India, Germany to resume DTAA talks

India and Germany agreed to resume negotiations on partial revision of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA), with a view to bring the provisions relating to exchange of information to international standards.

The two sides will meet in New Delhi next month and work towards agreeing on a final version to ensure that it is signed soon. “The two countries have agreed to explore possibilities of enhancing tax-related information, while continuing to share information on the basis of existing agreements,” the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.

On August 17, a high-level delegation led by Indian Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das had met German State Secretary Johannes Geismann and other senior officials in Berlin and discussed DTAA.

Along with that they also discussed exchange of tax-related information, base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project, DTAA negotiations and others.

An amending protocol to the existing DTAA was last discussed by the authorities of the two countries in New Delhi in April 2011, but further progress in the matter could not be made, the statement said.

“This meeting between the Indian and German authorities was in furtherance of the government’s policy of proactive engagement with other countries for exchange of information to counter the menace of tax evasion and stashing of black money abroad,” the Finance Ministry said.