India and Belgium sign Protocol to amend Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

India and Belgium sign Protocol to amend Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

Question: What is the currency of Belgium?
(a) Euro
(b) Dollar
(c) Frank
(d) Pound
Ans: (a)

  • On 9th March, 2017 India and Belgium signed a Protocol amending the existing Agreement and Protocol between the two countries for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion.
  • The Protocol will broaden the scope of the existing framework of exchange of tax related information. This in turn will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two countries and will also enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes.
  • To fight the menace of black money, India has either signed or amended international agreements, for the Avoidance of Double Taxation & Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and for the Exchange of Information with Switzerland, Mauritius, Cyprus, Japan, Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan, Singapore and Austria during the financial year 2016-17.
  • The Kingdom of Belgium is a west European country bordered by France, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, and the North Sea. Brussels is the capital city of this small, densely populated country of about 11 million people. Currency of Belgium is Euro.
  • What is DTAA?
  • A Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) is a tax treaty signed between two or more countries. Its key objective is that tax-payers in these countries can avoid being taxed twice for the same income. A DTAA applies in cases where a tax-payer resides in one country and earns income in another.
  • DTAAs can either be comprehensive to cover all sources of income or be limited to certain areas such as taxing of income from shipping, air transport, inheritance, etc. India has DTAAs with more than eighty countries, of which comprehensive agreements include those with Australia, Canada, Germany, Mauritius, Singapore, UAE, the UK and US.

Reference:
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=159028