
1 
This Order may be cited as the Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Tunisia) Order 1984.
2 
It is hereby declared—
(a) that the arrangements specified in the
Convention set out in the Schedule to this Order have been made with the Government
of the Tunisian Republic with a view to affording relief from double taxation
in relation to income tax, corporation tax or capital gains tax and taxes
of a similar character imposed by the laws of Tunisia; and
(b) that it is expedient that those arrangements should have effect.
N.E. Leigh
Clerk of the Privy Council
For the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
Douglas Hurd
For the Government of the Tunisian Republic:
Mahmoud Mestiri

SCHEDULE 1


CONVENTION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TUNISIAN REPUBLIC FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME AND CAPITAL GAINS 
The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Tunisian Republic; 
Desiring to conclude a Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains; 
Have agreed as follows: 

ARTICLE 1 
This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

ARTICLE 2 

(1) This Convention shall apply to the existing
taxes on income and capital gains which are imposed by either Contracting
State, and also 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, the existing taxes.
(2) In this Article the term “the existing taxes” means : 
(a) in relation to the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:
(i) the income tax;
(ii) the corporation tax; and
(iii) the capital gains tax;
 (hereinafter referred to as “United
Kingdom tax”); 
(b) in relation to Tunisia:
(i) the trade tax (l'impôt de la patente);
(ii) the tax on the profits of non-commercial
professions (l'impôt sur les bénéfices des professions
non-commerciales);
(iii) the tax on salaries and wages (l'impôt
sur les traitements et salaires);
(iv) the agricultural tax (l'impôt
agricole);
(v) the tax on income from transferable securities
(l'impôt sur le revenu des valeurs mobilières);
(vi) the tax on income from debts, deposits,
sureties and current accounts (IRC) (l'impôt sur le revenu des créances,
dépôts, cautionnements et comptes courants (IRC));
(vii) the capital gains tax on immovable
property (l'impôt sur les plusvaleurs immobilières);
(viii) the special solidarity levy (la contribution
exceptionelle de solidarité); and
(ix) the State personal levy (la contribution
personnelle d'Etat);
 (hereinafter referred to as “Tunisian
tax”).
(3) The competent authorities of the Contracting
States shall notify each other of any substantial changes which are made in
their respective taxation laws.

ARTICLE 3 

(1) In this Convention, unless the context
otherwise requires:
(a) the terms “a Contracting State” and “the other Contracting State” mean the United Kingdom or Tunisia, as the context requires;
(b) the term “person” comprises an individual, a company and
any other body of persons;
(c) the term “company” means any body corporate or any entity
which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;
(d) 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;
(e) the term “competent
authority” means, in the case of
the United Kingdom, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or their authorised
representative, and in the case of Tunisia, the Minister of Finance or his
authorised representative;
(f) the term “international
traffic” means any transport by
a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise which has its place of effective
management in a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated
solely between places in the other Contracting State;
(g) the term “United
Kingdom” means Great Britain and
Northern Ireland, including any area outside the territorial sea of the United
Kingdom which in accordance with international law has been or may hereafter
be designated, under the laws of the United Kingdom concerning the Continental
Shelf, as an area within which the rights of the United Kingdom with respect
to the sea bed and sub-soil and their natural resources may be exercised;
(h) the term “Tunisia” used in a geographical sense, means the territory of the Tunisian Republic, including any area lying beyond the
territorial waters of Tunisia which, under the laws of Tunisia and in accordance
with international law, is an area within which Tunisia may exercise rights
in respect of the sea bed and its sub-soil and their natural resources;
(i) the term “national” means : 
(i) in relation to the United Kingdom, any individual who has under the law in
the United Kingdom the status of United Kingdom national, provided he has
the right of abode in the United Kingdom; and any legal person, partnership,
association or other entity deriving its status as such from the law in force
in the United Kingdom;

(ii) in relation to Tunisia, any
individual possessing Tunisian nationality and any legal person, partnership,
association or other entity deriving its status from the law in force in Tunisia.
(2) As regards the application of this Convention
by a Contracting State any term not otherwise defined shall, unless the context
otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has under the laws of that Contracting
State relating to the taxes which are the subject of this Convention.

ARTICLE 4 

(1) For the purposes of this Convention,
the term “resident of a Contracting State” means any person who, under the laws
of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence,
place of management or any other criterion of a similar nature.
(2) Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article 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 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 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 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 of the Contracting
State of which he is a national;
(d) if he is a national of both Contracting
States or of neither of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting
States shall settle the question by mutual agreement.
(3) Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article a person other
than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall
be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting State in which its place of
effective management is situated.

ARTICLE 5 

(1) For the purposes of this Convention,
the term “permanent establishment”
means a fixed place of business in which the business
of the enterprise is wholly or partly carried on, whether directly or through
a participation in a joint venture (association en participation) or a partnership
(société de fait).
(2) The term “permanent
establishment” shall include 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) an installation or structure
used for the exploration of natural resources;

(h) a building site or construction
or assembly project or supervisory activities in connection therewith, where
such site, project or activity continues for a period of more than six months,
or where such project or activity, being incidental to the sale of machinery
or equipment, continues for a period not exceeding six months and the charges
payable for the project or activity exceed 10 per cent of the sale price of
the machinery or equipment.
(3) 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
for collecting information, for the enterprise;

(e) the maintenance of a fixed place
of business solely for the purpose of advertising, for the supply of information,
for scientific research or for similar activities which have a preparatory
or auxiliary character, for the enterprise.
(4) A person acting in a Contracting State
on behalf of an enterprise of the other Contracting State—other than
an agent of an independent status to whom the provisions of paragraph (6) of this Article apply—shall
be deemed to be a permanent establishment in the first-mentioned State if
he has, and habitually exercises in that State, an authority to conclude contracts
in the name of the enterprise, unless his activities are limited to the purchase
of merchandise for the enterprise.
(5) An insurance enterprise of a Contracting
State shall, except with regard to re-insurance, be deemed to have a permanent
establishment in the other Contracting State if it collects premiums in the
territory of that other State or insures risks situated therein through an
employee or representative established therein who is not an agent of an independent
status within the meaning of paragraph (6)
of this Article.
(6) 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 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.
(7) 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
State (whether through a permanent establishment or otherwise), shall not
of itself constitute either company a permanent establishment of the other.

ARTICLE 6 

(1) Income from immovable property, including
income from agriculture or forestry, may be taxed in the Contracting State
in which such property is situated.
(2) The term “immovable
property” shall be defined in accordance
with the law of the Contracting State in which the property 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, boats and aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable property.
(3) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article 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)
of this Article shall also apply to the income from immovable property of
an enterprise and to income from immovable property used for the performance
of independent personal services.

ARTICLE 7 

(1) The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting
State shall be taxable only in that 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 the other State but only so much
of them as is attributable to that permanent establishment.
(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this Article, 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 the determination of the profits of
a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions expenses incurred
for the purposes of the business of the permanent establishment, including
management expenses and general administrative expenses so incurred, whether
in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere.
No deduction shall be allowed for sums which are paid (other than the reimbursement
of expenses actually incurred) by the permanent establishment to the head
office or to any other office of the enterprise as royalties, fees or other
similar payments in respect of the use of licences, patents or other rights,
as commission for services rendered or for management or, except in the case
of a banking enterprise, as interest on sums loaned to the permanent establishment.
(4) Insofar as it has been customary in a
Contracting State to determine the profits to be attributed to a permanent
establishment on the basis of an apportionment of the total profits of the
enterprise to its various parts, nothing in paragraph (2) of this Article shall preclude
that Contracting State from determining the profits to be taxed by such an
apportionment as may be customary; the method of apportionment adopted shall,
however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the principles
contained in this Article.
(5) 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.
(6) For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs,
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.
(7) The provisions of this Article shall
apply to the profits derived by a resident of the United Kingdom in Tunisia
in respect of his participation in a joint venture (association en participation)
or a partnership (société de fait) with a Tunisian enterprise
or Tunisian enterprises.
(8) Where profits include items of income
which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Convention, then
the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of
this Article.

ARTICLE 8 

(1) Profits from the operation of ships or
aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting
State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
(2) Profits from the operation of boats engaged
in inland waterways transport shall be taxable only in the Contracting State
in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
(3) If the place of effective management
of a shipping enterprise or of an inland waterways transport enterprise is
aboard a ship or boat, then it shall be deemed to be situated in the Contracting
State in which the home harbour of the ship or boat is situated, or, if there
is no such home harbour, in the Contracting State of which the operator of
the ship or boat is a resident.
(4) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article shall also apply
to profits from the participation in a pool, a joint business or an international
operating agency.

ARTICLE 9 
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.

ARTICLE 10 

(1) Dividends derived from a company which
is a resident of a Contracting State by a resident of the other Contracting
State may be taxed in that other 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 law of that State, but provided that the beneficial owner
of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State the tax so charged
shall not exceed:
(a) 12 per cent of the gross amount of the
dividends if the beneficial owner is a company which controls directly at
least 25 per cent of the voting power in the company paying the dividends;
(b) in all other cases 20 per cent of the
gross amount of the dividends.
(3) The term “dividends” as used in this Article means income
from shares, “jouissance” shares or “jouissance” rights,
mining shares, founders' shares or other rights not being debt-claims, participating
in profits, as well as income assimilated to or treated in the same way as
income from shares by the taxation law of the State of which the company making
the payment is a resident.
(4) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2)
of this Article 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
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 a case the provisions
of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
(5) Where a company which is a resident of
a Contracting State derives profits or income from the other Contracting State,
that other 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 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 State, nor subject the company's undistributed profits to a tax on undistributed
profits, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed profits consist wholly
or partly of profits or income arising in that other State.
(6) Notwithstanding the other provisions
of this Convention, where a company which is a resident of a Contracting State
has a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State it may be subjected
therein to a tax on dividends of which the basis of assessment is determined
according to the internal law of that other Contracting State but such tax
shall not exceed 12 per cent of the distributed profits of the company deemed
to be attributable to the permanent establishment.

ARTICLE 11 

(1) Interest arising in a Contracting State
which is derived and beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting
State may be taxed in that other State.
(2) However, such interest may also be taxed
in the Contracting State in which it arises, and according to the law of that
State, but the tax so charged shall not exceed 12 per cent of the gross amount
of the interest except that the rate of tax is reduced to 10 per cent of the
gross amount if the beneficial owner of the interest is a bank or other financial
institution.
(3) The term “interest” as used in this Article means income
from Government securities, bonds or debentures, whether or not secured by
mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in profits, and
other debt-claims of every kind as well as all other income assimilated to
income from money lent by the taxation law of the State in which the income
arises.
(4) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2)
of this Article 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.
(5) Interest shall be deemed to arise in
a Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, a political subdivision,
a local authority or 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 the 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.
(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 interest paid exceeds, for whatever reason,
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 Convention.

ARTICLE 12 

(1) Royalties arising in a Contracting State
which are derived and beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting
State may be taxed in that other State.
(2) However, such royalties may also be taxed
in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the law of that
State, but the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 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 or tapes 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, agricultural, industrial, commercial or scientific
equipment, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific
experience, or for technical or economic studies.
(4) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2)
of this Article 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 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 where the payer is that State itself, a political subdivision,
a local authority or a resident of that 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 obligation to pay the royalties was incurred and the royalties
are borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base then the royalties
shall be deemed to arise in the 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 paid exceeds, for whatever reason,
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 Convention.

ARTICLE 13 

(1) Capital gains from the alienation of
immovable property, as defined in paragraph (2)
of Article 6, may be taxed in the Contracting
State in which such property is situated.
(2) Capital gains from the alienation of
movable 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 movable 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 together with the whole enterprise)
or of such a fixed base, may be taxed in the other State.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article, capital gains
derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships
and aircraft operated in international traffic and movable property pertaining
to the operation of such ships and aircraft shall be taxable only in that
Contracting State.
(4) Capital gains from the alienation of
any property other than those mentioned in paragraphs
(1), (2) and (3) of this Article shall be taxable only in
the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.

ARTICLE 14 

(1) Subject to the provisions of Article 12 of this Convention, income derived
by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of professional services or
other independent activities of a similar character shall be taxable only
in that State unless:
(a) he has a fixed base regularly available
to him in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities,
in which case so much of the income may be taxed in that other Contracting
State as is attributable to that fixed base; or
(b) he is present in that other Contracting
State for a period or periods exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in the fiscal
year concerned, in which case so much of the income may be taxed in that other
Contracting State as is attributable to the activities performed 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 

(1) Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18, 19 and 20,
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
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 State.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article, 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
State if:
(a) the recipient is present in the other
State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in the
fiscal year concerned; and
(b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf
of, an employer who is not a resident of the other State; and
(c) the remuneration is not borne by a permanent
establishment or a fixed base which the employer has in the other State.
(3) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions
of this Article, remuneration in respect of an employment exercised aboard
a ship or aircraft in international traffic or aboard a boat engaged in inland
waterways transport may be taxed in the Contracting State in which the place
of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
ARTICLE 16 
Directors' fees and 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 State.

ARTICLE 17 

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15,
income derived by public entertainers, such as theatre, motion picture, radio
or television artistes, and musicians, and by athletes, from their personal
activities as such may be taxed in the Contracting State in which those activities
are exercised.
(2) Where income in respect of personal activities
as such of an entertainer or athlete accrues not to that entertainer or athlete
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 athlete are exercised.
(3) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2)
of this Article shall not apply if the visit to a Contracting State of the
entertainer or the athlete is supported, wholly or substantially, from the
public funds of the other Contracting State, including a political subdivision
or local authority of that other State, nor shall they apply to income from
activities carried on in a Contracting State by non-profit making organisations
of the other Contracting State or by their members, except where the latter
are acting on their own behalf.

ARTICLE 18 

(1) Pensions and annuities which a resident
of a Contracting State derives from the other Contracting State shall be exempt
from tax in that other State provided that they are taxable under the internal
law of the first-mentioned 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 

(1) 
(a) Remuneration, other than a pension, paid
by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof
to an individual in respect of services of a governmental nature rendered
to that State or subdivision or authority shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such remuneration shall be taxable
only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that State
and the individual is a resident of that State who:
(i) is a national of that State; or
(ii) did not become a resident of that State
solely for the purpose of rendering the services.
(2) The provisions of Articles 15 and 16
shall apply to 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 

(1) An individual who is or was a resident
of a Contracting State immediately before making a visit to the other Contracting
State and who is temporarily present in that other Contracting State for the
primary purpose of:
(a) studying at a university or other recognised
educational institution in that other Contracting State; or
(b) securing training required to qualify
him to practise a profession or a professional speciality; or
(c) studying or doing research as a recipient
of a grant, allowance, or award (not including a salary or part salary) from
a government, religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational organisation;shall be exempt from tax in that other Contracting State on:
(i) the amount of such grant, allowance or
award;
(ii) remittances from abroad for the purpose
of his maintenance, education, study, research  or training; and
(iii) income-from personal services rendered
in that other Contracting State (other than any rendered by an articled clerk
or other person undergoing professional training to the person or partnership
to whom he is articled or who is providing the training) not exceeding the
sum of £750 sterling in the case of the United Kingdom or the equivalent
in Tunisian dinars in the case of Tunisia during any year of assessment or
taxable year.
(2) The exemptions from tax provided under paragraph (1) of this Article shall apply only
for such period of time as may be reasonably or customarily required for the
purpose of the individual's visit, but in no event shall any individual have
the benefit of that paragraph for more than five consecutive years from the
date of his first arrival in the other Contracting State.
(3) An individual who is or was a resident
of a Contracting State immediately before making a visit to the other Contracting
State and who is present in the other Contracting State for a period not exceeding
twelve months from the date of his first arrival in that other Contracting
State in connection with that visit, as a participant in a programme sponsored
by the Government of that other Contracting State for the purposes of training,
research or study, or as an employee of or under contract with the Government
or an enterprise of the first-mentioned Contracting State for the purpose
of acquiring technical, professional or business experience from a person
other than that Government or that enterprise, shall be exempt from tax in
that other Contracting State on:
(a) all remittances from abroad for the purposes
of his maintenance, training, research or study; and
(b) any remuneration so far as it does not
exceed £1,200 sterling, or its equivalent in Tunisian dinars as the
case may be, during any year of assessment or taxable year for personal services
in that other Contracting State in connection with his studies or training.

ARTICLE 21 
Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever
arising, which are not expressly mentioned in the preceding Articles of this
Convention shall be taxable only in that State.

ARTICLE 22 

(1) Subject to the provisions of the law
of the United Kingdom regarding the allowance as a credit against United Kingdom
tax of tax payable in a territory outside the United Kingdom (which shall
not affect the general principle hereof):
(a) Tunisian tax payable under the laws of
Tunisia and in accordance with this Convention, whether directly or by deduction,
on profits, income or chargeable gains from sources within Tunisia (excluding
in the case of a dividend, tax payable in respect of the profits out of which
the dividend is paid) shall be allowed as a credit against any United Kingdom
tax computed by reference to the same profits, income or chargeable gains
by reference to which the Tunisian tax is computed;
(b) in the case of a dividend paid by a company
which is a resident of Tunisia to a company which is a resident of the United
Kingdom and which controls directly or indirectly at least 10 per cent of
the voting power in the company paying the dividend, the credit shall take
into account (in addition to any Tunisian tax creditable under the provisions
of sub-paragraph (a)
of this paragraph) the Tunisian tax payable by the company in respect of the
profits out of which such dividend is paid.
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1) of this Article, the term “Tunisian tax payable” shall be deemed to include any
amount which would have been payable as Tunisian tax for any year but for
an exemption or reduction of tax granted for that year or any part thereof
under any of the following provisions of Tunisian law:
(a) 
(i) Article
10, paragraphs 1, 2 and 4 of Article 11, Article 14 (insofar as this extends the exemptions
or reductions granted under the aforementioned paragraphs of Article 11) and, subject to the mutual agreement
of the competent authorities in each case, paragraph
4 of Article 15 of Law No. 69-35 of 26 June
1969;
(ii) Article
3, paragraphs 2, 4 and 9 of Article 4
of Law No. 72-38 of 27 April 1972;
(iii) paragraph
2 of Article 11, Articles 12, 13, paragraph 2 of Article 14, paragraph 1 of Article 15 and, subject to the
mutual agreement of the competent authorities in each case, Article 17 of Law No. 81-56 dated 23 June 1981
for the Encouragement of Investment in Manufacturing Industries and Industrial
Decentralisation, as extended by Decree No. 81-861 dated 23 June 1981;so far as they were in force on, and have not been modified
since, the date of the signature of this Convention, or have been modified
only in minor respects so as not to affect their general character; or
(b) any other provision which may subsequently
be made granting an exemption or reduction which is agreed by the competent
authorities of the Contracting States to be of a substantially similar character,
if it has not been modified thereafter or has been modified only in minor
respects so as not to affect its general character;Provided:
(c) that relief from United Kingdom tax shall
not be given by virtue of this paragraph in respect of income from any source
if the income arises in a period starting more than ten years after the exemption
from, or reduction of, Tunisian tax was first granted in respect of that source;
(d) that where an exemption or reduction
of tax is granted to an enterprise under Law No. 72-38 of 27 April 1972 the
tax which would have been payable but for that exemption or reduction shall
be taken into account for the purposes of this paragraph only where the exemption
or reduction is certified by the competent authority of Tunisia as having
been given with a view to promoting industrial, commercial, scientific or
educational development in Tunisia.
(3) Where a resident of Tunisia derives income
or capital gains which, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention,
may be taxed in the United Kingdom, Tunisia shall deduct from the amount of
tax which it levies on the income or capital gains of such resident an amount
equal to the income or capital gains tax paid in the United Kingdom. However,
the amount deducted may not exceed that part of the tax on income or capital
gains, as computed before the deduction is given, which corresponds to the
income or capital gains taxable in the United Kingdom.
(4) For the purposes of paragraphs (1) and (3)
of this Article profits, income and capital gains owned by a resident of a
Contracting State which may be taxed in the other Contracting State in accordance
with this Convention shall be deemed to arise from sources in that other Contracting
State.
(5) Where profits on which an enterprise
of a Contracting State has been charged to tax in that State are also included
in the profits of an enterprise of the other State and the profits so included
are profits which would have accrued to that enterprise of the other State
if the conditions made between the enterprises had been those which would
have been made between independent enterprises dealing at arm's length, the
amount included in the profits of both enterprises shall be treated for the
purposes of this Article as income from a source in the other State of the
enterprise of the first-mentioned State and relief shall be given accordingly
under the provisions of paragraph (1)
or paragraph (3) of this
Article.

ARTICLE 23 

(1) The 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 State
in the same circumstances are or may be subjected.
(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 State than the taxation
levied on enterprises of that other State carrying on the same activities.
(3) 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 that first-mentioned
State are or may be subjected.
(4) Nothing contained in this Article shall
be construed as obliging either Contracting State to grant to individuals
not resident in that State any of the personal allowances, reliefs and reductions
for tax purposes which are granted to individuals so resident.
(5) In this Article the term “taxation” means taxes referred to in Article 2
of this Convention.

ARTICLE 24 

(1) Where a resident of a Contracting State
considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result
or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with this Convention,
he may, notwithstanding the remedies provided by the national laws of those
States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State
of which he is a resident.
(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 an appropriate 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 not in accordance with the Convention.
(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 the Convention.
(4) The competent authorities of the Contracting
States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of reaching
an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs of this Article.

ARTICLE 25 
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange
such information (being information which is at their disposal under their
respective taxation laws in the normal course of administration) as is necessary
for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or for the prevention of
fraud or the administration of statutory provisions against legal avoidance
in relation to the taxes which are the subject of this Convention. Any information
so exchanged shall be treated as secret but may be disclosed to persons (including
a court or administrative body) concerned with assessment, collection, enforcement
or prosecution in respect of taxes which are the subject of this Convention.
No information shall be exchanged which would disclose any trade, business,
industrial or professional secret or any trade process.

ARTICLE 26 

(1) Nothing in this Convention shall affect
the fiscal privileges of diplomatic or consular officials under the general
rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.
(2) Nothwithstanding paragraph (1) of Article 4, an individual who
is a member of a diplomatic, consular or permanent mission of a Contracting
State which is situated in the other Contracting State and who is subject
to tax in that other State only if he derives income from sources therein,
shall not be deemed for the purposes of this Convention to be a resident of
that other State.

ARTICLE 27 

(1) This Convention shall be ratified and
the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged at Tunis as soon as possible.
(2) This Convention shall enter into force
after the expiration of thirty days following the date on which the instruments
of ratification are exchanged and shall thereupon have effect:
(a) in the United Kingdom:
(i) in respect of income tax and capital
gains tax, for any year of assessment beginning on or after 6 April in the
calendar year next following that in which the instruments of ratification
are exchanged; and
(ii) in respect of corporation tax, for any
financial year beginning on or after 1 April in the calendar year next following
that in which the instruments of ratification are exchanged:
(b) in Tunisia:
(i) in respect of taxes withheld at source
on income paid or credited, from 1 January in the calendar year next following
that in which the instruments of ratification are exchanged; and
(ii) in respect of other taxes on income,
for taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January in the calendar year next
following that in which the instruments of ratification are exchanged.

ARTICLE 28 
This Convention shall remain in force until denounced by one of the Contracting
States. Either Contracting State may denounce the Convention, through the
diplomatic channel, by giving notice of termination at least six months before
the end of any calendar year beginning after the expiration of five years
from the date of entry into force of the Convention. In such event, the Convention
shall cease to have effect:
(a) in the United Kingdom:
(i) in respect of income tax and capital
gains tax, for any year of assessment beginning on or after 6 April in the
calendar year next following that in which the notice is given;
(ii) in respect of corporation tax, for any
financial year beginning on or after 1 April in the calendar year next following
that in which the notice is given;
(b) in Tunisia:
(i) in respect of taxes withheld at source
on income paid or credited, from 1 January in the calendar year next following
that in which the notice is given; and
(ii) in respect of other taxes on income,
for taxable periods beginning on or after 1 January in the calendar year next
following that in which the notice is given.
In witness whereof the undersigned, duly authorised
thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Convention.
Done in two originals at London this 15th day of December 1982
in the English, French and Arabic languages, each text being equally authoritative.
