notification no. 14/2020 f.no. 503/02/2012 ftd ii / so 1009 e

् ,ु् MINISTRY OF FINANCE (Department of Revenue) NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 4th March, 2020 S.O. 1009(E).—Whereas, an Agreement between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Brunei Darussalam for the exchange of information and assistance in collection with respect of taxes (hereinafter referred to as the said Agreement) as set out in the annexure to this notification, was signed at New Delhi, India on the 28th day of February, 2019; And whereas, the said Agreement entered into force on the 30th January, 2020 being the thirtieth day after the date of the later of the notifications of the completion of the procedures required by the respective laws for bringing into force the said Agreement, in accordance with Article 12 of the said Agreement; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby notifies that all the provisions of the said Agreement, as annexed hereto, shall have effect in the Union of India. ANNEXURE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN AND YANG DI-PERTUAN OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE IN COLLECTION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES 12 THE GAZETTE OF INDIA : EXTRAORDINARY [PART II—SEC. 3(ii)] The Government of the Republic of India and the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di- Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, desiring to facilitate the exchange of information and assistance in collection with respect to taxes, have agreed as follows: Article 1 Object and Scope of the Agreement The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall provide assistance through exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting Parties concerning taxes covered by this Agreement. Such information shall include information that is foreseeably relevant to the determination, assessment and collection of such taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the investigation or prosecution of tax matters. Information shall be exchanged in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and shall be treated as confidential in the manner provided in Article 8. The competent authorities shall also lend assistance to each other in the collection of tax claims. The rights and safeguards secured to persons by the laws or administrative practice of the requested Party remain applicable to the extent that they do not unduly prevent or delay effective exchange of information. Article 2 Jurisdiction A Contracting Party is not obligated to provide information which is neither held by its authorities nor in the possession or control of persons who are within its territorial jurisdiction. Article 3 Taxes Covered 1. The taxes which are the subject of this Agreement are: (a) in the case of Brunei Darussalam, all taxes imposed or administered by the Government of Brunei Darussalam; (b) in the case of India, taxes of every kind and description imposed by the Central Government or the Governments of political subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied. 2. This Agreement shall also apply to any identical taxes imposed after the date of signature of this Agreement in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. This Agreement shall also apply to any substantially similar taxes imposed after the date of signature of the Agreement in addition to or in place of the existing taxes if the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties so agree. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall notify each other of any substantial changes to the taxation and related information gathering measures and assistance in collection measures which may affect the obligations of that Party pursuant to this Agreement. Article 4 Definitions 1. For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise defined: (a) the term “Brunei Darussalam” means the territory of Brunei Darussalam including its territorial sea, extending to the airspace above such territory, over which it exercises sovereignty, and the maritime area beyond its territorial sea, including sea-bed and subsoil, which has been or may hereafter be designated under the laws of Brunei Darussalam as an area over which it exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with international law; (b) the term “India” means the territory of India and includes the territorial sea and airspace above it, as well as any other maritime zone in which India has sovereign rights and jurisdiction, according to the Indian law and in accordance with international law, including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea; (c) the term “Contracting Party” means Brunei Darussalam or India as the context requires; (d) the term “competent authority” means (i) in the case of Brunei Darussalam, the Minister of Finance or his authorized representative; [भाग II— खण् ड 3(ii)] भारत का राजपत्र : ऄसाधारण 13 (ii) in the case of India, the Finance Minister, Government of India, or his authorized representative; (e) 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 Parties; (f) the term “company” means any body corporate or any entity that is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; (g) the term “publicly traded company” means any company whose principal class of shares is listed on a recognised stock exchange provided its listed shares can be readily purchased or sold by the public. Shares can be purchased or sold “by the public” if the purchase or sale of shares is not implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors; (h) the term “principal class of shares” means the class or classes of shares representing a majority of the voting power and value of the company; (i) the term “recognised stock exchange” means the National Stock Exchange of India, the Bombay Stock Exchange, any other stock exchange recognised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, and any other stock exchange agreed upon by the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties; (j) the term “collective investment fund or scheme” means any pooled investment vehicle, irrespective of legal form; (k) the term “public collective investment fund or scheme” means any collective investment fund or scheme provided the units, shares or other interests in the fund or scheme can be readily purchased, sold or redeemed by the public. Units, shares or other interests in the fund or scheme can be readily purchased, sold or redeemed “by the public” if the purchase, sale or redemption is not implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors; (l) the term “tax” means any tax to which this Agreement applies; (m) the term “requesting Party” means the Contracting Party requesting information or submitting a request for assistance in collection of tax to the requested Party; (n) the term “requested Party” means the Contracting Party requested to provide information or assistance in collection of tax; (o) the term “information gathering measures” means laws and administrative or judicial procedures that enable a Contracting Party to obtain and provide the requested information; (p) the term “assistance in collection measures” means laws and administrative or judicial procedures as provided by the domestic law of a Contracting Party that enable the Contracting Party to collect and remit the requested tax claim; and (q) the term “information” means any fact, statement, document or record in whatever form. 2. As regards the application of this Agreement at any time by a Contracting Party, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires or the competent authorities agree to a common meaning pursuant to the provisions of Article 11 of this Agreement, have the meaning that it has at that time under the law of that Party, any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that Party prevailing over a meaning given to the term under other laws of that Party. Article 5 Exchange of Information Upon Request 1. The competent authority of the requested Party shall provide upon request information for the purposes referred to in Article 1. Such information shall be exchanged without regard to whether the requested Party needs such information for its own tax purposes or whether the conduct being investigated would constitute a crime under the laws of the requested Party if such conduct occurred in the requested Party. 2. If the information in the possession of the competent authority of the requested Party is not sufficient to enable it to comply with the request for information, that Party shall use all relevant information gathering