8 AOUT 1997. - An Act to assent to the Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to avoid double taxation and to establish rules of mutual assistance with respect to income and property taxes, signed in Algiers on 15 December 1991 (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 section 77, paragraph 1^er6° of the Constitution,
Art. 2. The Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to avoid double taxation and to establish rules of mutual assistance with respect to income and wealth taxes, signed in Algiers on 15 December 1991, will come out its full and full effect.
Promulgate this law, order whatever is covered by the state seal and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given at Châteauneuf-de-Grasse, August 8, 1997.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister for Foreign Affairs,
E. DERYCKE
Minister of Finance and Foreign Trade,
Ph. MAYSTADT
____
Note
(1) Session 1995-1996.
Senate
Documents. - Bill tabled on 25 July 1996, No. 1-400/1.
Session 1996-1997.
Senate
Documents. - Report, no. 1-400/2. - Text adopted in Commission No. 1-400/3.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and voting. Session of November 21, 1996.
House of Representatives
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 789/1.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion. Session of 8 January 1997. - Vote. Session of 9 January 1997.
Convention between the Democratic and People's Republic of Algeria and the Kingdom of Belgium to avoid double taxation and to establish rules of mutual assistance with respect to taxes on income and on fortune
The Government of the People ' s Democratic Republic of Algeria
and
The Government of the Kingdom of Belgium,
Desiring to conclude a convention to avoid double taxation and to establish rules of mutual assistance in tax on income and on fortune,
The following provisions were agreed:
Article 1^er
Target persons
This Convention applies to persons who are residents of a Contracting State or both Contracting States.
Article 2
Taxes targeted
1. This Convention applies to taxes on income and on property collected on behalf of a Contracting State, its political subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the system of perception.
2. Rumine taxes on income and on property are deemed to be taxed on total income, on total fortune, or on elements, income or fortune, including taxes on gains from the alienation of household or real estate property, taxes on:the total amount of wages paid by companies, and taxes on surplus-values.
3. Current taxes to which the Convention applies include:
(a) Regarding Algeria:
(1) Industrial and Commercial Profit Tax;
(2) tax on profits of commercial black professions;
(3) the labour activity tax;
(4) the income tax on receivables, deposits and bonds;
(5) the land tax on built properties;
(6) special tax on surplus-values;
(7) the income tax of foreign construction companies;
(8) the lump-sum payment for employers and debentures;
(9) the tax on salaries, wages, emoluments, pensions and life annuities;
(10) the supplementary tax on all income;
(11) the royalty and tax on the results relating to hydrocarbon exploration, research, exploitation and transportation activities;
(12) the single tax on private transport;
(13) the fixed right applied to the income of fishermen, fishermen, operators of small trades and shipowners;
(14) the single agricultural contribution;
(15) (Annual Solidarity Tax on Real Property Heritage;
(16) the real estate promotion income tax;
(17) the deduction to the source applicable to dividends distributed to natural or legal persons who do not have their tax domicile or head office in Algeria;
(hereinafter referred to as "Algerian tax").
(b) With regard to Belgium:
(1) the tax of natural persons;
(2) corporate tax;
(3) the tax of legal persons;
(4) non-resident tax;
(5) the special contribution assimilated to the tax of natural persons, including pre-payments, additional centimes to such taxes and pre-payments, and additional taxes to the tax of natural persons;
(hereinafter referred to as "Belgian tax").
4. The Convention also applies to taxes of an identical or similar nature that would be established after the date of signature of the Convention and that would be in addition to or replace existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall communicate the significant changes to their respective tax laws.
Article 3
General definitions
1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context requires a different interpretation:
(a) the terms "a disturbing State" and "the other Contracting State" mean, according to the context, Algeria or Belgium;
(b) 1° the term "Algeria" means the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria; employed in a geographical sense, it designates the territory of the Algerian Democratic and People's Republic, including the territorial sea and, beyond that, the areas on which, in accordance with international law, the Algerian Democratic and People's Republic exercises its jurisdiction or sovereign rights for the purposes of the exploration and exploitation of the resources of the seabed and its subsoil and the waters on which it is based;
2° the term "Belgium" means the Kingdom of Belgium; Used in a geographical sense, it designates the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium including the territorial sea and, beyond that, the areas on which, in accordance with international law, the Kingdom of Belgium exercises its jurisdiction or sovereign rights for the purposes of the exploration and exploitation of the resources of the seabed and its subsoil and the underlying waters;
(c) the term "person" includes natural persons, societies and all other groups of persons;
(d) the term "society" means any corporation or entity that is considered to be a corporation for taxation purposes;
(e) the terms "company of a Contracting State" and "company of the other Contracting State" shall, respectively, designate a business operated by a resident of a Contracting State and a business operated by a resident of the other Contracting State;
(f) the term "international traffic" means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by a company whose effective steering seat is located in a Contracting State, except where the vessel or aircraft is operated only between points in the other Contracting State;
(g) the term "competent authority" means:
1° with respect to Algeria, the Minister responsible for Finance or are authorized representative, and
2° with respect to Belgium, the Minister of Finance or its authorized representative.
2. For the purposes of the Convention by a Contracting State, any expression not defined therein shall have the meaning assigned to it by the law of that State concerning the taxes to which the Convention applies, unless the context requires a different interpretation.
Article 4
Resident
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the law of that State, is subject to tax in that State because of his domicile, residence, management seat or any other similar criterion.
2. When, according to the provisions of paragraph 1^er, a natural person is a wrinkle of the two Contracting States, his situation is settled as follows:
(a) that person is considered to be a resident of the State where the person has a permanent home; if it has a permanent home in both states, it is considered to be a resident of the State with which its personal and economic ties are the narrowest (centre of vital interests);
(b) if the State where that person has the centre of its vital interests cannot be determined, or if it does not have a permanent home in any of the States, it is considered to be a resident of the State where it resides in a habitual manner;
(c) if the person normally stays in both States or if he or she does not normally stay in any of them, he or she is considered to be a resident of the State of which he or she is a national;
(d) if the person possesses the nationality of the two States or has no nationality of any of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall decide the question by mutual agreement.
3. When, according to the provisions of paragraph 1^era person other than a natural person is a resident of the two Contracting States and is considered to be a resident of the State where his or her effective management seat is located.
Article 5
Stable establishment
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "stable establishment" means a fixed business facility through which a company operates all or part of its business.
2. The term "stable establishment" includes:
(a) a steering seat;
(b) a branch;
(c) an office;
(d) a factory;
(e) a workshop;
(f) a store of sale;
(g) a mine, a gut oil well, a career or any other natural resource extraction site.
3. The term "stable establishment" also includes a construction or assembly site or monitoring activity in the construction or construction site, where the construction site or activities have a duration of more than three months.
4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this article, it is considered that there is no "stable establishment" if:
(a) installation is made for the sole purpose of storage at the exposure of goods belonging to the enterprise;
(b) goods belonging to the enterprise are stored for storage or exposure purposes only;
(c) goods belonging to the enterprise are stored for the sole purpose of processing by another company;
(d) a fixed business facility is used for the sole purpose of purchasing goods or collecting information for the company;
(e) a fixed business facility is used for the sole purpose of carrying out any other preparatory or auxiliary activity for the enterprise;
(f) a fixed business facility shall be used for the purposes of the cumulative year of activities referred to in subparagraphs (a) to (e) provided that the overall activity of the fixed business facility resulting from the cumulative operation shall be preparatory or auxiliary.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2, where a person - other than an agent enjoying an independent status to which paragraph 6 applies - acts in a Contracting State for an enterprise of the other Contracting State, that undertaking shall be deemed to be before a permanent establishment in the first Contracting State for any activities that the person carries on for it if the said person:
(a) the State shall have the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the undertaking, unless the activities of that person are limited to those listed in paragraph 4 and that, carried out in a fixed business facility would not be made of that fixed business facility, a permanent establishment within the meaning of that paragraph, or;
(b) having no such power, usually keeps in the first State a stock of goods on which it regularly collects goods for the purpose of delivery on behalf of the company.
6. A business of a Contracting State shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State solely because it operates in that other State through a broker, general commissioner or any other intermediary enjoying an independent status, if such persons act within the ordinary framework of their activity.
7. The fact that a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State controls naked is controlled by a corporation that is a resident of the other Contracting State or that carries on its activity (either through a permanent establishment or not) is not sufficient in itself to make any of these companies a permanent establishment of the other.
Article 6
Real estate income
1. The income that a resident of a Contracting State derives from real property (including income from farms or forestry) located in the other Contracting State, is taxable in that other State.
2. The term "real property" has the meaning assigned to it by the law of the Contracting State in which the property is located. The term includes, in any case, accessories, dead or alive livestock of farms and forests, the rights to which the provisions of private law apply in respect of land ownership, the usufruct of real property and the rights to variable or fixed payments, for the exploitation or concession of the exploitation of mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships, ships and aircraft are not considered real property.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1^er applies to income derived from direct exploitation or enjoyment, lease or charter, as well as any other form of exploitation of real property.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 3 also apply to income from real property of a business as well as to income from real property used in the exercise of an independent profession.
Article 7
Business benefits
1. The profits of a business 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 located therein. If the company operates in such a way, the profits of the company are taxable in the other State but only to the extent that they are attributable to that permanent establishment.
2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where a business of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment located therein, it shall be charged, in each Contracting State, to that permanent establishment the profits that it could have realized if it had constituted a separate undertaking carrying out identical or similar activities under identical or similar conditions and acting independently with the enterprise of which it constitutes a permanent establishment.
3. In order to determine the profits of a permanent establishment, the expenses incurred for the purposes of this permanent establishment are deducted, including the management costs and general administrative expenses incurred, either in the State where the permanent establishment is located or elsewhere. However, no deduction is allowed for amounts that would, if any, be paid (other than the reimbursement of costs incurred) by the permanent establishment at the company's central office or any of its other continuing royalties, fees or other similar payments, for the use of patents or other fees, or as a commission, for specific services rendered or for a management activity or, except in the case of
Similarly, in the calculation of the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be no account of the amounts (other than the reimbursement of costs incurred) carried by the permanent establishment at the central headquarters of the enterprise or any of its other establishments, such as royalties, fees or similar payments, for the use of patents or other fees, or as a board for specific services rendered or for any management activity or
4. If it is customary in a Contracting State to determine the profits attributable to a permanent establishment on the basis of a distribution of the total profits of the enterprise between its various parties, no provision in paragraph 2 shall prevent that Contracting State from determining the taxable profits according to the distribution in use; However, the method of distribution adopted must be such that the result obtained is consistent with the principles contained in this article.
5. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the benefits to be charged to the permanent establishment are determined annually on the same basis, unless there are valid and sufficient grounds to proceed otherwise.
6. Where profits include income elements treated separately in other articles of this Convention, the provisions of these articles are not affected by the provisions of this article.
Article 8
Maritime and air navigation
1. The profits derived from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the effective management seat of the enterprise is located.
2. If the effective management seat of a marine navigation company is on board a ship, that seat is considered to be located in the Contracting State one is the port of attachment of that ship, or if the vessel is not wearing a home, in the Contracting State of which the vessel operator is a resident.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1 also apply to benefits derived from participation in a pool, a joint operation or an international operating organization.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 29, paragraph 2, of this Convention, the provisions of this Article, however, do not apply in respect of any Algerian tax or any Belgian tax relating to income for which the following Agreements have effect with respect to that tax:
(a) The Agreement between the Government of the Democratic and People's Republic of Algeria and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium to avoid double taxation of revenues from the operation of international air services, signed in Algiers on 30 May 1981.
(b) The Agreement between the Government of the Democratic and People's Republic of Algeria and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium to avoid double taxation of revenues from the operation of ships in international traffic, signed in Algiers on 11 January 1983.
(c) The Maritime Agreement between the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria and the Belgian Economic Union, signed in Algiers on 17 May 1979, in that this Agreement affects the relations of Algero-Belgium.
Article 9
Associated companies
1. When:
(a) a business of a Contracting State directly or indirectly participates in the direction, control or capital of a business of the other Contracting State, or
(b) the same persons directly or indirectly participate in the direction, control or capital of a business of a Contracting State and a business of the other Contracting State,
and that, in both cases, the two companies are, in their commercial or financial relations, bound by unwelcome or imposed conditions, that differ from those that would be agreed between independent companies, the profits that, without these conditions, would have been realized by one of the companies but could not be in fact because of these conditions, may be included in the profits of that undertaking and imposed accordingly.
2. When a Contracting State includes in the profits of a company of that State - and therefore imposes - profits on which a company of the other Contracting State has been imposed in that other State, and that the profits thus included are profits that would have been realized by the enterprise of the first State if the terms agreed between the two enterprises had been those that would have been agreed between independent enterprises, the other State shall make the adjustment that it considers appropriate of the tax To determine this adjustment, the other provisions of this Convention shall be taken into account and, if necessary, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall consult.
Article 10
Dividends
1. Dividends paid by a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the corporation paying the dividends is a resident, and according to the law of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends.
This subsection does not affect the corporation's taxation of profits that are used to pay dividends.
3. The term "dividends" used in this article refers to income from shares, good of enjoyment, mine shares, share of founders or other share of beneficiaries with the exception of receivables, as well as income from other social parts subject to the same tax regime as income from shares by the law of the State whose distribution society is a resident. This term also refers to capital revenues invested by partners in companies other than equity corporations that are residents of Belgium, even if these revenues are allocated in the form of interest.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the dividends, a resident of a Contracting State, exercises in the other Contracting State whose dividend-paying corporation is a resident, i.e., an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein, or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the dividend-generating interest is effectively connected to it. The provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as applicable, shall apply.
5. Where a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State derives from the profits or income of the other Contracting State, that other State shall not collect any tax on the dividends paid by the corporation, except to the extent that such dividends are paid to a resident of that other State, the share of the dividends shall be in fact connected to a permanent establishment or to a fixed base located in that other State, or shall not prelever any
Article 11
Interest
1. Interest arising from a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, these interests are also taxable in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the law of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the interest is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the interest.
3. Derogation from the provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2, interest shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the beneficial owner is a resident when it is:
(a) interest in commercial receivables - including those represented by commercial effects - resulting from the payment of goods, goods or services by companies in the future;
(b) interest in loans of any kind not represented by bearer securities and granted by bank companies;
(c) interest in deposits of money, not represented by holder securities, carried out in banking enterprises.
4. By derogation from the provisions of paragraph 2, the interest earned on its behalf by a Contracting State shall be exempted from tax by the other Contracting Party.
5. The "interest" term used in this section refers to the income of receivables of any kind, whether or not accompanied by mortgage guarantees or an interest clause in the debtor's profits, including income from public funds and borrowing obligations, including premiums and lots attached to these securities; However, the term "interest" does not, within the meaning of this article, include penalizations for late payment or interest treated as dividends under Article 10, paragraph 3, second sentence.
6. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er, 2 and 3 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the interest, a resident of a Contracting State, exercises in the other Contracting State in which the interests arise, either an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment that is situated, or an independent profession by means of a fixed base that is located, and that the interest-generating debt is effectively connected to it. In this case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as appropriate, shall apply.
7. Interest is deemed to arise from a Contracting State where the debtor is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local authority or a resident of that State. However, where the debtor of interest, whether or not a resident of a Contracting State, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment, or a fixed base, for which the debt giving rise to the payment of interest has been contracted and which bears the burden of such interests, these shall be deemed to be from the State or the permanent establishment, or the fixed base, is located.
8. Where, because of special relationships between the debtor and the beneficial owner or that fun and the other maintain with third persons, the amount of interest, taking into account the debt for which they are paid, exceeds that dormant would be agreed; the debtor and the beneficial owner 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 interest remains taxable, in accordance with its legislation, in the Contracting State from which the interest arises.
Article 12
Claims
1. Royalties from a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, such royalties are also taxable in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the law of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed:
(a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of royalties paid for the use or concession of the use of a copyright on a literary, artistic or scientific work, excluding film films and films or bands for radiodistribution or television;
(b) 15 per cent of gross royalties in other cases.
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 film films and films or bands for radiodistribution or television, a patent, a trademark or trade, a drawing or a model, a plan of a secret
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the royalties, a resident of a Contracting State, carries out in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, either an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the right or property generating the royalties is effectively connected to it. In this case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as applicable, shall apply.
5. The royalties shall be deemed to come from a Contracting State when the debtor is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local authority or a resident of that State. However, where the debtor of royalties, whether or not a resident of a Contracting State, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment, or a fixed base, for which the contract giving rise to the payment of royalties has been concluded, and which bears the charge of such royalties, these shall be considered to be from the State where the permanent establishment or fixed base is located.
6. Where, because of special relations between the debtor and the beneficial owner or between the debtor and the other person maintain with third persons, the amount of royalties, taking into account the benefit for which they are paid, exceeds the amount agreed upon by the debtor and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relations, the provisions of this section apply only to the latter amount. In this case, the excess portion of royalties shall remain taxable, in accordance with its legislation, in the Contracting State from which royalties arise.
Article 13
Capital gains
1. The gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of real property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. The gains from the alienation of movable property that are part of the assets of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State, or of movable property that belong to a fixed base of which a resident of a Contracting State disposes in the other Contracting State for the exercise of an independent profession, including such gains from the alienation of that permanent establishment (ully or with
3. Gains derived from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic or movable property assigned to the operation of such vessels or aircraft shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the effective management seat of the enterprise is located.
4. Gains from the alienation of all property other than those referred to in paragraphs 1^er, 2 and 3, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the assignor is a resident.
Article 14
Independent occupations
1. The income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from a liberal profession or other similar independent activities shall be taxable only in that State unless that resident:
(a) does not have a fixed basis in the other Contracting State for the exercise of its activities; in that case, only the fraction of the income that is attributable to the activities of the intervention of that fixed base is taxable in that other State; or
(b) stay in the other Contracting State, to carry out its activities, for a period or periods exceeding a total of 183 days during the civil army; in that case, only the fraction of the income that is attributable to the activities carried out in that other State during that period, or such periods, is taxable in that other State.
2. The term "professional liberal" includes independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational or educational activities, as well as independent activities of doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, dentists and accountants.
Article 15
Dependent professions
1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18 and 19, wages, salaries and other similar remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State receives under an employee employment shall be taxable only in that State, unless employment is exercised in the other Contracting State. If the employment is exercised, the remuneration received as such is taxable in that other State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1^erthe remuneration of a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employee employed in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first State if:
a) the beneficiary stays in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding a total of 183 days in the calendar year, and
(b) compensation shall be paid by an employer or on behalf of an employer who is not a resident of the other Elat, and
(c) the pay charge is not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed base that the employer has in the other State.
3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration received in respect of an employee employment exercised on board a ship or aircraft operated in international traffic shall be taxable in the Contracting State or an effective management of the enterprise shall be located.
Article 16
Elevenths
1. The fortieth, attendance and other similar remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State receives as a member of the board of directors or of 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 received as a result of the exercise of functions which, under the legislation of the Contracting State whose company is a resident, are treated as functions of a nature similar to those exercised by a person referred to in the preceding sentence.
2. Compensation that a person referred to in subsection 1^er shall be paid from the corporation by reason of the exercise of a day-to-day activity of direction or of a technical nature, and the remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State derives from his or her personal activity as a partnership in litre corporation, other than a corporation by shares, that is a resident of the other Contracting State, shall be taxable in accordance with the provisions of Article 15.
Article 17
Artists and athletes
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from his or her personal activities in the other Contracting State as an artist of the spectacle, such as a theatre, cinema, radio or television artist, or a musician, or as a sportsman, may be taxed in that other State.
2. Where the income of activities that a performance artist or a sportsman exercises personally and in celtic quality is attributed not to the artist or to the athlete himself but to another person, such income shall be taxable, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, in the Contracting State where the activities of the artist or athlete are carried out.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply to income derived from personal activities of performing artists carried out in street Contracting State and which shall be financed in whole or in large part by public funds of the other Contracting State or of any of its political subdivisions or local authorities. In this case, income derived from these activities shall be taxable only in that other Contracting State.
Article 16
Pensions
1. Subject to the provisions of Article 19, paragraph 2, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State for an earlier job shall be taxable only in that State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1^erpensions and other allowances, periodic or unpaid, paid in accordance with the social legislation of a Contracting State or under a general regime organized by a Contracting State to supplement the benefits provided for in that legislation, shall be taxable in that State.
Article 19
Public functions
1. (a) remuneration, other than pensions, paid by a Contracting State or any of its political subdivisions or local authorities to a natural person, for services rendered to that State or subdivision or community, shall be taxable only in that State,
(b) However, such remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State the services shall be rendered in that State and if the natural person is a resident of that State who:
1° has the nationality of that State, or
2° did not become a resident of that State for the sole purpose of rendering the services.
2. (a) Pensions paid by a Contracting State or any of its political subdivisions or local authorities, either directly or by debiting from funds that they have constituted, to a natural person, for services rendered to that State or to that subdivision or community, shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such pensions shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the natural person is a resident of that State and has its nationality.
3. The provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18 apply to remuneration and pensions paid for services rendered in an industrial or commercial activity carried out by a Contracting State or one of its political subdivisions or local authorities.
4. Compensation paid by a Contracting State to a natural person for an activity carried out in the other Contracting State in the context of agreements or agreements of assistance or cooperation between the two Contracting Parties shall be taxable only in the first State.
Rule 20
Trainees and apprentices
A student, trainee or apprentice who is, or was immediately before going to a Contracting State, a resident of the other Contracting State and who temporarily resides in the first State for the sole purpose of pursuing his or her studies or training, is not taxable in that first State:
(a) the sums it receives from sources outside of that State to cover its costs of maintenance, study or training;
(b) any scholarship, allowance or prize received from a scientific, educational or philanthropic institution;
(c) on the remuneration of an employee employed in the first State during, as the case may be, the normal duration of the studies or a period of internship or apprenticeship not exceeding one year, provided that such remuneration does not exceed an amount fixed by amicable agreement and that it is intended to improve the resources necessary for the shed.
Article 21
Other income
The income elements of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever they arise, which are not dealt with in the preceding articles of this Convention shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 22
Fortune
1. The property constituted by real property referred to in Article 6, which is owned by a resident of a Contracting State and situated in the other Contracting State, is taxable in that other State.
2. The property constituted by movable property that is part of the assets of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or by movable property that belongs to a fixed base of which a resident of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State for the exercise of an independent profession is taxable in that other State.
3. Assets made by ships and aircraft operated in international traffic and by movable property assigned to the operation of such ships or aircraft shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the effective management seat of the enterprise is located.
4. All other assets of a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 23
Elimination of double taxation
1. With regard to Algeria, double taxation is avoided as follows:
(a) Where a resident of Algeria receives income or has property that, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, is taxable in Belgium, Algeria deducts:
1° of the tax it receives on the income of that resident, an amount equal to the tax on the return paid in Belgium;
2° of the tax it receives on the fortune of that resident, an amount equal to the tax on the fortune paid in Belgium;
(b) However, the amount deducted in one or the other case may not exceed the portion of income tax or capital tax calculated prior to the deduction, which, as the case may be, corresponds to income or taxable capital in Belgium.
2. With regard to Belgium, double taxation is avoided as follows:
(a) Where a resident of Belgium receives income or possesses assets that are taxable in Algeria in accordance with the provisions of the Convention, with the exception of those of articles 10, paragraph 2, 11, paragraphs 2 and 8, and 12, paragraphs 2 and 6, Belgium exempts from tax these incomes or assets, but it may, in order to calculate the amount of its taxes on the rest of the income or fortune of that resident, take into account the income or assets exempted from them.
(b) Where a Belgian resident receives income elements that are included in his or her aggregate 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 (c) below, in taxable interest in accordance with Article 11, paragraphs 2 or 8, or in taxable royalties in accordance with Article 12, paragraphs 2 or 6, the Algerian tax charged to such an income
(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 Algeria, the dividends that are paid to it by the latter corporation and that are taxable in Algeria in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 2, are exempted from the tax of the companies in Belgium under the conditions and limits prescribed by 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 Algeria have been effectively deducted from the profits of that undertaking for its taxation in Belgium, the exemption provided in (a) above does not apply in Belgium to the profits of other taxable periods that are attributable to that establishment, das the extent that these profits have also been exempted from tax in Algeria for reasons of reason
Article 24
Non-discrimination
1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subject in the other Contracting State to any taxation or obligation relating thereto, which is other or heavier than those to which the nationals of that other Etal are or may be subject to the same situation. This provision also applies, notwithstanding the provisions of section 1^erto nationals of a Contracting State that are not residents of a Contracting State or of the two Contracting States.
2. The term "nationals" means:
(a) all natural persons who have the nationality of a Contracting State;
(b) all legal persons, corporations and associations constituted in accordance with the legislation in force in a Contracting State.
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 State in a less favourable manner than the taxation of the enterprises of that other State that exercise the same activity. This provision shall not be construed as requiring a Contracting State to grant personal deductions, deductions and tax reductions to the residents of the other Contracting State on the basis of the situation or family expenses that it grants to its own residents.
4. Unless the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 1^erthe interest, royalties and other expenses paid by an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be deductible, for the determination of the taxable profits of that undertaking, under the same conditions as if they had been paid to a resident of the first State. Similarly, the debts of an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be deductible, for the determination of the taxable fortune of that undertaking, on the same basis as if they had been contracted to a resident of the first Contracting State.
5. The undertakings of a Contracting State, whose capital is wholly or partly, directly or indirectly, held or controlled by one or more residents of the other Contracting State, shall not be subject in the first State to any taxation or obligation relating thereto, which is other or heavier than those to which the other similar enterprises of the first State are or may be subject.
6. Nothing in this article shall be construed as preventing a Contracting State:
(a) to impose at the rate provided for in its legislation the amount of the profits of a permanent establishment in that State that is a resident of the other Contracting State, 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 societies that are residents of the first State;
(b) to withdraw its deduction from the source on the dividends associated with an effective interest in a stable establishment in that Eat a corporation that is a resident of the other Contracting State.
7. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subject, when they leave the territory of the other Contracting State provisionally or permanently, to the formality of the tax quittas.
8. The provisions of this section shall apply, notwithstanding the provisions of section 2, to taxes of any kind or denomination.
Rule 25
Friendly procedure
1. Where a person considers that the measures taken by a Contracting State or by the two Contracting States shall result in or result in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, the person may, independently of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, submit his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which the person is a resident or, if the case falls under Article 24, paragraph 1^er, to that of the Contracting State of which it owns !a nationality. The case shall be submitted within three years after the first notification of the measure that results in taxation not in conformity with the provisions of the Convention.
2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the claim appears to it to be justified and if it is not itself in a position to provide a satisfactory solution, to resolve the case by amicable agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to avoiding taxation not in conformity with the Convention.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour, by mutual agreement, to resolve the difficulties or to dispel the doubts to which the interpretation or application of the Convention may take place.
4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall agree on the administrative measures necessary for the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and in particular on the justifications to be provided by the residents of each Contracting State for the benefit in the other State of the exemptions or tax reductions provided for in this Convention. If oral exchanges seem to have to facilitate an agreement, such exchanges of views may take place within a Commission composed of representatives of the competent authorities of the Contracting States.
5. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall communicate directly with each other for the purposes of the Convention.
Rule 26
Exchange of information
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange the information necessary to implement the provisions of this Convention or those of the domestic legislation of the Contracting States relating to the taxes covered by the Convention, to the extent that the taxation it provides is not contrary to the Convention, in particular in order to combat tax fraud and evasion in the case of such taxes. The exchange of information is not restricted by section 1^er. The information received by a Contracting State shall be kept secret in the same manner as the information obtained under the domestic legislation of that State and shall only be communicated to the persons or authorities (including the courts and administrative bodies) concerned by the establishment or collection of the taxes referred to in the Convention, by the procedures or proceedings relating to such taxes, or by the decisions on remedies relating to such taxes, Such persons or authorities shall use such information only for such purposes. They may report this information at public court hearings or in judgments.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1^er in no case may be construed as imposing on a Contracting State the obligation:
(a) take administrative measures derogating from its legislation, administrative practice or those of the other Contracting State;
(b) provide information that could not be obtained on the basis of its legislation or in the course of its normal administrative practice or those of the other Contracting State;
(c) provide information that would reveal a commercial, industrial, professional or commercial secret, or information that would be contrary to public order.
3. The information shall be exchanged either on request for a specific case, or automatically with respect to one or more categories of income, or spontaneously with respect to incomes of interest to a Contracting State.
Rule 27
Recovery assistance
1. The Contracting States shall lend each other assistance and assistance in order to notify and recover the taxes covered by the present Convention as well as any additional, increments, interests, fees and fines without a criminal character relating to such taxes when such tax claims are due and are no longer subject to appeal under the laws or regulations of the requesting State.
2. At the request of the requesting State, the requested Tale shall notify and recover the tax claims of that State in accordance with the legislation and administrative practice applicable to the notification and recovery of its own tax claims, unless the Convention otherwise provides.
3. The requested State is not obliged to comply with the request of the requesting State if the requesting State has not exhausted all means of recovering its tax debt on its own territory.
4. The request for assistance for the recovery of a tax debt is accompanied by:
(a) an official copy of the title allowing execution in the requesting State;
(b) an official copy of any other document required in the requesting State for recovery; and
(c) where appropriate, a certified copy of any decision made in force by an administrative body shall be of a court.
5. The title allowing execution in the requesting State produces the same effects in the requested State.
6. Issues relating to the limitation period of tax debt are governed exclusively by the legislation of the requesting State.
7. The acts of recovery carried out by the requested State following a request for assistance and which, according to the law of that State, would have the effect of suspending or interrupting the limitation period the same effect under the law of the requesting State. The requested State shall inform the requesting State of the measures taken to that end.
8. The tax claims for the recovery of which assistance is requested shall enjoy in the requested State the same privileges as the claims of the same nature of that State.
9. The requested State is not required to apply enforcement means that are not authorized by the legal or regulatory provisions of the requesting State.
10. The provisions of Article 26, paragraph 1^er, shall also apply to any information brought under this Article to the knowledge of the competent authority of a Contracting State.
11. With regard to the tax claims of a Contracting State which are the subject of an appeal, a remedy is still subject to, the competent authority of that State may, in order to safeguard its rights, request the competent authority of the other Contracting State to take the precautionary measures provided for in the legislation of that Contracting State. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs shall apply mutatis mutandis to these measures.
12. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall consult to determine the modalities for the transfer of the sums recovered by the requested State on behalf of the requesting State.
Rule 28
Limitation of the effects of the Convention
1. The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the tax privileges enjoyed by diplomatic agents and consular officials under either the general rules of the law of people or the provisions of special agreements.
2. For the purposes of the Convention, diplomatic agents and consular officials of a Contracting State accredited in the other Contracting State or in a third State, who have the nationality of the accrediting State, shall be deemed to be residents of the said State if they are subject to the same obligations in respect of income tax on fortune, as residents of that State.
3. The rie Convention does not apply to international organizations, their bodies to their officials, diplomatic agents or consular officials of a third State, where they are located in the territory of a Contracting State and are not treated as residents in one or the other Contracting State in respect of bare income tax on property.
Rule 29
Entry into force
1. This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged in Brussels as soon as possible.
2. The Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day of the exchange of instruments of ratification and its provisions shall apply:
(a) taxes due to the source on income awarded or paid from 1^er January of the year immediately following that of the exchange of instruments of ratification,
(b) other taxes on taxable period income beginning 1^er January or after 1 January of the year immediately following that of this exchange.
Rule 30
Denunciation
This Convention will remain in force indefinitely. However, each Contracting State may denounce it to the other Contracting State in writing and through diplomatic channels, with a notice of at least six months before the end of each calendar year but after the expiration of a period of five years from the date of its entry into force. In this case, the Convention will cease to apply:
(a) taxes due to the source on income awarded or paid from 1^er January of the year immediately following that of notification of denunciation;
(b) other taxes on taxable period income beginning 1^er January or after 1^er January of the same year.
In faith, the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Convention.
Done in Algiers on 15 December 1991, in duplicate, in Arabic, French and Dutch languages, the three texts being equally authentic.
For the Government of the People ' s Democratic Republic of Algeria:
Mourad Medelci,
Minister Delegate for Budget
For the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium:
Dirk Lettens,
Ambassador of His Majesty the King of the Belgians.
(2) In accordance with Article 29 of the Convention, the Convention entered into force on the thirtieth day of the exchange of instruments of ratification on 10 January 2003.