2. However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contract-
ing State in which it arises and according to the laws 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
10 per cent of the gross amount of the interest.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2,
a) interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to the
Government of the other Contracting State shall be exempt
from tax in the first-mentioned State;
b) interest arising in a Contracting State and paid in considera-
tion of a loan guaranteed or insured by the other Contracting
State or any financial institution wholly owned by it shall be
exempt from tax in the first-mentioned State;
c) interest arising in China and paid to the German Federal Bank
(Deutsche Bundesbank), the Development Loan Corporation
(Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) or the German Investment
and Development Company (DEG – Deutsche Investitions-
und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH), and any public credit
institution of the Federal Republic of Germany, if the compe-
tent authorities of both States have agreed thereto, shall be
exempt from Chinese tax;
d) interest arising in the Federal Republic of Germany and paid
to:
(i)
the People’s Bank of China;
(ii)
the China Development Bank Corporation;
(iii)
the Agricultural Development Bank of China;
(iv)
the Export-Import Bank of China;
(v)
the National Council for Social Security Fund;
(vi) the China Investment Corporation, and
(vii) any other public credit institution of the Government of
China, if the competent authorities of both States have
agreed thereto;
shall be exempt from German tax.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest as
referred to in paragraph 1 may be taxed only in the Contracting
State of which the recipient is a resident if the recipient is the
beneficial owner of the interest and the interest is paid in
connection with the sale of commercial or scientific equipment
on credit.
5. The term “interest” as used in this Article means income
from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mort-
gage, and in particular, income from government securities and
income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and
prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures. Penalty
charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the
purpose of this Article.
6. The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4 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 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall
apply.
7. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State
when the payer is 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 such permanent establishment or fixed
base, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the State in
which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
8. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the
payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and
some other person, the amount of the interest, having regard to
the debt-claim for which it is paid, exceeds the amount which
would have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial
owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this
Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such
case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable
according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard
being had to the other provisions of this Agreement.
de-china-2015-base | BGBl. 2015 II S. 1647 | Signed: 2014-03-28 | Gazette publication: 2015-12-29
Source form
official-publication PDF with native text layer; reader is a machine transcription
Source scope
original implementing law, bilingual base treaty and accompanying protocol; not a current consolidated text
Retrieved
2026-09-30
Text and language scope
This source supplies German and English versions. The signing clause also identifies Chinese as authentic; that third version is NOT present in this reader. Unreviewed coordinate-based machine transcription of this original source edition only. Printed line breaks, hyphens and uncertain token spacing are retained, not silently corrected. Treaty preamble, closing formula, protocol and shared signatures are separate retained assets, not part of the last article. Full supplements: /review/de-china-2015-base/. PDF page links identify pages, not verified paragraph correspondence.
Review status
Pending human wording, completeness, source-authority, currentness, alignment and rendering review. No legal review performed.
Currentness
Original source edition; not a verified current-law consolidation. Unknown. No current-law consolidation, effective-period determination, MLI application, or complete amendment-chain verification has been performed. Original publication year is not a current applicability date. Bounded agent triage, no qualified wording/alignment/legal review. No exhaustive verification of all later 2026 developments. Matching digest proves retained source identity, not legal force.
Protocols and later instruments
The protocol printed with this agreement is separately preserved in source supplements; it has not been merged into treaty articles. Subsequent protocols, amendments, MLI effects, replacements and suspensions are unresolved. This is not a consolidated current-law instrument. Source-triage warnings: Bounded agent triage, no qualified wording/alignment/legal review. No exhaustive verification of all later 2026 developments. Matching digest proves retained source identity, not legal force.
Text language and status
en · authentic-language-transcription · machine-transcription
BGBl. 2015 II S. 1647 | de-china-2015-base | de-china-2015-base | BGBl. 2015 II S. 1647 | Signed: 2014-03-28 | Gazette publication: 2015-12-29 | Article 11 | en | Pending human wording, completeness, source-authority, currentness, alignment and rendering review. No legal review performed. | /library/treaties/de-china-2015-base/en/articles/article-11/
Source, edition and limits
Source edition
de-china-2015-base | BGBl. 2015 II S. 1647 | Signed: 2014-03-28 | Gazette publication: 2015-12-29
Source form
official-publication PDF with native text layer; reader is a machine transcription
Source scope
original implementing law, bilingual base treaty and accompanying protocol; not a current consolidated text
Retrieved
2026-09-30
Text and language scope
This source supplies German and English versions. The signing clause also identifies Chinese as authentic; that third version is NOT present in this reader. Unreviewed coordinate-based machine transcription of this original source edition only. Printed line breaks, hyphens and uncertain token spacing are retained, not silently corrected. Treaty preamble, closing formula, protocol and shared signatures are separate retained assets, not part of the last article. Full supplements: /review/de-china-2015-base/. PDF page links identify pages, not verified paragraph correspondence.
Review status
Pending human wording, completeness, source-authority, currentness, alignment and rendering review. No legal review performed.
Currentness
Original source edition; not a verified current-law consolidation. Unknown. No current-law consolidation, effective-period determination, MLI application, or complete amendment-chain verification has been performed. Original publication year is not a current applicability date. Bounded agent triage, no qualified wording/alignment/legal review. No exhaustive verification of all later 2026 developments. Matching digest proves retained source identity, not legal force.
Protocols and later instruments
The protocol printed with this agreement is separately preserved in source supplements; it has not been merged into treaty articles. Subsequent protocols, amendments, MLI effects, replacements and suspensions are unresolved. This is not a consolidated current-law instrument. Source-triage warnings: Bounded agent triage, no qualified wording/alignment/legal review. No exhaustive verification of all later 2026 developments. Matching digest proves retained source identity, not legal force.
Text language and status
en · authentic-language-transcription · machine-transcription