficial owner of the royalties, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 percent of the gross amount of the royalties.
The term “royalties” as used in this Article means payments of any kind received as consideration for the use of, or the right to use, the sale of, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films and recordings for radio or television broadcasting, any patent, trademark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience or for the use of, or the right to use industrial, commercial or scientific equipment.
Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or in the case of a resident of Turkey performs in Russia independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case, the provisions of Articles 7 or 14 of this Agreement, as applicable, shall apply.
Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is the Government of that Contracting State, a regional or local authority thereof, or a resident of that Contracting State. However, if the person paying the royalties has a permanent establishment or fixed base in a Contracting State in connection with which the liability to pay the royalties was incurred, and such royalties are borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then the royalties shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
Where, due to 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, considering the other provisions of this Agreement.
Article 13: Capital Gains
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.
Gains derived from the alienation of movable property forming part 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 State in the other State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, including gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment or fixed base, may be taxed in that other State. The term “movable property” means property recognized as such by the legislation of the Contracting State where such property is located.
Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships, aircraft, or road vehicles operated in international traffic or movable property pertaining to such operation shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.
Gains derived from the alienation of any property such as shares in a company or securities, bonds, debentures, and the like shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident. However, capital gains mentioned in the preceding sentence and derived from the other Contracting State shall be taxable in the other State if the period between acquisition and alienation does not exceed one year.
Article 14: Income from Independent Personal Services
Income derived by an individual who is a resident of a Contracting State from the performance of professional services or other activities of an independent character shall be taxable only in that State, unless such services are performed or were performed in the other Contracting State and the income is attributable to a fixed base which the individual has or had regularly available to him in that other State.
The term “professional services” includes especially independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational, or teaching activities, as well as the independent activities of physicians, lawyers, engineers, architects, dentists, and accountants.
Article 15: Income from Employment
Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 17, 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 exercised there, such remuneration derived may be taxed in that other State.
Notwithstanding 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 Contracting State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in the calendar year concerned, and b) The remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other Contracting State, and c) The remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or fixed base which the employer has in the other Contracting State.
Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, salaries and other remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State for work carried out in the other Contracting State are not taxed in that other State if it is performed by persons: a) In connection with a building site, a construction, assembly, or installation project according to subparagraph a) of paragraph 3 of Article 5 of this Agreement, and b) In respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship, aircraft, or road vehicle operated in international traffic by an enterprise of a Contracting State of which the enterprise is a resident.
Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, a journalist or correspondent who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in the first-mentioned State for a period of two years, provided that payments made to him arise from sources in that other State.
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 a similar body of a company or any other legal person which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
Article 17: Income of Artistes and Sportsmen
Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer (such as a theatre, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or musician) or as a sportsman, from personal activities exercised in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
Where income from personal activities exercised by an entertainer or sportsman accrues not to the entertainer or sportsman themselves but to another person, that income may be taxed in the Contracting State where the activities are exercised, notwithstanding Articles 7, 14, and 15.
Income derived by entertainers or sportsmen who are residents of a Contracting State from activities exercised in the other Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that other State if the visit to that State is supported by public funds of the other State, a regional or local authority thereof.
Article 18: Income from Government Service
a) Remuneration (other than a pension) paid by the Government of a Contracting State, a regional or local authority thereof, to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or authority shall be taxable only in that State.
b) However, such remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered there and the recipient: i) is a national of that State (not being a national of the first-mentioned State), or ii) did not become a resident of that State solely for the purpose of rendering the services.
a) Any pension paid by, or out of funds created by, a Contracting State, a regional or local authority thereof, to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State 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 and a national of that State.
The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not apply, and the provisions of Articles 15, 16, and 19 shall apply to remuneration and pensions paid by a Contracting State, a regional or local authority thereof, if such remuneration or pensions are paid in respect of services rendered in connection with any business activities carried on in the other Contracting State.
Article 19: Pensions
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 18, pensions and other similar remunerations paid to a resident of a Contracting State in consideration of past employment may be taxed only in that State.
Article 20: Payments to Students, Business Apprentices, Teachers, and Researchers
Payments received by a student or business apprentice who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State, and who is present in the first-mentioned State solely for the purpose of education or training, for the purpose of maintenance, education, or training, shall not be taxed in the first-mentioned State provided such payments arise from sources outside that State.
Remuneration received by a teacher or researcher who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State, and who is present in the first-mentioned State primarily for teaching or conducting research, shall be exempt from tax in that State for a period of two years in respect of such teaching or research, provided such payments arise from sources in the 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.
Article 22: Elimination of Double Taxation
Where a resident of a Contracting State derives income from the other Contracting State, which, according to the provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in that other State, the amount of tax on that income payable in the other State may be credited against the tax levied in the first-mentioned State. However, the credit shall not exceed the amount of the tax of the first-mentioned State on that income computed according to its taxation laws and regulations.
Article 23: 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 more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements imposed on nationals of that other State in the same circumstances, particularly with respect to residence. This provision applies to persons who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1.
A resident of a Contracting State which has a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State shall not, with respect to income attributable to that permanent establishment, be subjected to more burdensome taxes in that other State than are generally imposed on residents of that other State or of a third State carrying on the same activities.
Nothing in this Article shall be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, reliefs, and deductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents.
Except where Article 9(1), Article 11(7), or Article 12(6) 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.
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 more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-mentioned State are or may be subjected.
Article 24: 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 in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, the resident may present the case to the competent authority of the State of which they are a resident. The case must be presented within three years from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the Agreement. In the case of Turkey, the taxpayer must present the case to the competent authority within one year from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the Agreement. However, if this period has expired, the taxpayer may apply to the competent authority in Turkey within five years from the first day of January of the calendar year next following the related taxable year, where the income subject to the action not in accordance with the Agreement is derived.
The competent authority shall endeavor, if the objection appears justified and it cannot itself 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 avoiding taxation not in accordance with the Agreement.
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavor 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 this Agreement.
The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate directly with each other for the purpose of reaching an agreement as described in the preceding paragraphs. When an oral exchange of opinions seems advisable to reach an agreement, such exchange may take place through a commission consisting of representatives of the competent authorities of the Contracting States.
Article 25: Exchange of Information
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange information necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this Agreement or of the domestic laws concerning taxes covered by the Agreement, provided such taxation is not contrary to this Agreement. Any information received by a Contracting State shall be treated as confidential in the same manner as information obtained under its domestic laws and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) involved in the assessment, collection, enforcement, or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals relating to, the taxes covered by the Agreement. These persons or authorities shall use the information only for these purposes and may disclose it in public court proceedings or judicial decisions.
In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 be construed to impose on a Contracting State the obligation: a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with its laws or administrative practice or that of the other Contracting State, b) to supply information not obtainable under the laws or in the normal course of administration of either Contracting State, c) to supply information that would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial, or professional secret or trade process or information, disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).
Article 26: Members of Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts
Nothing in this Agreement 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 27: Entry into Force
Each of the Contracting States shall notify the other in writing through diplomatic channels of the completion of the internal procedures required by its legislation for the bringing into force of this Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the later of these notifications and shall thereupon have effect:
a) In respect of tax withheld at source, for amounts paid or credited on or after the first day of January next following the date on which the Agreement enters into force, and
b) In respect of other taxes on income, for taxable periods beginning on or after the first day of January next following the date on which the Agreement enters into force.
