9 AOUT 2002. - An Act to approve the Additional Convention signed in Singapore on 10 December 1996, amending the Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of Singapore to avoid double taxation on income tax, signed in Singapore on 8 February 1972 (1) (2) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Additional Convention, signed in Singapore on 10 December 1996, amending the Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of Singapore to avoid double taxation on income tax, signed in Singapore on 8 February 1972, will come out its full and full effect.
Promulgate this law, order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Nice, 9 August 2002.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
L. MICHEL
Minister of Finance,
D. REYNDERS
Minister, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ms. A. NEYTS-UYTTEBROECK
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
Mr. VERWILGHEN
____
Note
(1) Session 2001-2002.
Senate.
Documents. - Bill tabled on January 11, 2002. - Report, no. 2-1006/1. - Text adopted by the Commission.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of March 27, 2002. - Vote meeting of 28 March 2002.
House of Representatives
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 50-1724/1. - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion, meeting of May 23, 2002. - Vote, meeting of 23 May 2002.
(2) This Convention entered into force on 4 May 2004.

CONVENTION ADDITIONAL MODIFIANT LA CONVENTION ENTRE LE GUVERNEMENT DU ROYAUME DE BELGIQUE ET LE GOUVERNEMENT DE LA REPUBLIQUE DE SINGAPOUR TENDANT TO EVITER LA DOUBLE IMPOSITION EN MATIERE D'IMPOTS SUR LE REVENU, SIGNEE A SINGAPOUR LE 8 FEVRIER 1972.
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of Singapore,
Desirous of amending the Convention to Avoid Double Taxation on Income Tax signed in Singapore on 8 February 1972 (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"),
The following provisions were agreed:
ARTICLE I^er
The text of Article 5, paragraph 2 of the Convention is deleted and the following substituted:
“2. The term "stable establishment" includes:
(a) a steering seat;
(b) a branch;
(c) an office;
(d) a factory;
(e) a workshop;
(f) a mine, career or other place of exploitation of natural resources;
(g) farm or planting;
(h) a construction or construction site with a duration exceeding six months;
(i) the provision of services, including consultancy services, by a company acting through employees or other personnel engaged by the company for that purpose, but only when such activities continue in the territory of the country for one or more periods exceeding a total of 90 days during a twelve-month period. »
ARTICLE II
The text of Article 11, paragraph 2 of the Convention is deleted and the following substituted:
“2. However, these interests may be imposed in the Contracting State from which they arise and according to the law of that State, but the tax so established cannot exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of interest. »
ARTICLE III
The text of Article 12 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“1. Royalties from a Contracting State and assigned to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other Contracting State.
2. However, these royalties are taxable in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the legislation of that Contracting State, but the tax so charged cannot exceed 5 p.c. of the gross amount of royalties.
3. The term "debtedness" used in this article means the remuneration of any kind paid for the use or concession of the use of a copyright on a literary, artistic or scientific work, including films and films or tapes registered for radio or television, a patent, a drawing or a model, a plan, a formula or a trade-mark or a trade-mark
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficiary of the royalties, a resident of a Contracting State, has in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, a permanent establishment to which the right or property that is generating royalties is effectively connected. In this case, royalties are taxable in accordance with the law of that other State.
5. The royalties shall be deemed to arise from a Contracting State when the debtor is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local authority, a public law body or a resident of that State. However, where the debtor of royalties, whether or not he is a resident of a Contracting State, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment for which the contract giving rise to the payment of royalties has been concluded and which bears directly the charge of such royalties shall be deemed to come from the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is located.
6. If, as a result of special relations between the debtor and the creditor or that both maintain with third parties, the amount of royalties, taking into account the benefit for which they are awarded, exceeds the amount agreed upon by the debtor and the creditor in the absence of such relations, the provisions of this article shall apply only to the latter amount. In this case, the surplus portion of the payments will remain taxable in accordance with the laws of the Contracting State in which royalties arise. »
ARTICLE IV
The text of Article 15 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“1. The fortieth, presence tokens and other similar remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State receives as a member of the board of directors or a similar body of a corporation that is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
This provision also applies to remuneration paid by a corporation that is a resident of Belgium because of the performance of functions that, under Belgian law, are treated as functions of a nature similar to those performed by a person referred to in that provision.
2. Compensation that a person referred to in subsection 1^er receives from the company because of the exercise of a day-to-day management or technical activity and the remuneration that a resident of Singapore derives from his or her personal activity as a partner in a corporation, other than a share-based corporation, that is a resident of Belgium, may be taxed in accordance with the provisions of section 14, as if it were remuneration for personal services. »
ARTICLE V
The text of Article 17 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“1. Subject to the provisions of Article 18, paragraphs 1^er and 2, any pension or annuity paid to a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
2. The term "pension", used in paragraph 1^ermeans periodic payments made in respect of prior employment or compensation for damage suffered.
3. However, pensions and other allowances, whether periodic or unpaid, paid in accordance with the social legislation of a Contracting State or under a general regime organized by that Contracting State to supplement the benefits provided by that legislation, shall be taxable only in that State.
4. The term "rent" means a pre-determined amount payable periodically at fixed maturity, life for or during a specified or determinable period of time, by virtue of a commitment to make payments in exchange for a full and adequate counter-value in money or its equivalent. »
ARTICLE VI
The text of Article 23, paragraph 3 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“3. With regard to Belgium, double taxation is avoided as follows:
(a) Where a Belgian resident receives income that is taxable in Singapore in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, with the exception of those of articles 10, paragraph 2, 11, paragraphs 2 or 6, and 12, paragraphs 2 or 6, Belgium exempts from tax these revenues, but it may, in calculating the amount of its taxes on the rest of the income of that resident, apply the same rate as if the income in question had not been exempted.
(b) (i) Subject to the provisions of Belgian law relating to the imputation on Belgian tax of taxes paid abroad, where a Belgian resident receives income elements that are included in his or her total income subject to Belgian tax and that consist of taxable dividends in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 2, and not exempted from Belgian tax under subsection 6 (c), in taxable interest in accordance with Article 11, paragraph 2
(ii) Belgium also grants an imputation on its tax, in respect of interest and royalties derived from direct investment and included in the total income subject to Belgian tax by its residents, when Singapore's tax can be taken from these income elements in accordance with the provisions of the Convention and Singapore's general legislation, but that no Singapore tax is actually collected under special and temporary measures to promote Singapore's economic development.
This imputation is calculated at the rate of 10 p.c. of the gross amount with respect to interest and at the rate of 5 p.c. of the gross amount with respect to royalties, but does not exceed the fraction of the Belgian tax, calculated before imputation, corresponding to these income elements and only applies for the first five years from the taking of effects of the Additional Convention. However, the competent authorities of the Contracting States may consult to decide whether to extend this period. The term "interests and royalties derived from direct investment" refers to interest paid under borrowings or royalties paid under contracts that are directly and permanently linked to industrial or commercial development projects in Singapore.
(c) Where a corporation that is a resident of Belgium has the ownership of shares or shares of a corporation by shares that is a resident of Singapore, the dividends that are paid to it by the corporation and that are taxable in Singapore in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 2, are exempted from the corporate tax, under the conditions and limits provided for in Belgian law.
(d) Where, in accordance with Belgian law, losses incurred by a company operated by a resident of Belgium in a permanent establishment located in Singapore have been effectively deducted from the profits of the inter-taking for its taxation in Belgium, the exemption provided for in subparagraph (a) does not apply in Belgium to the profits of other taxable periods that are attributable to that establishment, as such profits have also been exempted from Singapore tax. »
ARTICLE VII
The text of Article 24, paragraph 3 of the Convention is deleted and the following substituted:
“3. The imposition of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State is not established in that other Contracting State in a less favourable manner than the taxation of the enterprises of that other Contracting State that exercise the same activity.
This provision cannot be interpreted as preventing Belgium:
(a) to impose at the rate provided by Belgian legislation the benefits of a permanent Belgian establishment of a company that is a resident of Singapore, provided that the above-mentioned rate does not exceed the maximum rate applicable to the whole or to a fraction of the profits of the companies that are residents of Belgium;
(b) to collect the movable pre-payment on the dividends associated with an effective interest in a stable establishment in Belgium that is a resident of Singapore. »
ARTICLE VIII
The text of article 27, paragraph 1^er the Convention is deleted and paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of that article become paragraphs 1^er, 2 and 3.
ARTICLE IX
1. This Additional Convention shall be approved by the two Contracting States in accordance with their respective legal provisions and shall enter into force on the fifteenth day after the date of receipt of the second notifications announcing such approval.
2. The provisions of the Additional Convention shall apply:
(a) in Belgium:
(i) taxes due to the source on the income awarded or paid from 1^er January 1997;
(ii) other taxes on taxable period income ending on 31 December 1997;
(b) in Singapore, all taxes due for taxation years beginning on or after 1^er January 1998.
ARTICLE X
This Additional Convention, which is an integral part of the Convention, will remain in force as long as the Convention itself remains in force.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, duly authorized to do so, have signed this Additional Convention.
Done in Singapore on 10 December 1996 in duplicate, in the English language.

SUPPLEMENTARY AGREEMENT AMENDING THE CONVENTION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME SIGNED AT SINGAPORE ON FEBRUARY 8, 1972
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Republic of Singapore,
Desiring to amend the Convention for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income signed at Singapore on February 8, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as "the Convention")
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE I
The text of paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“2. The term "permanent establishment" shall include especially:
(a) a place of management;
(b) a branch;
(c) an office;
(d) a factory;
(e) a workshop;
(f) a mine, quarry or other place of exploitation of natural resources;
(g) a farm or plantation;
(h) a building site or construction or assembly project which exists for more than six months;
(i) 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 within the country for a period or periods aggregating more than 90 days within a twelve-month period."
ARTICLE II
The text of paragraph 2 of Article 11 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“2. However, such interest may be taxed in the contracting State in which it arises and according to the law of that Contracting State, but the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the interest. »
ARTICLE III
The text of Article 12 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“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 be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the law of that Contracting State, but the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 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 or tapes for television or radio broadcasting, any patent, design or model, plan, secret formula or process or trade mark 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 recipient of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, has in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, a permanent establishment with which the right or property giving rise to the royalties is effectively connected. In such a case, the royalties may be taxed according to the law of that other Contracting State.
5. Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the pay is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local authority, a statutory body 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 liability to pay the royalties was incurred, and such royalties are directly bound by such permanent establishment, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in the contracting state in which the permanent establishment is situated.
6. Where, owing to a special relationship between the pay and the recipient or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties paid, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the pay and the recipient in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In that case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the law of the contracting State in which the royalties arise. »
ARTICLE IV
The text of Article 15 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“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 a similar organ of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
This provision shall also apply to payments made by a company which is a resident of Belgium for the discharge of functions which, under Belgian law, are treated as functions of a similar nature as those performed by a person referred to therein.
2. Remuneration derived by a person referred to in paragraph 1 from the company in respect of the discharge of day-to-day functions of a managerial or technical nature and remuneration received by a resident of Singapore in respect of his personal activity as a partner of a company, other than a company with share capital, which is a resident of Belgium, may be taxed in accordance with the provisions of Article 14, as if the remuneration was remuneration for personal services. »
ARTICLE V
The text of Article 17 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“1. Subject to the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 18, any pension or annuity paid to a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
2. The term "pension", as used in paragraph 1, means periodic payments made in consideration of past employment or by way of compensation for injuries received.
3. However, pensions and other allowances, periodic or non periodic, paid under the social security legislation of a Contracting State or under a public scheme organised by a Contracting State in order to supplement the benefits of that legislation shall be taxable only in that State.
4. The term "annuity" means a stated sum payable periodically at stated times during life or during a specified or ascertainable period of time, under an obligation to make the payments in return for adequate and full consideration in money or money's worth. »
ARTICLE VI
The text of paragraph 3 of Article 23 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“3. In the case of Belgium, double taxation shall be avoided as follows:
(a) Where a resident of Belgium derives income which may be taxed in Singapore in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, other than those of paragraph 2 of Article 10, of paragraphs 2 or 6 of Article 11 and of paragraphs 2 or 6 of Article 12, Belgium shall exempt such income from tax but may, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income of that resident, apply the rate of tax which would have been applicable if such income had not been exempted.
(b) (i) Subject to the provisions of the Belgian law regarding the allowance as a credit against Belgian tax of taxes paid abroad, where a resident of Belgium derives items of his aggregate income for Belgian tax purposes which are dividends taxable in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 10, and not exempt from Belgian tax according to sub-paragraph (c), interest taxable in accordance with paragraphs 2 or 6 of Article 11, or royalties taxable in accordance with paragraphs 2 or income
(ii) Belgium shall also allow against its tax a credit with respect to interest and royalties derived from direct investment and included in the aggregate income for Belgian tax purposes of its residents, when Singapore tax may be charged on these items of income according to the provisions of the Convention and the general law of Singapore but no Singapore tax is effectively levied under special and temporary measures designed to promote the economic development of Singapore. Such credit shall be calculated at a rate of 10 per cent of the gross amount in respect of interest and at a rate of 5 per cent of the gross amount in respect of royalties, but shall not exceed that part of the Belgian tax, as computed before the credit is given, which is attributable to these items of income and shall only apply for the first five years for which the supplementary Agreement is effective. However, the competent authorities of the Contracting States may consult each other to determine whether this period shall be extended.
The term "interest or royalties derived from direct investment" means interest paid in respect of loans, or royalties paid in respect of contracts, which are directly and hardably connected with industrial or commercial development projects in Singapore.
(c) Where a company which is a resident of Belgium owns shares in a company with share capital which is a resident of Singapore, dividends which are paid to it by the latter company and which may be taxed in Singapore in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 10, shall be exempt from the corporate income tax under the conditions and within the limits provided for in Belgian law.
(d) Where, in accordance with Belgian law, losses incurred by an enterprise carried on by a resident of Belgium in a permanent establishment situated in Singapore, have been effectively deducted from the profits of the enterprise for its taxation in Belgium, the exemption provided for in sub-paragraph (a) shall not apply in Belgium to the profits of other taxable periods attributable to that establishment to the extent that those profits have also been exempted from tax in Singapore by reason of compensation for the said losses. »
ARTICLE VII
The text of paragraph 3 of Article 24 of the Convention is deleted and replaced by the following:
“3. 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 Contracting State than the taxation levied on enterprises of that other Contracting State carrying on the same activities.
This provision shall not be construed as preventing Belgium:
(a) from taxing the profits of a permanent establishment in Belgium of a company which is a resident of Singapore at the rate of tax provided by the Belgian law, provided that this rate does not exceed the maximum rate applicable to the whole or a portion of the profits of companies which are residents of Belgium;
(b) from imposing the movable property prepayment on dividends derived from a holding which is effectively connected with a permanent establishment maintained in Belgium by a company which is a resident of Singapore. »
ARTICLE VIII
The text of paragraph 1 of Article 27 of the Convention is deleted and paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of the said Article shall become paragraphs 1, 2 and 3.
ARTICLE IX
1. This supplementary Agreement shall be approved by both Contracting States in accordance with their respective legal procedures and shall enter into force on the fifteenth day after the date of the latter of the notifications indicating such approval.
2. The provisions of the supplementary Agreement shall have effect :
(a) in Belgium:
(i) with respect to taxes due at source on income credited or payable on or after January 1, 1997;
(ii) with respect to other taxes charged on income of taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 1997;
(b) in Singapore, with respect to all taxes for years of assessment beginning on or after January 1, 1998.
ARTICLE X
This supplementary Agreement, which shall form an integral part of the Convention, shall remain in force as long as the Convention itself remains in force.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned duly authorised thereto, have signed this supplementary Agreement.
DONE in duplicate at Singapore
this 10th day of December 1996, in the English language.