The Government of the Republic of Singapore and the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh,

    Desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income,

    Have agreed as follows:

    This Agreement shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

1.  This Agreement shall apply to taxes on income imposed on behalf of each Contracting State or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.

2.  There shall be regarded as taxes on income all taxes imposed on total income or on elements of income, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable property.

3.  The existing taxes to which this Agreement shall apply are:

4.  This Agreement shall also apply to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are subsequently imposed in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify to each other any significant changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws and furnish copies of relevant enactments and regulations.

5.  If by reason of changes made in the taxation law of either Contracting States, it seems desirable to amend any article of this Agreement without affecting the general principles thereof, the necessary amendments may be made by mutual consent by means of an exchange of diplomatic notes or in any other manner in accordance with their constitutional procedures.

1.  In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:

2.  As regards the application of this Agreement by a Contracting State, any term not otherwise defined shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has under the laws of that Contracting State relating to the taxes which are the subject of this Agreement.

1.  For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “a resident of a Contracting State” means any person who is resident in a Contracting State for tax purposes of that Contracting State.

2.  Where by reasons of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his case shall be determined in accordance with the following rules:

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 of the State in which its place of effective management is situated.

1.  For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “permanent establishment” means a fixed place of business in which the business of the enterprise is wholly or partly carried on.

2.  The term “permanent establishment” shall include especially:

3.  The term “permanent establishment” shall not be deemed to include:

4.  A person acting in one of the Contracting States for or on behalf of an enterprise of the other Contracting State — other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 5 of this Article applies — shall be deemed to be a permanent establishment in the first-mentioned State, if —

5.  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 State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, where such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business and their activities do not fall within the scope of paragraph 4(c) above.

6.  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 make either company a permanent establishment of the other.

7.  An enterprise of a Contracting State shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State if it carries on a business which consists of providing the services of public entertainers (such as stage, motion picture, radio or television artistes and musicians) or athletes in that other Contracting State unless such services are provided within the scope of a cultural or sports exchange programme agreed to by both the Contracting States.

1.  Income from immovable property may be taxed in the Contracting State in which such property is situated.

2.  The term “immovable property” shall be defined in accordance with 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, forestry and fishery rights to which the provisions of general law respecting landed property apply, usufruct of immovable property and rights to variable or fixed payments in cash or kind 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.

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 that permanent establishment.

2.  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. In any case, where the correct amount of profits attributable to a permanent establishment is incapable of determination or the ascertaining thereof presents exceptional difficulties, the profits attributable to the permanent establishment may be computed on a reasonable basis.

3.  In the determination of the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses which are incurred for the purposes 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, but this does not include any expenses which, under the law of that State would not be allowed to be deducted by an enterprise of that State.

4.  In so far 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 that Contracting State from determining the profits to be taxed by such apportionment as may be customary; the method of apportionment adopted shall, however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the principles laid down 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 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.

7.  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.

1.  Income derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the operation of aircraft shall be taxable only in that Contracting State unless the aircraft is operated wholly or mainly between places within the other Contracting State.

2.  The provisions of paragraph 1 shall likewise apply in respect of income derived from participation in pools of any kind by enterprises engaged in air transport.

1.  Income of an enterprise of a Contracting State derived from the other Contracting State from the operation of ships in international traffic may be taxed in that other Contracting State, but the tax chargeable in that other Contracting State on such income shall be reduced by an amount equal to fifty per cent of such tax.

2.  For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, income derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the operation of ships from the other Contracting State shall mean income from the carriage of passenger, mail, livestock or goods shipped in that other Contracting State.

3.  The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall likewise apply in respect of participation in pools of any kind by an enterprise of either Contracting State engaged in shipping.

    Where —

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 law of that State, but if a resident of the other Contracting State is the beneficial owner of the dividends, the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends. The provisions of this paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid.

3.  The limitation of tax to 15 per cent of the gross amount of dividends mentioned in paragraph 2 refers to the tax imposed on dividends in addition to the tax imposed on the profits of a company.

4.  The term “dividends” as used in this Article means income from shares, mining shares, founders’ shares or other rights, not being debt-claims, participating in profits, as well as income assimilated to income from shares by the taxation law of the State of which the company making the distribution is a resident.

5.  The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the recipient 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 with which the holding by virtue of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected. In such a case, the provisions of Article 7 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 State or insofar as the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment 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.

7.  Dividends shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State if the dividends are paid by a company which is resident in that Contracting State.

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.

3.  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 governmental 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.

4.  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, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In such a case, the provisions of Article 7 shall apply.

5.  Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, a political sub-division, a local or statutory 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 in connection with which the indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment 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 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.

1.  Royalties arising in a Contracting State which are derived and beneficially owned by 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 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 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 of this Article 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 and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In such a case, the provisions of Article 7 shall apply.

5.  Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State where the payer is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local or statutory 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 in connection with which the obligation to pay the royalties was incurred and the royalties are borne by that permanent establishment, then the royalties shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment 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 a 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.

1.  Capital gains from the alienation of immovable property, as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, or from alienation of shares in a company the assets of which consist principally of such property, may be taxed in the Contracting State in which such property is situated.

2.  Capital 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 together with the whole enterprise) or of such a fixed base, may be taxed in the other State.

3.  Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article, capital gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships and aircraft operated in international traffic and movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships and aircraft shall be taxable only in that Contracting State.

4.  Capital gains from the alienation of any property other than those mentioned in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.

1.  Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18 and 19, salaries, wages and other similar remuneration or income derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of personal (including professional) services shall be taxable only in that State unless the services are rendered in the other Contracting State. If the services are so rendered, such remuneration or income as is derived therefrom may be taxed in that other State.

2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, remuneration or income derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of services rendered in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State if:

3.  Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship 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.

    Directors’ fees and 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.

1.  Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 15, income derived by entertainers, such as theatre, motion picture, radio or television artistes, and musicians, and by athletes, from their personal activities as such may be taxed in the Contracting State in which these activities are exercised.

2.  Where income in respect of personal activities as such of an entertainer or athlete accrues not to that entertainer or athlete himself but to another person, that income may, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 7, be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the entertainer or athlete 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 athletes if the visit to that Contracting State is wholly or substantially supported by public funds of the other Contracting State, including any local authority or statutory body thereof.

    Pensions and other similar remuneration other than pensions referred to in Article 19, derived from a Contracting State in consideration of past employment may be taxed in both the Contracting States.

1.  Remuneration, including pensions paid by, or out of funds created by a Contracting State or a local or statutory authority thereof, to any individual who is a citizen of that Contracting State in respect of services rendered to that State or local or statutory authority thereof in the discharge of functions of a governmental nature, shall be taxable only in that State.

2.  The provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18 shall apply to remuneration in respect of an employment in connection with any business carried on by a Contracting State or a local or statutory authority thereof for the purpose of profits.

1.  An individual who was a resident of a Contracting State immediately before visiting the other Contracting State and is temporarily present in that other Contracting State solely —

2.  An individual, who was a resident of a Contracting State immediately before visiting the other Contracting State and is temporarily present in that other Contracting State solely as a trainee for the purpose of acquiring technical, professional or business experience, shall for a period not exceeding two years from the date of his first arrival in that other Contracting State in connection with that visit be exempt from tax in that other Contracting State in respect of —

3.  The benefits of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall not be concurrently cumulative.

    An individual who is a resident of a Contracting State immediately before making a visit to the other Contracting State, and who, at the invitation of any university, college, school or other similar educational institution, which is recognised by the competent authority in that other Contracting State, visits that other Contracting State for a period not exceeding two years solely for the purpose of teaching or research or both at such educational institution shall be exempt from tax in that other Contracting State on his remuneration for such teaching or research.

    The laws in force in each Contracting State shall continue to govern the taxation of income in the respective Contracting States except where express provision to the contrary has been made in this Agreement.

    Where this Agreement provides (with or without other conditions) that income from sources in a Contracting State shall be exempt from tax, or taxed at a reduced rate in that Contracting State and under the laws in force in the other Contracting State the said income is subject to tax by reference to the amount thereof which is remitted to or received in that other Contracting State and not by reference to the full amount thereof, then the exemption or reduction of tax to be allowed under this Agreement in the first-mentioned Contracting State shall apply to so much of the income as is remitted to or received in that other Contracting State.

1.  Subject to the provisions of the laws of Bangladesh regarding the allowance as a credit against Bangladesh tax of tax payable in a territory outside Bangladesh (which shall not affect the general principle hereof), tax payable under the laws of Singapore and in accordance with this Agreement, whether directly or by deduction, on profits, income or chargeable gains from sources within Singapore shall be allowed as a credit against any Bangladesh tax computed by reference to the same profits, income or chargeable gains by reference to which the Singapore tax is computed.

2.  Subject to the provisions of the laws of Singapore regarding the allowance as a credit against Singapore tax of tax payable in a territory outside Singapore (which shall not affect the general principle hereof), tax payable under the laws of Bangladesh and in accordance with this Agreement, whether directly or by deduction, on profits, income or chargeable gains from sources within Bangladesh shall be allowed as a credit against any Singapore tax computed by reference to the same profits, income or chargeable gains by reference to which the Bangladesh tax is computed.

3.  For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2, there shall be deemed to include, as regards —

1.  The 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 and under the same conditions are or may be subjected.

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 in the same circumstances and under the same conditions.

3.  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 Contracting 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 that first-mentioned State are or may be subjected in the same circumstances and under the same conditions.

4.  Nothing contained in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article shall be construed as —

5.  In this Article the term “taxation” means taxes which are the subject of this Agreement.

1.  Where a resident of a Contracting State considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with this Agreement, he may notwithstanding the remedies provided by the national laws of those States, present the case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident. The case must be presented within four years from the date of assessment or of the withholding of tax at the source whichever is later.

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 an appropriate 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 not in accordance with this Agreement. If an agreement is reached, it shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits prescribed in the tax laws of the Contracting States.

3.  The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulty or doubt arising as to the interpretation or application of this Agreement. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in this Agreement.

4.  The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of applying the provisions of this Agreement.

1.  The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Agreement. Any information so exchanged shall be treated as secret and shall not be disclosed to any persons or authorities other than those concerned with the assessment or collection of the taxes which are the subject of this Agreement or the determination of appeals or the prosecution of offences in relation thereto.

2.  In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:

    Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the fiscal privileges of diplomatic or consular officials under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.

    The Agreement shall come into force on the date ^*when the last of all such things shall have been done in Bangladesh and Singapore as are necessary to give the Agreement the force of law in Bangladesh and Singapore respectively, and shall thereupon have effect for any year of assessment commencing on or after the first day of January 1980.

    This Agreement shall continue in force indefinitely but either of the Contracting States may, on or before the thirtieth day of June in any calendar year after the year 1985 give notice of termination to the other Contracting State and, in such event this Agreement shall cease to be effective for any year of assessment commencing on or after the first day of January in the calendar year following that in which the notice is given.

    IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments have signed this Agreement.

    DONE in duplicate at Singapore this 19th day of December 1980, in the English language.