Direct Tax Avoidance Agreements

                                                                                                               Trinidad and Tobago

Article 11 : Interest

1. Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

2. However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises, and according to the laws of the State; but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the interest the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the interest.  The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of this limitation.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest arising in a Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that State provided it is derived and beneficially owned by,

(i)   the government, a political sub-division or a local authority of the other Contracting State; or

(ii)  (a) in the case of Trinidad and Tobago, the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, the Agricultural Development Bank the Export Insurance Company, the National Housing Authority, the National Insurance Board, the Home Mortgage Bank, the Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Small Business Development Company, the Development Finance Limited and the Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Company.

(b) in the case of India, the Reserve Bank of India, the Industrial Finance Corporation of India, the Industrial Development Bank of India, the Export and Import Bank of India, the National Housing Bank, the Small Industries Development Bank of India and the Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI); or

(iii) any other institution or agency as may be mutually agreed upon between the two Contracting States.

4. The term "interest" as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in the debtor's profits, and in particular, income from government securities and income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures, but shall not include any item which is treated as a distribution under the provisions of Article 10 of this Convention. Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purpose of this Article.

5. The provisions of paragraph 1 and 2 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 personal service 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 Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.

6. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a ContractingState when the payer is that State itself, a political sub-division, 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.

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