ARTICLE 12
Interest
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 law of that State, provided that where the resident of the other Contracting
State is the beneficial owner of the interest the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of
the gross amount of the interest.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article:
a) where the interest is paid to a bank carrying on a bona fide banking business which is
a resident of the other Contracting State and is the beneficial owner of the interest, the
tax charged in the Contracting State in which the interest arises shall not exceed 10
per cent of the gross amount of the interest;
b) where the interest is paid to the Government of one of the Contracting States or a
political subdivision or local authority of that State or the Reserve Bank of India, it
shall not be subject to tax by the State in which it arises.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 7 of this Convention and of paragraphs (2) and (3)
of this Article:
b) interest arising in the United Kingdom which is paid to and beneficially owned by a
resident of India shall be exempt from tax in the United Kingdom if it is paid in
respect of a loan made, guaranteed or insured, or any other debt-claim or credit
guaranteed or insured by the Export Credits and Guarantee Corporation of India
and/or Export-Import Bank of India.
5. 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 Government securities and income from
bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or
debentures but, subject to the provisions of paragraph (9) of this Article, shall not include
any item which is treated as a distribution under the provisions of Article 11 (Dividends) of
this Convention.
6. The provisions of paragraphs (1), (2) and (3)(a) of this Article 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, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed
base situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively
connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of
Article 7 (Business profits) or Article 15 (Independent personal services) of this Convention,
as the case may be, shall apply.
7. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, a
political subdivision, a local 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 or a fixed base in connection with which the
indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, and such interest is borne by that
permanent establishment or fixed base, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the
Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
8. Where, owing to a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or
between both of them and some other person, the amount of the interest paid exceeds for
whatever reason the amount which would have been paid 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 each Contracting
State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.
9. Any provision in the laws of either Contracting State relating only to interest paid to a non-
resident company shall not operate so as to require such interest paid to a company which is
a resident of the other Contracting State to be treated as a distribution or dividend by the
company paying such interest or to be left out of account as a deduction in computing the
taxable profits of the company paying the interest. The preceding sentence shall not apply to
interest paid to a company which is a resident of one of the Contracting States in which more
than 50 per cent of the voting power is controlled, directly or indirectly, by a person or
persons who are residents of the other Contracting State.
a) is exempt from tax on such income in the Contracting State of which he is a resident;
and
b) sells or makes a contract to sell the holding from which such interest is derived within
three months of the date such beneficial owner acquired such holding.
11. The provisions of this Article shall not apply if it was the main purpose or one of the main
purposes of any person concerned with the creation or assignment of the debt-claim in
respect of which the interest is paid to take advantage of this Article by means of that
creation or assignment.