Agreement between the
Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Government
of the United Arab Emirates for the avoidance of double taxation and the
prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital
(property) signed February 16, 2009 in
Dubai takes effect since April 12, 2010.
PP. MINISTER
PP. DIRECTOR GENERAL OF
DEPARTMENT OF LAW AND INTERNATIONAL TREATY
DEPUTY DIRECTOR GENERAL
Nguyen Manh Dong
AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
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AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
FOR
AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION
AND
PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION
WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME AND ON CAPITAL (PROPERTY)
The Socialist Republic of
Vietnam and the Government of the United Arab Emirates,
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Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1. PERSONS
COVERED
This Agreement shall
apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.
ARTICLE 2. TAXES
COVERED
1. This Agreement shall
apply to taxes on income and on capital (property) imposed on behalf of a
Contracting State or of its local authorities, irrespective of the manner in
which they are levied.
2. There shall be
regarded as taxes on income and on capital (property) all taxes imposed on
total income, on total capital (property) or on elements of income, including
taxes on income from the alienation of movable or immovable property, as well
as taxes on the total amounts of wages or salaries paid by enterprises.
3. The existing taxes to
which the Agreement shall apply are in particular:
(a) in case of Vietnam:
(i) the personal income
tax; and
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(hereinafter referred to
as the "Vietnamese tax");
(b) in case of the United
Arab Emirates:
(i) Income tax; and
(ii) Corporation tax;
(hereinafter referred to
as the "UAE tax");
4. The Agreement shall
also apply to any identical or substantially similar taxes that 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 significant changes which have been made in their
respective taxation laws.
ARTICLE 3. GENERAL
DEFINITIONS
1. For the purposes of
this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) the term
"Vietnam" means the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; when used in a
geographical sense, it means its land territory, islands, internal waters,
territorial sea and airspace above them, the maritime areas beyond territorial
sea including seabed and subsoil thereof over which the Socialist Republic of
Vietnam exercises sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance
with national legislation and international law;
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(c) the terms "a
Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean the
Vietnam or the United Arab Emirates, 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 that is treated as a
body corporate for tax purposes;
(f) 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;
(g) the term
"national" means:
(i) any individual
possessing the nationality of a Contracting State; and
(ii) any legal person,
partnership and association deriving its status as such from the laws in force
in a Contracting State;
(h) the term
"international traffic" means any transport by a ship or aircraft
operated by an enterprise that registers in a Contracting State, except when
the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting
State;
(i) the term
"competent authority" means:
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(ii) in the case of the
United Arab Emirates, the Minister of Finance or his authorized representative.
2. As regards the
application of the 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 laws of that State for the purposes of the taxes
to which the Agreement applies, 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
1. For the purposes of
this Agreement, in case of Vietnam, the term "resident" means any
person who, under the laws of Vietnam, is liable to tax therein by reason of
his domicile, residence, place of registration, place of management, or any
other criterion of a similar nature. This term also includes the Socialist
Republic of Vietnam and any political subdivision or local authority thereof.
This term, however, does not include any person who is liable to tax in Vietnam
in respect only of income from sources in Vietnam or capital situated therein.
2. For the purposes of
this Agreement, in case of the United Arab Emirates, the term
"resident" means:
(i) the Government of the
United Arab Emirates, a political subdivision or a local authority or
governmental institution thereof;
(ii) an individual deemed
to be a resident under the law of the United Arab Emirates; and
(iii) a company or any
legal entity established under the law of the United Arab Emirates.
3. Where by reason of the
provisions of paragraph (1) and paragraph (2), an individual is a resident of
both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows:
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(b) if the Contracting
State in which he has his center of vital interests cannot be determined, or if
he does not have a permanent home available to him in either Contracting State,
he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State in which he
has an habitual abode;
(c) if he has a habitual
abode in both Contracting States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to
be a resident only of the Contracting State of which he is a national;
(d) if he is a national
of both Contracting States or of neither of them, the competent authorities of
the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement.
3. Where by reason of the
provisions of paragraph (1) and paragraph (2), a person other than an
individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall be deemed to
be a resident only of the State in which its place of effective management is
situated.
ARTICLE 5. PERMANENT
ESTABLISHMENT
1. 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.
2. The term "permanent
establishment" includes especially:
(a) a place of
management;
(b) a branch;
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(d) a factory;
(e) a workshop;
(f) a warehouse; and
(g) a mine, an oil or gas
well, a quarry or any place of extraction of natural resources.
3. The term "permanent
establishment" also encompasses:
(a) a building site, a
construction, assembly or installation project or supervisory activities in
connection therewith, but only if such site, project or activities last more
than six months;
(b) the furnishing of services,
including consultancy services, by an enterprise through employees or other
personnel engaged by the enterprise for such purpose in the other Contracting
State, but only if activities of that nature continue (for the same or a
connected project) within a Contracting State for a period or periods
aggregating more than six months within any 12 month period;
(c) A person carrying on
activities in a Contracting State (including offshore activities) in connection
with the exploration for or exploitation of natural resources situated in that
Contracting State shall be deemed to be carrying on a business through a
permanent establishment in that Contracting State.
4. Notwithstanding the
preceding provisions of this Article, the term "permanent establishment"
shall be deemed not to include:
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(b) the maintenance of a
stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the
purpose of storage or display;
(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; and
(f) the maintenance of a
fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in
subparagraphs (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.
5. Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2), where a person-other than an agent of an
independent status to whom paragraph (7) 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:
(a) 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; or
(b) habitually maintains
in the first-mentioned State a stock of goods or merchandise from which he
regularly delivers goods or merchandise on behalf of the enterprise, 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; or
(c) he maintains orders
in the first-mentioned State, exclusively or almost exclusively for the
enterprise itself or for such enterprise and other enterprises which are
controlled by it, or have a controlling interest in it.
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7. 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
Contracting 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. However, when the activities of such an agent
are devoted wholly or almost wholly on behalf of that enterprise, and
conditions are made or imposed between that enterprise and the agent in their
commercial and financial relations which differ from those which would have
been made between independent enterprises, he will not be considered an agent
of an independent status within the meaning of this paragraph.
8. 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 Contracting 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
1. 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.
2. 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,
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.
3. The provisions of
paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use
in any other form of immovable property.
4. 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
1. 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: (a) that permanent establishment;
(b) sales in that other State of goods or merchandise of the same or similar
kind as those sold through that permanent establishment; or (c) other business
activities carried on in that other State of the same or similar kind as those
effected through that permanent establishment.
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3. In determining the
profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions
expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the business 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. However, no such deduction shall be allowed in respect of
amounts, if any, paid (otherwise than towards reimbursement of actual expenses)
by the permanent establishment to the head office of the enterprise or any of
its other offices, by way of royalties, fees or other similar payments in
return for the use of patents or other rights, or by way of commission, for
specific services performed or for management, or, except in the case of a
banking enterprise, by way of interest on moneys lent to the permanent establishment.
Likewise, no account shall be taken, in the determination of the profits of a
permanent establishment, for amounts charged (otherwise than towards
reimbursement of actual expenses), by the permanent establishment to the head
office of the enterprise or any of its other offices, by way of royalties, fees
or other similar payments in return for the use of patents or other rights, or
by way of commission for specific services performed or for management, or,
except in the case of banking enterprise by way of interest on moneys lent to
the head office of the enterprise or any of its other offices.
4. Insofar as it has been
customary in a Contracting State to determine the profits to be attributed to a
permanent establishment on the basis of an apportionment of the total profits
of the enterprise to its various parts, nothing in paragraph 2 shall preclude
such Contracting State from determining the profits to be taxed by such an
apportionment as may be customary; the method of apportionment adopted shall,
however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the principles
contained in this Article.
5. For the purposes of
the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to the permanent
establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year unless there
is good and sufficient reason to the contrary.
6. Where profits include
items of income or gains 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 AND AIR TRANSPORT
1. Profits derived from
the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable
only in Contracting State in which the enterprise registers.
2. The provisions of paragraph
1 shall also apply to profits from the participation in a pool, a joint
business or an international operating agency.
3. For the purposes of
this Article, profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international
traffic include profits from the rental of containers used for the transport of
goods or merchandise, where such rental is incidental to the operation of ships
or aircraft in international traffic.
ARTICLE 9. ASSOCIATED
ENTERPRISES
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(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 the reason of those
conditions, have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that
enterprise and taxed accordingly.
ARTICLE 10. DIVIDENDS
1. 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.
2. 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 beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting
State, the tax so charged shall not exceed:
(a) 5% of the gross
amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company (other than a
partnership) that holds directly more than 50% of the capital of the company
paying the dividends or at least US$10 million;
(b) 15 % 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.
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4. The term “dividends”
as used in this Article means income from shares, “jouissance” shares or
“jouissance” rights, mining shares, 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 paying the dividends or income or
making the distribution is a resident.
5. The provisions of
paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article 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, or performs in
that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated
therein, and the holding in respect of which the dividends are 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. 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 Contracting State or insofar as the holding in respect of which the
dividends are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a
fixed base 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 such other State.
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 that State, but if the beneficial owner of the interest is a
resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10
per cent of the gross amount of the interest.
3. Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2,
(a) interest borne by
the Government of Vietnam and paid to the Government of the United Arab
Emirates, Central Bank, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, Abu Dhabi investment
authority, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Development Funds, local
authorities, Pension Funds, and any Fund or Company owned by the Government
shall be exempt from Vietnamese tax;
(b) interest borne
by the Government of the United Arab Emirates and paid to the Government of
Vietnam, State Bank of Vietnam, Development Bank of Vietnam or Vietnam's local
authorities shall be exempt from UAE tax.
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5. The provisions of
paragraphs 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 services from a fixed base situated therein, and the debt-claim in
respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such (a)
permanent establishment or fixed base or (b) business activities mentioned in
Point (c) Clause 1 Article 7. 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 Contracting State when the payer is 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 payments
shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due
regard being had to the other provisions of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 12. ROYALTIES
1. Royalties
arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting
State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.
2. However, such
royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise, and
according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the
royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged
shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of such royalties.
3. The term “royalties”
as used in this Article means payment of any kind received as a consideration
for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic or
scientific work including cinematograph films, and films or tapes for radio or
television broadcasting, any computer software, patent, trade mark, design or
model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use,
industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, or for information concerning
industrial, commercial or scientific experience.
4. The provisions of
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 performs in that other State 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
(a) permanent establishment or fixed base or b) business activities mentioned
in Point c Clause 1 Article 7. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or
Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
5. Royalties shall be
deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is a resident of that
State. Where, however, the person paying the royalties, 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 liability to pay the
royalties was incurred, and such royalties are borne by such permanent
establishment or fixed base, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in
the State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
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ARTICLE 13. GAINS FROM
THE ALIENATION OF PROPERTY
1. 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.
2. Gains from the
alienation of 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 of 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, including such
gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the
whole enterprise) or of such fixed base, may be taxed in that other State.
3. Gains from the
alienation of ships or aircraft operated by an enterprise of a Contracting
State in international traffic and movable property pertaining to the operation
of such ships or aircraft shall be taxable only in that Contracting State in
which the enterprise registers.
4. Gains from the
alienation of shares of the capital stock of a company, or of an interest in a
partnership, trust or estate, the property of which consists directly or
indirectly principally of immovable property situated in the other Contracting
State may be taxed in that State. For the purpose of this paragraph,
“principally” in relation to ownership of immovable property means the value of
such immovable property exceeding 50 per cent of the aggregate value of all
assets owned by the company, partnership, trust or estate.
5. Without prejudice to
Article 10, gains from the alienation of shares other than those mentioned in
paragraph 4 in a company which is a resident of a Contracting State may be
taxed in that State.
6. Gains from the
alienation of any property other than that referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is
a resident.
ARTICLE 14.
INDEPENDENT PERSONAL SERVICES
1. Income derived by a
resident of a Contracting State in respect of professional services or other
activities of an independent character shall be taxable only in that State
except in the following circumstances, when such income may also be taxed in
the other Contracting State:
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(b) If his stay in the
other Contracting State is for a period or periods amounting to or exceeding in
the aggregate 183 days in any twelve month period that commences or ends during
the fiscal year concerned; in that case, only so much of the income as is
derived from his activities performed in that other State may be taxed in that
State; or
(c) Gains derived by that
person having property used to perform these services.
2. 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. DEPENDENT
PERSONAL SERVICES
1. Subject to the
provisions of Articles 16, 18 and 19, 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 so exercised, such remuneration
as is derived therefrom may be taxed in that other State.
2. Notwithstanding the
provisions of 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 State for a period or periods not exceeding in the
aggregate 183 days in any twelve month period that commences or ends during the
fiscal year concerned, and
(b) the remuneration is
paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other State,
and
(c) the remuneration is
not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed base which the employer has
in the other State.
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ARTICLE 16. DIRECTORS'
FEES AND REMUNERATION OF TOP-LEVEL MANAGERIAL OFFICIALS
1. 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 other similar organ of a
company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that
other State.
2. Salaries, wages and
other similar remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in his
capacity as an official in a top-level managerial position of a company which
is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
ARTICLE 17.
ENTERTAINERS AND ATHLETES
1. Notwithstanding the
provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting
State as an entertainer, such as a theater, motion picture, radio or television
artist, or a musician, or as an athlete, from his personal activities as such exercised
in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other State.
2. Where income in
respect of personal activities exercised by an entertainer or an athlete in his
capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or athlete himself but to
another person, that income may, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7,
14 and 15, be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the
entertainer or athlete are exercised.
3. Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, income derived by entertainers or athletes
who are residents of a Contracting State from activities in the other
Contracting State under a framework of cultural exchange program between the
Governments of both Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that other
Contracting State.
ARTICLE
18. PENSIONS AND SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS
1. Subject to the
provisions of paragraph 2 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.
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ARTICLE 19. GOVERNMENT
SERVICE
1. (a) Salaries, wages
and other similar remunerations, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting
State or local governments or local authorities or governmental local entities
thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or
government or authority or entity shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such
salaries, wages and other similar remunerations shall be taxable only in the
other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that Contracting State
and the individual is a resident of that Contracting State who:
(i) is a national of that
Contracting State; or
(ii) did not become a
resident of that Contracting State solely for the purpose of rendering the services.
2. (a) Any pension paid
by a Contracting State or local government or local authority or governmental
local entity thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that
State or government or authority or entity 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 of, and a national of, that other Contracting State.
3. The provisions of
Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 shall apply to salaries, wages and other similar
remuneration and pensions in respect of services rendered in connection with a
business carried on by a Contracting State or government or authority or entity
thereof.
ARTICLE 20. STUDENTS
AND APPRENTICES
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(a) payments derived from
sources outside that State for the purpose of his maintenance, education,
research or training;
(b) Scholarships supplied
by the Government of the Contracting State; and
(c) Notwithstanding the
provisions of Articles 14 and 15, payment, not exceed 1.5000 US Dollars or its
equivalent in the currency of the Contracting State, derived from service
activities of that person in a taxable year.
ARTICLE 21. OTHER
INCOME
1. 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 in that State.
2. 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.
3. Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, items of income of a resident of a
Contracting State not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement,
arising in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other State.
ARTICLE 22. CAPITAL
(PROPERTY)
1. Capital (property)
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.
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3. Capital (property)
represented by ships and aircraft operated in international traffic and by
movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships and aircraft, shall
be taxable only in the State in which the enterprise is registered.
ARTICLE 23. METHODS
FOR ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE TAXATION
1. In the case of
Vietnam, the double taxation shall be avoided as follows:
(a) Where a resident of
Vietnam derives income or owns property, profits or gains from the alienation
of property which under the law of the United Arab Emirates and in accordance
with this Agreement may be taxed in the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam shall
allow as a credit against its tax on the income or capital (property) an amount
equal to the tax paid in the United Arab Emirates. The amount of credit,
however, shall not exceed the amount of Vietnamese tax on that income, profits
or gains derived from the alienation of property in accordance with the
taxation laws and regulations of Vietnam.
(b) Where a resident of
Vietnam derives income or owns property which, in accordance with the provisions
of this Agreement, shall be only taxed in the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, in
calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income of such resident, may
take into account the exempted income.
2. In the case of the
United Arab Emirates, the double taxation shall be avoided as follows:
(a) Where a resident of
the United Arab Emirates derives items of income which, in accordance with the
provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates
shall allow as a deduction from the tax on the income of that resident an
amount equal to the tax paid in Vietnam.
Such deduction shall not,
however, exceed that part of the tax, as computed before the deduction is
given, which is attributable to such items of income that may be taxed in
Vietnam.
(b) Where in accordance
with any provision of the Agreement income derived by a resident of the United
Arab Emirates is exempt from tax in Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates may
nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income, take
into account the exempted income.
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(d) For the purpose of
sub-paragraph 2(a.) of this Article, the income tax paid in Vietnam by a
resident of the United Arab Emirates in respect of business profits earned in
Vietnam shall be deemed to include any amount of tax which would have been
payable as Vietnamese tax for any year but for an exemption from or a reduction
of tax granted for that year or any part thereof as a result of the application
of the provisions of Vietnamese law designed to extend time limited tax
incentives to promote foreign investment for development purpose.
ARTICLE 24.
NON-DISCRIMINATION
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Except where the
provisions of Article 9, paragraph 6 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.
4. 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.
5. Nothing contained in
this Article shall be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to an
individual who is not a resident of that State any personal allowances, reliefs
and reductions for taxation purposes due to civil obligations or family responsibilities
which it grants to its own residents.
6. The provisions of this
Article shall apply only to the taxes which are the subject of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 25. MUTUAL
AGREEMENT PROCEDURE
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2. The competent
authority shall endeavor, 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
this Agreement. Any agreement reached shall be implemented
notwithstanding any time limits in the domestic laws of the Contracting States.
3. 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 the Agreement.
4. 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.
ARTICLE
26. EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
1. The competent
authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is
foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Agreement or to
the administration or enforcement of the domestic laws concerning taxes of
every kind and description imposed on behalf of the Contracting States, or of
their political subdivisions or local authorities, insofar as the taxation
thereunder is not contrary to the Agreement.
2. Any information
received under paragraph 1 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) concerned with the assessment or collection of, the
enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in
relation to the taxes referred to in paragraph 1, or the oversight of the
above. 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.
3. In no case shall the
provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting
State the obligation:
(a) to carry out
administrative measures at variance with the laws and 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;
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4. If information is
requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this Article, the other
Contracting State shall use its information gathering measures to obtain the
requested information, even though that other State may not need such
information for its own tax purposes The obligation contained in the preceding
sentence is subject to the limitations of paragraph 3 but in no case shall such
limitations be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply
information solely because it has no domestic interest in such information
unless there is no such information.
ARTICLE 27. DIPLOMATIC
MISSIONS AND CONSULAR POSTS
Nothing in this Agreement
shall affect the fiscal privileges of diplomatic missions or consular posts,
under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special
agreements.
ARTICLE 28. ENTRY INTO
FORCE
1. Each of the
Contracting States shall notify to the other in writing through the diplomatic
channel the completion of the procedures required by its legislation for the
entry into force of this Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on
the date of the later of these notifications.
2. This Agreement shall
have effect:
(a) In the case of
Vietnam:
(i) in respect of taxes
withheld at source, in relation to taxable amount derived on or after the first
day of January following the calendar year in which the Agreement enters into
force, and in subsequent calendar years;
(ii) in respect of other
Vietnamese taxes, in relation to income, profits or gains arising on or after
the first day of January following the calendar year in which the Agreement
enters into force, and in subsequent calendar years;
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(i) in respect of taxes
withheld at source, in relation to taxable amount derived on or after the first
day of January following the calendar year in which the Agreement enters into
force, and in subsequent calendar years;
(ii) in respect of other
UAE taxes, in relation to income, profits or gains arising on or after the
first day of January following the calendar year in which the Agreement enters
into force, and in subsequent calendar years.
ARTICLE 29.
TERMINATION
This Agreement shall
remain in force until terminated by one of the Contracting States. Either Contracting
State may terminate the Agreement, through diplomatic channels, by giving to
the other Contracting State written notice of termination at least six months
before the end of any calendar year beginning after the expiry of five years
from the date of entry into force of the Agreement. In such event, the
Agreement shall cease to have effect:
(a) In the case of
Vietnam:
(i) in respect of taxes
withheld at source, in relation to taxable amount derived on or after the first
day of January following the calendar year in which the notice of termination
is given;
(ii) in respect of other
Vietnamese taxes, in relation to income, profits, gains or capital arising on
or after the first day of January in the calendar year in which the notice of
termination is given;
(b) in the case of the
United Arab Emirates:
(i) in respect of taxes
withheld at source to income derived on or after the first day of January in
the year next following that in which the notice of termination is given;
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by their
respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai this 16th day of February
2009 in the English language.
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
VICE MINISTER OF FINANCE
Tran Xuan Ha
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
Obaid Humaid Al Tayer
PROTOCOL
At the moment of signing
the Agreement between the Government of the United Arab Emirates and the
Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the avoidance of double
taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income
and on capital, the undersigned have agreed upon the following provisions which
shall form an integral part of the Agreement.
1. With reference to
subparagraph 3c), Article 5:
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(ii) In the United Arab
Emirates, nothing in this Agreement shall affect the right of the United Arab
Emirates, or any of its local governments or local authorities thereof, to
apply its domestic law and regulations related to the taxation of income and
profits derived from hydrocarbons and its associated activities situated in the
territory of the United Arab Emirates.
2. Any other provision to
promote economic development in Vietnam, which may subsequently be introduced,
granting exemption from or deduction of Vietnamese tax which is agreed by the
competent authority of the Contracting States to be of a substantially similar
character, it has not been modified thereafter or has been modified only in
minor respects so as not to affect its general character.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by their
respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai this 16th day of February 2009
in the English language
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF
THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM
VICE MINISTER OF FINANCE
Tran Xuan Ha
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCIAL AFFAIRS
Obaid Humaid Al Tayer