WHILE answering the quetion in the Rajya Sabha yesterday, the
MoS(R) has said that India has entered into Double Taxation Avoidance agreements
(DTAAs) with 84 countries. In addition, DTAAs have been signed with 3 countries,
viz. Colombia, Uruguay & Ethiopia and will enter into force after completion
of necessary formalities in these countries. Proposal to sign DTAAs with 12 more
countries/jurisdictions is under process. These countries/jurisdictions are
Albania, Bhutan, Chile, Croatia, Fiji, Hong Kong, Iran, Latvia, Senegal,
Venezuela, Cuba and Macedonia.
The
Government has also identified priority countries/jurisdictions for negotiation
of Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs). At present, India has TIEAs with
9 jurisdictions viz. Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands,
Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Liberia and Macau which are in force.
In
addition, three more TIEAs have been signed with Argentina, Bahrain and Monaco
which will enter into force after completion of necessary formalities in these
countries/jurisdictions. The proposal to sign TIEAs with another 34
countries/jurisdictions is under process. These countries/jurisdictions are
Andorra, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Brunei
Darussalam, Cook Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Faroe Islands,
Greenland, Grenada, Honduras, Jamaica, Montserrat, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos,
Vanuatu, Argentina, Bahrain, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Marshall
Islands, Panama, Saint Kitts & Nevis and Seychelles.
All
these DTAAs and TIEAs contain an Article on Exchange of Information under which
India tax authorities can seek information about a taxpayer.
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