AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE STATE OF QATAR
FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION
AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION
WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME

The Government of Japan and the Government of the State of Qatar,

 Desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income,

 Have agreed as follows:

Article 1
PERSONS COVERED

 This Agreement shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

Article 2
TAXES COVERED

1. This Agreement shall apply to taxes on income imposed on behalf of a Contracting State or of its political subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.

2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income all taxes imposed on total income or on elements of income, including taxes on gains from the alienation of any property and taxes on the total amounts of wages or salaries paid by enterprises.

3. The existing taxes to which this Agreement shall apply are:

 (a) in the case of Japan:

(i) the income tax; 

(ii) the corporation tax;

(iii) the special income tax for reconstruction;

(iv) the local corporation tax; and

 
(v) the local inhabitant taxes

  (hereinafter referred to as “Japanese tax”); and

 (b) in the case of Qatar:

  Taxes on income

  (hereinafter referred to as “Qatari tax”).

4. This Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes that are imposed after the date of signature of the Agreement in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes.  The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any significant changes that have been made in their respective taxation laws, within a reasonable period of time after such changes.

Article 3
GENERAL DEFINITIONS

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, 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 sovereign rights in accordance with international law and in which the laws relating to Japanese tax are in force;

 (b) the term “Qatar” means the State of Qatar and, when used in a geographical sense, it means the State of Qatar’s lands, internal waters and territorial sea including its bed and subsoil, the air space over them, and the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf over which the State of Qatar exercises sovereign rights and jurisdiction in accordance with the provisions of international law and the State of Qatar’s national laws and regulations;

 (c) the terms “a Contracting State” and “the other Contracting State” mean Japan or Qatar, as the context requires;

 (d) the term “tax” means Japanese tax or Qatari tax, as the context requires;

 (e) the term “person” includes an individual, a company and any other body of persons;

 (f) the term “company” means any body corporate or any entity that 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 other Contracting State; 

 (h) 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;

 (i) the term “national”, in relation to a Contracting State, means:

(i) any individual possessing the nationality of that Contracting State; and 

(ii) any legal person, partnership or association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in that Contracting State;

 (j) the term “competent authority” means:

(i) in the case of Japan, the Minister of Finance or his authorised representative; and

(ii) in the case of Qatar, the Minister of Finance or his authorised representative; and

 (k) the term “pension fund” means any person that:

(i) is established under the laws of a Contracting State;

(ii) is operated principally to administer or provide pensions, retirement benefits or other similar remuneration or to earn income for the benefit of other pension funds; and

(iii) is exempt from tax in that Contracting State with respect to income derived from the activities described in clause (ii).
 
2. As regards the application of this Agreement at any time by a Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning that it has at that time under the laws of that Contracting State for the purposes of the taxes to which the Agreement applies, any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that Contracting State prevailing over a meaning given to the term under other laws of that Contracting State.

Article 4
RESIDENT

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, the term “resident of a Contracting State” means:

 (a) in the case of Japan, any person who, under the laws of Japan, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of head or main office or any other criterion of a similar nature.  This term, however, does not include any person who is liable to tax in Japan in respect only of income from sources in Japan; and

 (b) in the case of Qatar, a natural person who has a permanent home, has been for more than 183 consecutive or separate days during any twelve month period, or has his centre of vital interests, in Qatar, and a body corporate which is incorporated under Qatari laws, or whose head office or place of effective management is situated in Qatar.

 The Government of a Contracting State or a political subdivision, local authority or statutory body thereof is also a resident of that Contracting State for the purposes of the Agreement.

2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows:

 (a) he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both Contracting States, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests);

 
 (b) if the Contracting State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either Contracting State, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State in which he has an habitual abode;

 (c) if he has an habitual abode in both Contracting States or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State of which he is a national;

 (d) if his status cannot be determined in accordance with the provisions of subparagraphs (a) to (c), the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual agreement.

3. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State in which its place of head or main office is situated.

Article 5
PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, 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; and

 (f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural resources. 

 
3. The term “permanent establishment” also encompasses:

 (a) a building site or construction or installation project, but only if it lasts more than six months; and

 (b) the furnishing of services, including consultancy services, by an enterprise through employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise for such purpose, but only if activities of that nature continue (for the same or a connected project) within a Contracting State for a period or periods aggregating more than 183 days within any twelve month period.

4. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the term “permanent establishment” shall be deemed not to include:

 (a) the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery 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 storage, display or delivery;

 (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 purpose of carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character;

 (f) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in subparagraphs (a) to (e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character.

 
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person - other than an agent of an independent status to whom the provisions of paragraph 7 apply - is acting on behalf of an enterprise and has, and habitually exercises, in a Contracting State an authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise, that enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in that Contracting State in respect of any activities which that person undertakes for the enterprise, unless the activities of such person are limited to those mentioned in paragraph 4 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.

6. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, an insurance enterprise of a Contracting State shall, except in regard to reinsurance, be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State if it collects premiums in that other Contracting State or insures risks situated therein through a person other than an agent of an independent status to whom the provisions of paragraph 7 apply.

7. An enterprise shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that 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.

Article 6
INCOME FROM IMMOVABLE PROPERTY

1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable property (including income from agriculture or forestry) situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

 
2. The term “immovable property” shall have the meaning which it has under the laws of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated.  The term shall in any case include property accessory to immovable property, livestock and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, rights to which the provisions of general law respecting landed property apply, usufruct of immovable property and rights to variable or fixed payments as consideration for the working of, or the right to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships and aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable property.

3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property.

4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to income from immovable property of an enterprise and to income from immovable property used for the performance of independent personal services.

Article 7
BUSINESS PROFITS

1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that Contracting State unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein.  If the enterprise carries on business as aforesaid, the profits of the enterprise may be taxed in that other Contracting State but only so much of them as is attributable to that permanent establishment.

2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, there shall in each Contracting State be attributed to that permanent establishment the profits which it might be expected to make if it were a distinct and separate enterprise engaged in the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently with the enterprise of which it is a permanent establishment.

3. In determining the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses so incurred, whether in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere.

4. No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the enterprise.

5. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs of this Article, the profits to be attributed to the permanent establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year unless there is good and sufficient reason to the contrary.

6. Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Agreement, then the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article.

Article 8
SHIPPING AND AIR TRANSPORT

1. Profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic carried on by an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that Contracting State. 

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic, that enterprise, if an enterprise of Qatar, shall be exempt from the enterprise tax of Japan, and, if an enterprise of Japan, shall be exempt from any tax similar to the enterprise tax of Japan which may hereafter be imposed in Qatar.

3. The provisions of the preceding paragraphs of this Article shall also apply to profits from the participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency.

Article 9
ASSOCIATED ENTERPRISES

1. Where

 (a) an enterprise of a Contracting State participates directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, or

 (b) the same persons participate directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of a Contracting State and an enterprise of the other Contracting State,

and in either case conditions are made or imposed between the two enterprises in their commercial or financial relations which differ from those which would be made between independent enterprises, then any profits which would, but for those conditions, have accrued to one of the enterprises, but, by reason of those conditions, have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly.

2. Where a Contracting State includes, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1, in the profits of an enterprise of that Contracting State - and taxes accordingly - profits on which an enterprise of the other Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other Contracting State and where the competent authorities of the Contracting States agree, upon consultation, that all or part of the profits so included are profits which would have accrued to the enterprise of the first-mentioned Contracting State if the conditions made between the two enterprises had been those which would have been made between independent enterprises, then that other Contracting State shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of the tax charged therein on those agreed profits.  In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this Agreement.

Article 10
DIVIDENDS

1. Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident and according to the laws of that Contracting State, but if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed:

 (a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company that has owned directly or indirectly, for the period of six months ending on the date on which entitlement to the dividends is determined, at least 10 per cent of the voting power or of the total issued shares of the company paying the dividends; or

 (b) 10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases.

 
3. The provisions of paragraph 2 shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid.

4. The provisions of subparagraph (a) of paragraph 2 shall not apply in the case of dividends paid by a company which is entitled to a deduction for dividends paid to its beneficiaries in computing its taxable income in Japan.

5. The term “dividends” as used in this Article means income from shares or other rights, not being debt-claims, participating in profits, as well as income which is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from shares by the tax laws of the Contracting State of which the company making the distribution is a resident.

6. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other Contracting State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the holding in respect of which the dividends are 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. Where a company which is a resident of a Contracting State derives profits or income from the other Contracting State, that other Contracting State may not impose any tax on the dividends paid by the company, except insofar as such dividends are paid to a resident of that other Contracting State or insofar as the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed base situated in that other Contracting State, nor subject the company’s undistributed profits to a tax on the company’s undistributed profits, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in such other Contracting State.

Article 11
INTEREST

1. Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

 
2. However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises and according to the laws of that Contracting 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, interest arising in a Contracting State shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if:

 (a) the interest is beneficially owned by the Government of that other Contracting State, a political subdivision or local authority thereof, the central bank thereof or any institution wholly owned by the Government thereof;

 (b) the interest is beneficially owned by a resident of that other Contracting State with respect to debt-claims guaranteed, insured or indirectly financed by the Government of that other Contracting State, a political subdivision or local authority thereof, the central bank thereof or any institution wholly owned by the Government thereof;

 (c) the interest is beneficially owned by a resident of that other Contracting State that is either:

  (i) a bank;

  (ii) an insurance company;

  (iii) a securities dealer; or

  (iv) any other enterprise, provided that in the three taxable years preceding the taxable year in which the interest is paid, the enterprise derives more than 50 per cent of its liabilities from the issuance of bonds in the financial markets or from taking deposits at interest, and more than 50 per cent of the assets of the enterprise consist of debt-claims against persons that do not have with the enterprise a relationship described in subparagraph (a) or (b) of paragraph 1 of Article 9;

  which is established and regulated as such under the laws of that other Contracting State; or

 
 (d) the interest is beneficially owned by a pension fund that is a resident of that other Contracting State, provided that such interest is derived from the activities described in clause (ii) of subparagraph (k) of paragraph 1 of Article 3 and that as of the end of the prior taxable year more than 50 per cent of its beneficiaries, members or participants are individuals who are residents of either Contracting State.

4. 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, and all other income that is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from money lent by the tax laws of the Contracting State in which the income arises.  Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purposes of this Article.

5. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 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 Contracting 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.

6. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is a resident of that Contracting 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 Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.

 
7. 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.

Article 12
ROYALTIES

1. Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

2. However, such royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the laws of that Contracting State, but if the beneficial owner of the royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.

3. The term “royalties” as used in this Article means payments of any kind received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films and films, tapes or discs for radio or television broadcasting, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience.

4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other Contracting State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are 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.

 
5. Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is a resident of that Contracting State.  Where, however, the person paying the royalties, 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 liability to pay the royalties was incurred, and such royalties are borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.

6. 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 royalties, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are 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.

Article 13
CAPITAL GAINS

1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

2. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of shares or interests in a company, partnership or trust deriving at least 50 per cent of the value of its property directly or indirectly from immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State, unless the relevant class of the shares or the interests is traded on a recognised stock exchange and the resident and persons related or connected to that resident own in the aggregate 5 per cent or less of that class of the shares or the interests.

 
3. Gains from the alienation of any property, other than immovable property, forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of any property, other than immovable property, pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of such a fixed base, may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

4. Gains derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated by that enterprise in international traffic or any property, other than immovable property, pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft shall be taxable only in that Contracting State.

5. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this Article shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.

Article 14
INDEPENDENT PERSONAL SERVICES

1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of professional services or other activities of an independent character shall be taxable only in that Contracting State except in the following circumstances, when such income may also be taxed in the other Contracting State:

 (a) if he has a fixed base regularly available to him in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities; in that case, only so much of the income as is attributable to that fixed base may be taxed in that other Contracting State; or

 (b) if his stay in the other Contracting State is for a period or periods amounting to or exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve month period commencing or ending in the taxable year concerned; in that case, only so much of the income as is derived from his activities performed in that other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

 
2. The term “professional services” includes especially independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational or teaching activities as well as the independent activities of physicians, lawyers, engineers, architects, dentists and accountants.

Article 15
DEPENDENT PERSONAL SERVICES

1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18 and 19, salaries, wages and other similar remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment shall be taxable only in that Contracting State unless the employment is exercised in the other Contracting State.  If the employment is so exercised, such remuneration as is derived therefrom may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment exercised in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned Contracting State if:

 (a) the recipient is present in the other Contracting State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve month period commencing or ending in the taxable year concerned;

 (b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other Contracting State; and

 (c) the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed base which the employer has in the other Contracting State.

3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration derived in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship or aircraft operated in international traffic by an enterprise of a Contracting State may be taxed in that Contracting State.

Article 16
DIRECTORS’ FEES

 Directors’ fees and other similar payments derived by a resident of a Contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

Article 17
ENTERTAINERS AND SPORTSPERSONS

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or a musician, or as a sportsperson, from his personal activities as such exercised in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

2. Where income in respect of personal activities exercised by an entertainer or a sportsperson in his capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsperson himself but to another person, that income may, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the entertainer or sportsperson are exercised.

Article 18
PENSIONS AND ANNUITIES

1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other similar remuneration and annuities paid to a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that Contracting State.

2. The term “annuity” means a stated sum payable periodically at stated times during life or during a specified or ascertainable period of time under an obligation to make the payments in return for adequate and full consideration in money or money’s worth.

Article 19
GOVERNMENT SERVICE

1. (a) Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration paid by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that Contracting State or political subdivision or local authority shall be taxable only in that Contracting State.

 (b) However, such salaries, wages and other similar remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that other Contracting State and the individual is a resident of that other Contracting State who:

 
  (i) is a national of that other Contracting State; or

  (ii) did not become a resident of that other Contracting State solely for the purpose of rendering the services.

2. (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, pensions and other similar remuneration paid by, or out of funds to which contributions are made or created by, a Contracting State or a political subdivision or local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that Contracting State or political subdivision or local authority shall be taxable only in that Contracting State.

 (b) However, such pensions and other similar remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the individual is a resident of, and a national of, that other Contracting State.

3. The provisions of Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 shall apply to salaries, wages, pensions, and other similar remuneration in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or local authority thereof.

Article 20
STUDENTS

 Payments which a student, business apprentice or trainee who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State and who is present in the first-mentioned Contracting State solely for the purpose of his education or training receives for the purpose of his maintenance, education or training shall not be taxed in the first-mentioned Contracting State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside the first-mentioned Contracting State.  The exemption provided by this Article shall apply to a business apprentice or trainee only for a period not exceeding three years from the date on which he first begins his training in the first-mentioned Contracting State.

Article 21
OTHER INCOME

1. Items of income beneficially owned by a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement shall be taxable only in that Contracting State.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to income, other than income from immovable property as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, if the beneficial owner of such income, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other Contracting State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the income 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.

3. Where, by reason of a special relationship between the resident referred to in paragraph 1 and the payer or between both of them and some other person, the amount of income referred to in paragraph 1 exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon between them 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.

Article 22
ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE TAXATION

1. Subject to the provisions of the laws of Japan regarding the allowance as a credit against Japanese tax of tax payable in any country other than Japan, where a resident of Japan derives income from Qatar which may be taxed in Qatar in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, the amount of the Qatari tax payable in respect of that income shall be allowed as a credit against the Japanese tax imposed on that resident.  The amount of credit, however, shall not exceed that part of the Japanese tax which is appropriate to that income.

 
2. In the case of Qatar, double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:

 Where a resident of Qatar derives income which, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, may be taxed in Japan, then Qatar shall allow as a deduction from the Qatari tax of that resident an amount equal to the tax paid in Japan provided that such deduction shall not exceed that part of the tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to the income derived from Japan.

Article 23
NON-DISCRIMINATION

1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith, which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which nationals of that other Contracting State in the same circumstances, in particular with respect to residence, are or may be subjected.  The provisions of this paragraph shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, also apply to persons who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

2. The taxation on a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State shall not be less favourably levied in that other Contracting State than the taxation levied on enterprises of that other Contracting State carrying on the same activities.  The provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents.

3. Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 7 of Article 11, paragraph 6 of Article 12 or paragraph 3 of Article 21 apply, interest, royalties and other disbursements paid by an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall, for the purposes of determining the taxable profits of such enterprise, be deductible under the same conditions as if they had been paid to a resident of the first-mentioned Contracting State.

 
4. Enterprises of a Contracting State, the capital of which is wholly or partly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by one or more residents of the other Contracting State, shall not be subjected in the first-mentioned Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-mentioned Contracting State are or may be subjected.

5. The provisions of this Article shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2, apply to taxes of every kind and description imposed by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or local authority thereof.

Article 24
MUTUAL AGREEMENT PROCEDURE

1. Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those Contracting States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident or, if his case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 23, to that of the Contracting State of which he is a national.  The case must be presented within three years from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement.

2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the objection appears to it to be justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.  Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits in the domestic law of the Contracting States.

3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of this Agreement.  They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Agreement.

4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly, including through a joint commission consisting of themselves or their representatives, for the purposes of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs of this Article.

Article 25
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Agreement or to the administration or enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes of every kind and description imposed on behalf of the Contracting States, or of their political subdivisions or local authorities, insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Agreement.  The exchange of information is not restricted by Articles 1 and 2.

2. Any information received under paragraph 1 by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that Contracting State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) concerned with the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, the determination of appeals in relation to the taxes referred to in paragraph 1, or the oversight of the above.  Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes.  They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, information received by a Contracting State may be used for other purposes when such information may be used for such other purposes under the laws of both Contracting States and the competent authority of the Contracting State supplying the information authorises such use.

3. In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:

 (a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;

 (b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the laws or in the normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting State;

 (c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).

 
4. If information is requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this Article, the other Contracting State shall use its information gathering measures to obtain the requested information, even though that other Contracting State may not need such information for its own tax purposes.  The obligation contained in the preceding sentence is subject to the limitations of paragraph 3 but in no case shall such limitations be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because it has no domestic interest in such information.

5. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 3 be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because the information is held by a bank, other financial institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or because it relates to ownership interests in a person.

Article 26
MEMBERS OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND CONSULAR POSTS

 Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the fiscal privileges of members of diplomatic missions or consular posts under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.

Article 27
HEADINGS

 The headings of the Articles of this Agreement are inserted for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation of the Agreement.

Article 28
ENTRY INTO FORCE

1. This Agreement shall be approved in accordance with the legal procedures of each of the Contracting States and shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the date of exchange of diplomatic notes indicating such approval.

2. The provisions of this Agreement shall have effect:

 (a) in the case of Japan:

  (i) with respect to taxes levied on the basis of a taxable year, for taxes for any taxable years beginning on or after 1 January in the calendar year immediately following that in which the Agreement enters into force; and

 
  (ii) with respect to taxes not levied on the basis of a taxable year, for taxes levied on or after 1 January in the calendar year immediately following that in which the Agreement enters into force; and

 (b) in the case of Qatar:

  (i) with regard to taxes withheld at source, in respect of amounts paid or credited on or after 1 January of the calendar year immediately following the year in which the Agreement enters into force; and

  (ii) with regard to other taxes, in respect of taxable years beginning on or after 1 January of the calendar year immediately following the year in which the Agreement enters into force.

3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, the provisions of Article 25 shall have effect from the date of entry into force of this Agreement, without regard to the date on which the taxes are levied or the taxable year to which the taxes relate.  This provision shall remain subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 25.

Article 29
TERMINATION

 This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State.  Either Contracting State may terminate the Agreement, through diplomatic channels, by giving written notice of termination at least six months before the end of any calendar year beginning after the expiry of five years from the date of entry into force of the Agreement.  In such event, the Agreement shall cease to have effect:

 (a) in the case of Japan:

  (i) with respect to taxes levied on the basis of a taxable year, for taxes for any taxable years beginning on or after 1 January in the calendar year immediately following that in which the notice is given; and

  (ii) with respect to taxes not levied on the basis of a taxable year, for taxes levied on or after 1 January in the calendar year immediately following that in which the notice is given; and

 
 
 (b) in the case of Qatar:

  (i) with regard to taxes withheld at source, in respect of amounts paid or credited on or after 1 January of the calendar year immediately following the year in which the notice is given; and

  (ii) with regard to other taxes, in respect of taxable years beginning on or after 1 January of the calendar year immediately following the year in which the notice is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.

 DONE in duplicate at Tokyo this twentieth day of February, 2015 in the Japanese, Arabic and English languages, all texts being equally authentic.  In case of any divergence of interpretation, the English text shall prevail. 

FOR THE GOVERNMENT  FOR THE GOVERNMENT
OF JAPAN:   OF THE STATE OF QATAR:

 Shingo Tsuda                      يوسف محمد بلال

Protocol



 At the signing of the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the State of Qatar for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income (hereinafter referred to as “the Agreement”), the Government of Japan and the Government of the State of Qatar have agreed upon the following provisions, which shall form an integral part of the Agreement.

1. With reference to paragraph 3 of Article 2 of the Agreement:

 It is understood that, in the case of Qatar, the term “Taxes on income” means Income Tax imposed by the Income Tax Law and Corporation Tax imposed by Qatar Financial Centre Tax Regulations.

2. With reference to Article 4 of the Agreement:

 It is understood that the term “resident of a Contracting State” includes:

 (a) a pension fund established under the laws of that Contracting State; and

 (b) an organisation established under the laws of that Contracting State and operated exclusively for a religious, charitable, educational, scientific, artistic, cultural or public purpose, only if all or part of its income may be exempt from tax under the laws of that Contracting State.

3. With reference to paragraph 3 of Article 7 of the Agreement:

 It is understood that, when computing the taxable income of a permanent establishment for the tax purposes of the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is situated, the conditions for the deductibility of expenses which are attributable to the permanent establishment in accordance with the provisions of that paragraph are matters to be determined by the laws of that Contracting State.

 
4. With reference to Article 8 of the Agreement, it is understood that:

 (a) interest on funds temporarily deposited in banks in connection with the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be regarded as profits from the operation of ships or aircraft referred to in Article 8 and not as interest referred to in Article 11 of the Agreement; and 

 (b) profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall include profits from:

  (i) the rental of ships or aircraft on a full basis in international traffic whether a time charter basis or a voyage charter basis;

  (ii) the rental of ships or aircraft on a bare-boat basis, where such rental is incidental to the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic;

  (iii) the use, maintenance or rental of containers (including trailers and related equipment used for transport of containers), where such use, maintenance or rental, as the case may be, is incidental to the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic; and

  (iv) the sale of tickets for international traffic on behalf of other enterprises, where such sale is incidental to the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic. 

 
5. With reference to paragraph 4 of Article 10 of the Agreement:

 Where any institution wholly owned by the Government of the State of Qatar owns the shares of a company which is a resident of Japan (hereinafter referred to as “the Japanese company”) indirectly through another company referred to in that paragraph (hereinafter referred to as “the intermediate company”) and where the conditions described in subparagraph (a) of paragraph 2 of that Article would be satisfied if the institution owned directly the shares of the Japanese company, the provisions of that subparagraph shall be applied to dividends paid to the institution by the intermediate company to the extent that the dividends paid by the intermediate company are considered to correspond to the dividends paid to the intermediate company by the Japanese company.

6. For the purposes of paragraph 3 of Article 11 of the Agreement and paragraph 5 of this Protocol, the term “institution wholly owned by the Government” includes, in particular:

 (a) in the case of Japan: 

  (i) the Japan Bank for International Cooperation;

  (ii) the Japan International Cooperation Agency; and

  (iii) the Nippon Export and Investment Insurance; and

 (b) in the case of the State of Qatar:

  (i) Qatar Investment Authority;

  (ii) Qatar Holding Limited Liability Company;

  (iii) General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority;

  (iv) Qatar Petroleum;

  (v) Qatar Petroleum International;

  (vi) Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Company Limited (Tasweeq);

 
  (vii) Qatar Chemical and Petrochemical Marketing and Distribution Company (Muntajat); and

  (viii) Qatar Development Bank.

7. With reference to paragraph 2 of Article 13 of the Agreement:

 It is understood that the term “recognised stock exchange” means:

 (a) any stock exchange established by a Financial Instruments Exchange or an approved-type financial instruments firms association under the terms of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law (Law No. 25 of 1948) of Japan; 

 (b) the Qatar Stock Exchange; and

 (c) any other stock exchange which the competent authorities of the Contracting States agree to recognise for the purposes of that paragraph.

8. Nothing in the Agreement shall prevent Japan from imposing tax at source, in accordance with its laws, on any income and gains derived by a person pursuant to a silent partnership (Tokumei Kumiai) contract or other similar contract.

9. With reference to Article 23 of the Agreement: 

 The exemption of Qatari nationals from taxes under Qatari tax law shall not be regarded as a discrimination under the provision of that Article.

10. With reference to paragraph 5 of Article 25 of the Agreement:

 A Contracting State may decline to supply information relating to confidential communications between attorneys, solicitors or other admitted legal representatives in their role as such and their clients to the extent that the communications are protected from disclosure under the domestic laws of that Contracting State.

 
11. With reference to the Agreement:

 It is understood that no relief shall be available under the Agreement if the main purpose or one of the main purposes of any person concerned with the creation or assignment of any shares, debt-claims or other rights or properties in respect of which income arises was to take advantage of the Agreement by means of that creation or assignment.

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.

 DONE in duplicate at Tokyo this twentieth day of February, 2015 in the Japanese, Arabic and English languages, all texts being equally authentic.  In case of any divergence of interpretation, the English text shall prevail. 




FOR THE GOVERNMENT  FOR THE GOVERNMENT
OF JAPAN:   OF THE STATE OF QATAR:

 Shingo Tsuda                     يوسف محمد بلال