Cyprus and India are close in agreeing a new double taxation agreement, said the Cyprus Finance Ministry. The current double taxation agreement between the two countries has been in force since December 21, 1994. However, on November 1, 2013, India labelled Cyprus a “notified jurisdictional area”, effectively overturning the original taxation agreement, after deeming that Cyprus had failed to provide information requested by the Indian tax authorities.
According to the ministry statement, during last week’s consultations, the Cypriot and Indian delegations agreed that Cyprus could address the reasons India suspended the double taxation agreement between the two countries with two steps: firstly, by adopting the provisions of Article 26 of OECD Model Tax Convention relating to exchange of information, and secondly, by improving the channels of communication between India and Cyprus. As regards the renegotiation of the existing double taxation agreement between the two countries, the Cypriot ministry stated said that a new agreement is expected to be finalised soon.