Direct Tax Avoidance Agreements

Turkmenistan

Article 3 : General definitions- 1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires :

(a) the term Turkmenistan means Turkmenistan and, when used in a geographical sense, includes any area beyond the territorial waters of Turkmenistan which in accordance with international law and the laws of Turkmenistan is an area within which Turkmenistan may exercise rights with respect to the sea bed and subsoil and their natural resources;

(b) the term India means the territory of India and includes the territorial sea and airspace above it, and other maritime zones in which India has sovereign rights, other rights and jurisdiction, according to the Indian law and in accordance with international law, including the UN Convention on the law of the Sea;

(c) the term person includes an individual, a company, a body of persons and any other entity which is treated as a taxable unit under the taxation laws in force in the respective Contracting States;

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

(e) 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;

(f)  the term international traffic means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise of a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State;

(g) the term competent authority means :

(i)  in Turkmenistan, the Head of the Main State Tax Inspectorate or his authorised representative;

(ii) in India, the Central Government in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) or their authorised representative;

(h) 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;

(i)  the term fiscal year means :

(i)  in the case of Turkmenistan, the calendar year from 1st of January to 31st of December of the year under review;

(ii) in the case of India, the previous year as defined under section 3 of the Income-tax Act, 1961;

(j)  the term tax means Indian tax or Turkmen tax as the context requires, but shall not include any amount which is payable in respect of any default or omission in relation to the taxes to which this Convention applies or which represents a penalty imposed relating to those taxes.

2. As regards the application of the Convention 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 Convention applies.