Published: 2005-04-01
Key Benefits:
(under section 53(2))
(1st April, 2005)
ARRANGEMENT OF PARAGRAPHS
PARAGRAPH
1. Citation
2. Approval and effective date of commencement
Schedule
S.I. 21, 2005,
Act 14, 2006.
WHEREAS by section 53(1) of the Income Tax Act (Cap. 52:01) the Minister of Finance and Development Planning is authorized to enter into an agreement on behalf of Government with the government of any other country with a view to, among other things, the prevention, mitigation or discontinuance of double taxation;
AND WHEREAS in pursuance of the provisions of the said section 53(1) of the Income Tax Act, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning has, on behalf of Government, entered into an Agreement with the Government of the Republic of Barbados for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains;
AND WHEREAS it is provided by section 53(2) of the Income Tax Act that an agreement entered into in accordance with section 53(1) of the Income Tax Act shall by order be laid before the National Assembly, and shall not take effect unless approved by resolution of the National Assembly;
NOW THEREFORE in pursuance of the provisions of the said section 53 (2) the following Order is hereby made—
This Order may be cited as the Botswana-Barbados Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement Order.
2. Approval and effective date of commencement
The Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement set out in the Schedule hereto between the Government of the Republic of Botswana and the Government of the Republic of Barbados is presented to the National Assembly for approval and shall, upon approval, take effect from the date specified in the Agreement.
SCHEDULE
The Government of the Republic of Botswana and the Government of the Republic of Barbados desiring to conclude a Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains, have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1
Persons Covered
This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.
ARTICLE 2
Taxes Covered
1. The existing taxes to which this Convention shall apply are:
(a) in Botswana:
(i) the income tax including any withholding tax, prepayment or advance tax payment with respect to aforesaid tax; and
(ii) the capital gains tax;
(hereinafter referred to as "Botswana tax");
(b) in Barbados:
(i) the income tax (including premium income tax);
(ii) the corporation tax (including the tax on branch profits); and
(iii) the petroleum winning operations tax;
(hereinafter referred to as "Barbados tax").
2. Nothing in this Convention shall limit the right of either Contracting State to charge tax on the profits of a mineral enterprise at an effective rate different from that charged on the profits of any other enterprise. The term "a mineral enterprise" means an enterprise carrying on the business of mining.
3. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Convention, where Botswana tax is paid or payable in accordance with a Tax Agreement entered into in terms of the provisions of the Botswana Income Tax Act, this Convention shall not apply except to such an extent as may be provided in such Tax Agreement.
4. The Convention shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Convention in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any substantial changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws.
ARTICLE 3
General Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) the term "Botswana" means the Republic of Botswana;
(b) the term "Barbados" means the island of Barbados and the territorial waters thereof, including any area outside such territorial waters which in accordance with international law and the laws of Barbados is an area within which the rights of Barbados with respect to the seabed and subsoil and their natural resources may be exercised;
(c) the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;
(d) the term "competent authority" means:
(i) in Botswana, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, represented by the Commissioner General of the Botswana Unified Revenue Service;
(ii) in Barbados, the Minister responsible for Finance or his authorized representative;
(e) the terms "a Contracting State'' and ``the other Contracting State" mean Botswana or Barbados as the context requires;
(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 "international traffic" means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise that has its place of effective management in a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State;
(h) term ''competent authority'' means:
(i) in the case of Botswana, the Minister of Finance and Development Planning, represented by the Commissioner General of Taxes;
(ii) in the case of France, the Minister in charge of the budget or his authorised representative.
(i) 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.
2. As regards the application of the Convention at any time by a Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has at that time under the law of that State for the purposes of the taxes to which the Convention 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 Convention, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a similar nature. This term, however does not include any person who is liable to tax in that State in respect only of income from sources in that State.
2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows:
(a) he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both States, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (center of vital interests);
(b) if the State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either State, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has an habitual abode;
(c) if he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State of which he is a national;
(d) if he is a national of neither State, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement.
3. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 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 Convention, 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;
(c) an office;
(d) a factory;
(e) a workshop; and
(f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction or exploitation of natural resources.
3. The term "permanent establishment" likewise encompasses:
(a) a building site, construction, assembly, installation project or supervisory activity in connection with such site or activity but only where such site, project or activity continues for a period of more than six months;
(b) an installation, structure or ship used for the exploration of natural resources, only if it lasts for a period of more than six months;
(c) the furnishing of services, including consultancy services, by an enterprise through employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise for such purpose, but only where activities of that nature continue (for the same or connected project) within the Contracting State for a period or periods aggregating more than 183 days in any twelve month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned.
4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the term "permanent establishment" shall be deemed not to include:
(a) the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, or display of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise;
(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;
(f) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in sub-paragraphs (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 6 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 person -
(a) has, and habitually exercises in that State an authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise;
(b) has no such authority, but habitually maintains in the first-mentioned Contracting State a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise from which he regularly makes orders or makes deliveries on behalf of the enterprise;
unless the activities of such persons 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.
6. An enterprise shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that 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.
7. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, an insurance enterprise of a Contracting State shall, except in regard to reinsurance, be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State if it collects premiums in the territory of that other State or insures risks situated therein through a person other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 6 applies.
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 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 are attributable to that permanent establishment.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, where an enterprise of a Contracting State which has a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State carries on business activities in that other State otherwise than through the permanent establishment, of the same or similar kind as the business activities carried on by the permanent establishment, then the profits of such activities may be attributable to the permanent establishment unless the enterprise shows that such activities could not have been reasonably undertaken by the permanent establishment.
3. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 4, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, there shall in each Contracting State be attributed to that permanent establishment the profits which it might be expected to make if it were a distinct and separate enterprise engaged in the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently with the enterprise of which it is a permanent establishment.
4. 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 the 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 head office of the enterprise or any of its other offices.
5. 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 3 shall preclude that 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.
6. No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the enterprise.
7. 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.
8. Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Convention, then the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article.
ARTICLE 8
International Transport
1. Profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
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.
ARTICLE 9
Associated Enterprises
1. Where
(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 reason of those conditions, have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly.
2. Where a Contracting State includes in the profits of an enterprise of that State, and taxes accordingly, profits on which an enterprise of the other Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other State and the profits so included are profits which would have accrued to the enterprise of the first-mentioned State if the conditions made between the two enterprises had been those which would have been made between independent enterprises, then that other State shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of the tax charged therein on those profits. In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this Convention and the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall if necessary consult each other.
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 recipient is the beneficial owner of the dividends the tax so charged shall not exceed:
(a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company which holds directly at least 25 per cent of the capital of the company paying the dividends;
(b) 12 per cent 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.
3. The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from 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 making the distribution is a resident.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 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.
5. 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 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.
6. Where a company, which is a resident of a Contracting State having a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State, derives profits or income from that permanent establishment, any remittances or deemed remittances of such profits or income by the permanent establishment to the company which is a resident of the first-mentioned Contracting State may, notwithstanding any other provisions of the Convention, be taxed in accordance with the law of the other Contracting State, but the rate of tax imposed on such remittance shall not exceed 5 per cent.
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 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.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest arising in the Contracting State and paid to the Government of the other Contracting State or an agency or instrumentality thereof, shall be exempt from tax in the first-mentioned Contracting State. For the purposes of this paragraph the term "Government" shall include the Central Bank of Botswana, the Central Bank of Barbados and any other similar institution as may be agreed upon by the competent authorities of the 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. Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purpose of this Article.
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 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 Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, 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 payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.
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 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 recipient is the beneficial owner of the royalties, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.
3. The term "royalties" as used in this Article means payments 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, discs or tapes for radio or television broadcasting, any patent trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or 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 permanent establishment or fixed base. 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 that State itself, a political subdivision, a local authority or 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.
6. 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 royalties, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are 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 Convention.
ARTICLE 13
Capital Gains
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, or from the alienation of shares in a company the assets of which consist principally of such property, 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 a 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 derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic, or from movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft, shall be taxable only in that State.
4. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, and 3, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 4, gains from the alienation of shares or other corporate rights of a company which is a resident of one of the Contracting States derived by an individual who was a resident of that State and who after acquiring such shares or rights has become a resident of the other Contracting State, may be taxed in the first- mentioned State if the alienation of the shares or other corporate rights occur at any time during the six years next following the date on which the individual has ceased to be resident of that first-mentioned State.
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. However, such income may be taxed in the other Contracting State in the following circumstances:
(a) if he has a fixed base regularly available to him in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities; in that case, only so much of the income as is attributable to that fixed base may be taxed in that other Contracting State; or
(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 12 month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned; in that case, only so much of the income as is derived from the activity exercised in the other Contracting State during the aforesaid period or periods be taxed in that other State.
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 12 month period; 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.
3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration derived in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship or aircraft operated in international traffic by a resident of a Contracting State may be taxed in that State.
ARTICLE 16
Directors' Fees
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 of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
ARTICLE 17
Entertainers and Sportspersons
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or a musician, or as a sportsperson, 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 a sportsperson in his capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsperson 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 sportsperson are exercised.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to income derived from activities performed in a Contracting State by entertainers or sportspersons if the visit to that State is wholly or mainly supported by public funds of the other Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof. In such a case the income shall be taxable only in the State of which the entertainer or sportsperson is a resident.
ARTICLE 18
Pensions and Annuities
1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other similar remuneration, and annuities arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in the first-mentioned Contracting State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, pensions and other similar payments made under the social security legislation of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
3. The term "annuity" means a stated sum payable periodically at stated times during the life or during a specified or ascertainable period of time under an obligation to make the payments in return for adequate and full consideration of money's worth.
ARTICLE 19
Government Service
1. (a) Remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or subdivision or authority shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that State and the individual is a resident of that State who:-
(i) is a national of that State; or
(ii) did not become a resident of that State solely for the purpose of rendering the services.
2. Any pension paid by, or out of the funds created by, a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that State or subdivision or authority:
(a) shall be taxable only in that State; and
(b) shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the individual is a resident of, and a national of, that State.
3. The provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18 shall apply to remuneration and pensions in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof.
ARTICLE 20
Students
1. Payments which a student, apprentice or business trainee, who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State and who is present in the first-mentioned State solely for the purpose of his education or training, receives for the purpose of his maintenance, education or training shall not be taxed in that State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that State.
2. In respect of grants or scholarships not covered by paragraph 1, a student or business apprentice referred to in paragraph 1 shall be entitled to the same exemptions, reliefs or reductions in respect of taxes available to residents of the first-mentioned Contracting State.
ARTICLE 21
Technical Fees
1. Technical fees arising in a Contracting State which are derived by a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. However, such technical fees may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise, and according to the law of that State; but where such technical fees are derived by a resident of the other Contracting State who is subject to tax in that State in respect thereof, the tax charged in the Contracting State in which the technical fees arise shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of such fees.
3. The term "technical fees" as used in this Article means payments of any kind to any person, other than to an employee of the person making the payments, in consideration for any services of an administrative, technical, managerial or consultancy nature.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the technical fees, being resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the technical fees arise, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the technical fees are effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such a case, the provisions of Articles 7 or 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
5. Technical fees shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State, a political subdivision, a local authority or a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the technical fees, whether he is resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment or fixed base in connection with which the obligation to pay the technical fees was incurred, and such technical fees are borne by that permanent establishment or fixed base, then such technical fees shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
6. 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 technical fees paid exceeds, for whatever reason, 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 law of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.
7. Notwithstanding the provisions in paragraph 2, where in any future Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion entered into by the first-mentioned Contracting State with any other State (not being the other Contracting State in the present Convention) the rate of tax specified in the Article relating to technical fees is a rate less than 10 per cent, such lower rate shall apply as if it had been the rate specified in this Article.
ARTICLE 22
Professors and Teachers
1. An individual who has been resident in a Contracting State immediately before travelling to the other Contracting State, and who, at the invitation of a school, university, or other similar non-profit educational institution, remains in that other State for a period not exceeding two years from the date of his first arrival in that State, for the purpose of teaching or carrying out research, or both, in such educational institutions, shall be exempt from tax in that other State with respect to the remuneration received for such teaching or research.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be applicable to the remuneration received for teaching or research work if such is not carried out for the public good.
ARTICLE 23
Other Income
1. Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State wherever arising not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Convention shall be taxable only 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 the Convention and arising in the other Contracting State may also be taxed in that other State.
ARTICLE 24
Elimination of Double Taxation
1. In the case of Botswana, subject to the provisions of the laws of Botswana regarding the allowance of a credit against Botswana tax of tax payable under the laws of a country outside Botswana, double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:
(a) tax payable under the laws of Barbados and in accordance with this Convention, whether directly or by deduction, on profits or income shall be allowed as a credit against any Botswana tax payable in respect of the same profits or income by reference to which the Barbados tax is computed;
(b) the amount of such credit referred to in paragraph 1(a) shall not exceed the amount of the Botswana tax payable on that income in accordance with the laws of Botswana.
2. In the case of Barbados, subject to the provisions of the laws of Barbados regarding the allowance as a credit against Barbados tax of tax payable in a territory outside Barbados double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:
(a) tax payable under the laws of Botswana and in accordance with this Convention, whether directly or by deduction, on profits or income from sources within Botswana (excluding in the case of a dividend tax payable in respect of the profits out of which the dividend is paid) shall be allowed as a credit against any Barbados tax computed by reference to the same profits or income in respect of which the Botswana tax is computed;
(b) in the case of a dividend paid by a company that is a resident of a Contracting State to a company that is a resident of the other Contracting State which holds directly at least 25 per cent of the capital of the company paying the dividend, the credit referred to in paragraph 2(a) shall take into account, tax payable by the company paying the dividend in respect of the profits out of which such dividend is paid; and
(c) the credit referred to in paragraph 2(b) shall in no case exceed the part of the tax as computed before the credit is given, which is appropriate to the income which may be taxed in Botswana.
ARTICLE 25
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 are or may be subjected. This provision shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, also apply to persons who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States.
2. The taxation on a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State shall not be less favourably levied in that other State than the taxation levied on enterprises of that other State carrying on the same activities. This provision shall not be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents.
3. Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 7 of Article 11, paragraph 6 of Article 12, or paragraph 6 of Article 21 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. The provisions of this Article shall not be construed to prevent Barbados from applying its tax on branch profits at the rate specified under the Income Tax Act.
5. 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.
6. This Article shall apply to taxes which are the subject of this Convention.
ARTICLE 26
Mutual Agreement Procedure
1. Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident or, if his case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 25, to that of the Contracting State of which he is a national. The case must be presented within three years from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of the Convention.
2. The competent authority shall endeavour, 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 the Convention. Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits in the domestic law of the Contracting States.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of the Convention. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Convention.
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 27
Exchange of Information
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Convention insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Article 1. Any information received 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 covered by the Convention. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for the purposes herein mentioned. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.
2. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 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;
(c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or information, the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).
3. The competent authorities should, through consultation, develop appropriate conditions, methods and techniques concerning the matters respecting which such exchange<bd> of information should be made, as well as exchange information regarding tax avoidance where appropriate.
ARTICLE 28
Members of Diplomatic Missions and Consular Posts
Nothing in this Convention shall affect the fiscal privileges of members of diplomatic missions or consular posts under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.
ARTICLE 29
Entry into Force
1. Each Contracting State shall notify the other of the completion of the procedures required by its law for the entering into force of this Agreement. The Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the later of the two notifications.
2. The provisions of the Convention shall apply:
(a) in Botswana, in respect of income tax and capital gains tax, on taxable income or gains derived on or after the first day of July of the year following that of the entry into force of this Convention;
(b) in Barbados, in respect of income tax, on taxable income derived on or after the first day of January of the year following that of the entry into force of this Convention.
ARTICLE 30
Termination
1. This Convention shall remain in force indefinitely, but either of the Contracting States may terminate the Convention through diplomatic channels, by giving the other Contracting State written notice of the termination not later than the thirtieth day of June of any calendar year starting five years after the year in which the Convention entered into force.
2. In such event the Convention shall cease to have effect:
(a) in Botswana, in respect of income tax and capital gains tax, on taxable income or gains derived on or after the first day of July of the year following that in which the notice of termination is given;
(b) in Barbados, in respect of taxes on income derived during any calendar year, or fiscal period, as the case may be, beginning on or after the first day of January immediately following the date on which the notice of termination is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Convention.
DONE at Bridgetown this 23rd day of February, 2005 in duplicate in the English language.
Hon. Phandu T.C. Skelemani
For the Government of
The Republic of Botswana
Hon. Dale D. Marshall
For the Government of
Barbados
