CONVENTION
The Government of Thailand and the Government of Japan,
Desiring to conclude a new Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect of taxes on income,
Have agreed as follows:
This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.
1. The taxes which are the subject of this Convention are: (a) In Japan: (i) the income tax; and (ii) the corporation tax (hereinafter referred to as "Japanese tax"); (b) In Thailand: (i) the income tax; and (ii) the petroleum income tax (hereinafter referred to as "Thai tax")
2. This Convention shall also apply to any identical or substantially similar taxes, which are imposed after the date of signature of this Convention in addition to, or in place of, those referred to in paragraph 1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any substantial changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws within a reasonable period of time after such changes.
1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) the term "Japan", when used in a geographical sense, means all the territory of Japan, including its territorial sea, in which the laws relating to Japanese tax are in force, and all the area beyond its territorial sea, including the seabed and subsoil thereof, over which Japan has jurisdiction in accordance with international law and in which the laws relating to Japanese tax are in force; (b) the term "Thailand" means the Kingdom of Thailand and includes any area adjacent to the territorial waters of the Kingdom of Thailand which, under the Thai legislation and international law, falls under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Thailand; (c) the terms a Contracting State and the other Contracting State mean Thailand or Japan, as the context requires; (d) the term tax means Thai tax or Japanese tax, as the context requires; (e) the term person includes an individual, a company and any other body of persons and in the case of Thailand also includes an undivided estate and a deceased person treated as a taxable unit under Thai taxation laws; (f) the term company means any body corporate or any entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; (g) the terms enterprise of a Contracting State and enterprise of the other Contracting State mean respectively an enterprise carried on by a resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident of the otherContracting State; (h) the term "nationals" means: (i) in relation to Japan, all individuals possessing the nationality of Japan and all juridical persons created or organized under the laws of Japan and all organizations without juridical personality treated for the purposes of Japanese tax as juridical persons created or organized under the laws of Japan; and (ii) in relation to Thailand, all individuals possessing the nationality of Thailand and all legal persons, partnerships, associations and any other entities deriving their status as from the law in force in Thailand; (i) The term "international traffic" means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise of a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State; and (j) the term "competent authority" means: (i) in the case of Japan, the Minister of Finance or his authorized representative; and (ii) in the case of Thailand, the Minister of Finance or his authorized representative.
2. As regards the application of this Convention by a Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has under the laws of that Contracting State concerning the taxes to which this Convention applies.
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the laws of that Contracting State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of incorporation, place of head or main office or any other criterion of a similar nature. But this term does not include any person who is liable to tax in that Contracting State in respect only of income from sources in that Contracting State.
2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person is a resident of both Contracting States then the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall determined by mutual agreement the Contracting state of which that person shall be deemed to be a resident for the purposes of this Convention .
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "permanent establishment" means a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on.
2. The term "permanent establishment" includes especially: (a) a place of management, (b) a branch; (c) an office; (d) a factory; (e) a workshop; (f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural resources; (g) a farm or plantation; and (h) a warehouse in relation to a person providing storage facilities for others.
3. A building site, a construction, installation or assembly project or supervisory activities in connection therewith, constitute a permanent establishment if such site, project or activities last more than 3 months.
4. An enterprise of a Contracting State shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State if it furnishes in that other Contracting State, services including consultancy services through employees or other personnel provided that such activities last (for the same project or two or more connected projects) for a period or periods aggregating more than 6 months within any twelve-month period.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs of this Article, the term "permanent establishment" shall be deemed not to include: (a) the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage or display of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise; (b) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of storageor display; (c) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise; (d) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of purchasing goods or merchandise, or of collecting information, for the enterprise; (e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the the purpose of carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character.
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person-other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 7 applies-is acting in a Contracting State on behalf of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, that enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the first-mentioned Contracting State, if such a person: (a) has and habitually exercises in the first-mentioned Contracting State, an authority to conclude contracts on behalf of the enterprise, unless his activities are limited to those mentioned in paragraph 5 which, if exercised through a fixed place of business, would not make this fixed place of business a permanent establishment under the provisions of that paragraph; (b) has no such authority, but habitually maintains in the first- mentioned Contracting State a stock of goods ormerchandise belonging to the enterprise from which he regularly fills orders or makes deliveries on behalf of the enterprise; or (c) has no such authority, but habitually secures orders in the first-mentioned Contracting State wholly or almost wholly for the enterprise or for the enterprise and other enterprises which are controlled by it or have a controlling interest in it.
7. An enterprise of a Contracting State shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that other Contracting State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business.
8. The fact that a company which is a resident of a Contracting State controls or is controlled by a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State, or which carries on business in that other Contracting State (whether through a permanent establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself constitute either company a permanent establishment of the other. |