SME Times News Bureau | 19 Feb, 2018
India
and Iran Friday Saturday signed nine agreements, including an
Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTAA) and the
Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income.
The
Agreement is on similar lines as entered into by India with other
countries.
The
Agreement will stimulate flow of investment, technology and personnel
from India to Iran& vice versa, and will prevent double taxation,
an official release said.
The
Agreement will provide for exchange of information between the two
Contracting Parties as per latest International Standards. It will
improve transparency in tax matters and will help curb tax evasion
and tax avoidance.
The
Agreement also meets treaty related minimum standards under G-20 OECD
Base Erosion & Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, in which India
participated on an equal footing.
According
to a joint statement issued following the talks, with a view to fully
utilise the potential of the Chabahar port and its connectivity to
Afghanistan and Central Asia, India conveyed its readiness to support
the development of Chabahar- Zahedan Rail line.
"IRCON,
India, and CDTIC, Iran, who are engaged in discussions, were tasked
to finalise the technical parameters and financing options for the
project in a time bound manner," the statement said.
"Both
leaders encouraged greater efforts for cooperation in railway sector
including supply of steel rails, turnouts and locomotives."
The
two sides also reiterated their commitment to the International
North- South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and stressed on the need for
inclusion of Chabahar within its framework.
"It was
noted that Iran will hold an early meeting of the INSTC Coordination
Meeting in Tehran. India's accession to TIR Convention and Ashgabat
Agreement was welcomed as additional steps at enhancing regional
connectivity and linking regional centres of economic growth,"
the statement said.
In June last year, India became the
71st country to ratify the UN Transports Internationaux Routiers
(TIR) or International Road Transport Convention.
Earlier
this month, India was admitted to the Ashgabat Agreement which seeks
to establish an international transport and transit corridor between
Iran, Oman, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
India and Iran
also signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation to
promote flow of investment and services between the two
countries.
According to the joint statement, the two sides
agreed to undertake text-based negotiations on preferential trade
agreement as well as conclusion of a bilateral investment treaty in a
fixed time frame.
An extradition agreement signed by the
two countries in 2008 also came into effect following the exchange of
instrument of ratification on Saturday.
Six other
memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed including on
cooperation in the areas of health, traditional systems of medicine,
and agriculture and allied sectors, and establishment of an expert
group on trade remedy measures.