Tag: Treaty interpretation

India vs M/S NESTLE SA, October 2023, Supreme Court, Case No 1420 OF 2023

India vs M/S NESTLE SA, October 2023, Supreme Court, Case No 1420 OF 2023

In order to promote trade and business, India has entered into a number of tax treaties (DTAA) containing a Most Favoured Nation clause. According to the MFN clause, if India enters a tax treaty on a later date with another OECD member country providing a beneficial rate of tax or restrictive scope for taxation, a similar benefit will be available to the other country where the MFN clause has been included in the tax treaty. In this ruling, the Supreme Court of India held that the benefit of MFN clause under India’s tax treaties is available only after notification by the Government of India. The Supreme Court concluded as follows: “(a) A notification under Section 90(1) of the Income Tax Act,1961 is necessary and a mandatory condition for a court, authority, or tribunal to give effect to a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), or any protocol changing its terms or conditions, which has the effect of altering the existing provisions ... Read more
May 2019: New Beneficial Ownership Toolkit will help tackle tax evasion

May 2019: New Beneficial Ownership Toolkit will help tackle tax evasion

A beneficial ownership toolkit was released 20. May 2019 in the context of the OECD’s Global Integrity and Anti-Corruption Forum. The toolkit, prepared by the Secretariat of the OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, is intended to help governments implement the Global Forum’s standards on ensuring that law enforcement officials have access to reliable information on who the ultimate beneficial owners are behind a company or other legal entity so that criminals can no longer hide their illicit activities behind opaque legal structures. The toolkit was developed to support Global Forum members and in particular developing countries because the current beneficial ownership standard does not provide a specific method for implementing it. The toolkit covers a variety of important issues regarding beneficial ownership, including: the concepts of beneficial owners and ownership, the criteria used to identify them, the importance of the matter for transparency in the financial ... Read more
Switzerland vs "A-B-C-D. GmbH", Februar 2017, Supreme Court, Case No 143 II 185 (2C_411/2016)

Switzerland vs “A-B-C-D. GmbH”, Februar 2017, Supreme Court, Case No 143 II 185 (2C_411/2016)

In 2013, the French tax authorities (DGFP) submitted several requests for administrative assistance to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) based on Art. 28 of the Agreement of 9 September 1966 between Switzerland and France. In the applications, the legal entities concerned in France are B. GmbH and C. GmbH. The legal entities concerned in Switzerland are A. GmbH, B. GmbH, C. GmbH and D. GmbH. The French tax authorities requested the administrative assistance to monitor the financial situation of the French companies in the X. Group. In 2009, the group’s activities were reorganised, particularly in France. The change in the transfer pricing policy of the X. Group led to a change in the allocation of profits within the group. The provisions of French tax law stipulate that transactions between companies in the same group must be carried out under the same conditions as if they had been carried out between independent companies. In the case of cross-border transactions between ... Read more
Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969

The Vienna Convention was done at Vienna on 23 May 1969 and entered into force on 27 January 1980. It is regarded as one of the most important instruments in treaty law and remains an authoritative guide in disputes over treaty interpretation. The Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties (VCLT) is an international agreement regulating treaties between states. It establishes comprehensive rules, procedures, and guidelines for how treaties are defined, drafted, amended, interpreted, and generally operated. An international treaty is a written agreement between international law subjects reflecting their consent to the creation, alteration, or termination of their rights and obligations. The VCLT is considered a codification of customary international law and state practice concerning treaties. The convention was adopted and opened to signature on 23 May 1969, and it entered into force on 27 January 1980. It has been ratified by 116 states as of January 2018. Some non-ratifying parties, such as the United States, recognize parts of ... Read more