DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON 
INCOME WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY 
ORDER
13th March, 1979
 LEGAL NOTICE 35 of 1979.
Title.
on Income with the Kingdom of Norway Order.
Arrangements to 
have effect.
2. It is hereby declared -
( a ) that the arrangements specified in the Agreement set
out in the Schedule to this Order have been made with
the Government of the Kingdom of Norway with a
view to affording relief from double taxation and
preventing fiscal evasion in relation to the following
taxes imposed by the laws of the Kingdom of Norway:
(i) the national and municipal taxes on income and
capital;
(ii) the national dues on the profits of non-resident
artistes;
(iii) the special tax in aid of developing countries;
(iv) the seamen’s tax; and
( b ) that it is expedient that those arrangements should
have effect.
2 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
SCHEDULE 
AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE REPUBLIC OF MALTA
A N D
THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION
The Government of the Republic of Malta and the Government of the Kingdom of
Norway, desiring to conclude an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation,
have agreed as follows:
CHAPTER 1
Scope of the Agreement
ARTICLE 1
Personal Scope
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 and on capital imposed on
behalf of each Contracting State or its political subdivisions or local authorities,
irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.
(2) There shall be regarded as taxes on income and on capital all taxes imposed
on total income, on total capital, or on elements of income or of capital, including
taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable property, taxes on the
total amounts of wages and salaries paid by enterprises, as well as taxes an capital
appreciation.
(3) The existing taxes to which this Agreement shall apply are:
( a ) in Norway:
(i) the national and municipal taxes on income and capital; 
(ii) the national dues on the profits of non-resident artistes;
(iii) the special tax in aid of developing countries;
(iv) the seamen’s tax
(hereinafter referred to as "Norwegian Tax").
( b ) in Malta:
the income tax and surtax, including prepayments of tax whether made
by deduction at source or otherwise,
(hereinafter referred to as "Malta tax").
(4) This Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar
taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of this Agreement in addition to,
or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States
shall notify to each other any significant changes which have been made in their
respective taxation laws.
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 3
(5) Where the Agreement provides that income arising in a Contracting State
shall be relieved from tax in that State, either in full or in part, and, under the law in
force in the other Contracting State, such income is subject to tax by reference to the
amount thereof which is remitted to or received in that other State and not by
reference to the full amount thereof, then the relief to be allowed in the first
mentioned State shall apply only to so much of the income as is remitted to or
received in the other State.
CHAPTER II
Definitions
ARTICLE 3
General Definitions
(1) In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires -
( a ) the term "Norway", when used in a geographical sense, means the Kingdom
of Norway, including any area outside the territorial waters of Norway where
Norway, according to Norwegian legislation and in accordance with international
law, may exercise her rights with respect to the sea-bed and subsoil and their natural
resources; the term does not comprise Svalbard, Jan Mayen and the Norwegian
dependencies outside Europe;
( b ) the term "Malta", when used in a geographical sense, means the Republic of
Malta including the Island of Malta, the Island of Gozo, the other islands of the
Maltese Archipelago together with the territorial waters thereof, and any area
outside the territorial sea of Malta which, in accordance with international law, has
been or may hereafter be designated, under the laws of Malta concerning the
continental shelf, as an area within which the rights of Malta with respect to the sea-
bed and subsoil and their natural resources may be exercised;
( c ) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean
Norway or Malta as the context requires;
( d ) the term "person" comprises an individual, a company and any other body of
persons;
( e ) the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity which is treated
as a body corporate for tax purposes;
( f ) 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;
( g ) the term "nationals" means -
(i) in relation to Norway, all citizens of Norway and all legal persons,
partnerships and associations deriving their status as such from the law
in force in Norway;
(ii) in relation to Malta, all citizens of Malta as provided for in Chapter III
of the Constitution of Malta and in the Maltese Citizenship Act, and all
legal persons, partnerships and associations deriving their status as such
from the law in force in Malta;
( h ) 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
4 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places
in the other Contracting State;
( i ) the term "competent authority" means -
(i) in the case of Norway, the Minister of Finance and Customs or his
authorised representative;
(ii) in the case of Malta, the Minister responsible for finance or his
authorised representative.
(2) In the application of this Agreement 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 Agreement.
ARTICLE 4 
Fiscal Domicile
(1) For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "resident of a Contracting
State" means any person who, under the law of that State, is liable to taxation therein
by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a
similar nature. The term does not include any person who is liable to tax in that
Contracting State in respect only of income from sources therein or capital situated
in that State.
(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 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 closest (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 no 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) 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.
(4) For the purposes of taxation in Norway, an estate of a deceased person shall
be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting State of which the deceased was a
resident at the time of his death, in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs (1)
and (2).
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 5
ARTICLE 5
Permanent Establishment
(1) For the purposes of this Agreement the term "permanent establishment"
means a fixed place of business in which the business of the enterprise is wholly or
partly carried on.
(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, quarry or other place of extraction of natural resources;
( g ) a building site or construction or assembly project which exists for more
than twelve months.
(3) An enterprise of a Contracting State shall be deemed to have a permanent
establishment in the other Contracting State if it carries on supervisory activities in
that other State for more than twelve months in connection with a construction or
assembly project.
(4) The term "permanent establishment" shall not be deemed 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 stook 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.
(5) 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 paragraph
(6) applies - 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 goods or merchandise for the enterprise.
(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, where 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
6 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself make either company a permanent
establishment of the other.
CHAPTER III
Taxation of Income
ARTICLE 6
Income from Immovable Property
(1) Income from immovable property 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 in question is situated. The term shall
in any case include property accessory to immovable property, rights to which the
provisions of general law respecting immovable 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) shall apply to income derived from the
direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property.
(4) In the determination of the income from immovable property which a
resident of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State expenses (including
interest on debt claims) which are incurred for the purposes of such property shall be
allowed as deductions on the same conditions as are provided for residents of that
other State.
(5) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (3) shall also apply to the income from
immovable property of an enterprise and to income from immovable property used
for the performance of professional services.
ARTICLE 7
Business Profits
(1) The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in
that State unless the enterprise carried 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), 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 which are incurred for the purposes of the
permanent establishment including executive and general administrative expenses so
incurred, whether in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or
elsewhere.
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 7
(4) In so far 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) 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 embodied 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 not affect the provisions of the law of a
Contracting State regarding the taxation of profits from the business of insurance.
ARTICLE 8
Shipping and Air Transport
(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) If the place of effective management of a shipping 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.
(3) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall apply to profits derived by the joint
Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish air transport consortium, Scandinavian Airlines
System (SAS), but only in so far profits so derived by Det Norske Luftfartsselskap
A/S (DNL), the Norwegian partner of the Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), are
in proportion to its share in that organization.
(4) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall also apply to profits derived from the
participation in a pool, a joint business or in 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
8 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
accordingly.
(2) 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 Contracting State and taxed accordingly 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, then the first-mentioned State shall make an appropriate
adjustment to the amount of tax charged on those profits in the first-mentioned State.
In determining such an adjustment due regard shall be had to the other provisions of
this Agreement in relation to the nature of the income, and for this purpose the
competent authorities of the Contracting States shall if necessary consult each other.
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 State.
(2) However such dividends may 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:
( a ) where the dividends are paid by a company resident of Norway to a
resident of Malta who is the beneficial owner thereof, the Norwegian
tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the
dividends;
( b ) where dividends are paid by a company resident of Malta to a resident
of Norway who is the beneficial owner thereof -
(i) Malta tax shall not exceed that chargeable on the company paying
the dividends in respect of the profits so distributed;
(ii) notwithstanding the provisions of sub-paragraph (i), Malta tax
shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends
if such dividends are paid out of gains or profits earned in any
year in respect of which the company is in receipt of any benefit
under the provision regulating aids to industries in Malta, and the
shareholder submits returns and accounts to the taxatian
authorities of Malta in respect of his income liable to Malta tax
for the relative year of assessment.
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual
agreement settle the mode of application of this limitation.
This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the
profits out of which the dividends are paid.
(3) The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from shares,
mining shares, founders’ shares or other rights, not being debt-claims, participating
in profits, as well as income from other corporate rights which is subjected to the
same taxation treatment as income from shares by the taxation law of the State of
which the company making the distribution is a resident.
(4) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply if the recipient 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
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 9
professional 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.
(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
an dividends paid by the company to residents of the first mentioned State, or subject
the company’s undistributed profits to a tax on undistributed profits even if the
dividends paid on the undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of profits or
income arising in that other State. The provisions of this paragraph shall not prevent
that other State from taxing dividends paid to residents of that State or dividends
relating to a holding which is effectively connected with a permanent establishment
or fixed base maintained in that other State by a resident of the first-mentioned State.
ARTICLE 11
Interest
(1) Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid ta a resident of the other
Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
(2) However, such interest may be taxed in the Contracting State in which it
arises, and according to the law of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial
owner of the interest, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross
amount of the interest.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) -
( a ) interest arising in Malta and paid to the Government of Norway or to the
Norges Bank shall be exempt from Malta tax;
( b ) interest arising in Norway and paid to the Malta Government, the
Central Bank of Malta or to the Malta Development Corporation shall
be exempt from Norwegian tax;
( c ) the exemptions granted by this paragraph shall also apply to any other
statutory body of a public character of either Contracting State if such
body possesses a distinct legal personality.
(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 bonds or debentures. Penalty charges for late payment shall not be
regarded as interest for the purpose of this Article.
(5) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply if the recipient 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 professional 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 a
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
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 in
connection with which the indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred,
10 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment, then such interest shall
be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is
situated.
(7) Where, owing to a special relationship between the payee and the recipient
or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the interest paid,
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 recipient in the absence of such
relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned
amount. In that case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according
to the law 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 shall be taxable only in that other State if such resident is the
beneficial owner of the royalties and the royalties consist of payments of any kind
received as consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of literary,
artistic or scientific work, including cinematographic films or tapes for television or
broadcasting.
(2) Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other
Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State if the royalties consist
of payments of any kind received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use,
any patent, trade mark, design, model, plan, secret formula or process, industrial,
commercial or scientific equipment or information concerning industrial,
commercial or scientific experience. However, such royalties may also be taxed in
the Contracting State in which they arise, and according to the law of that State, but
if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the royalties, the tax so charged shall not
exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of such royalties.
(3) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply if the recipient 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 professional 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 a case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
(4) Royalties 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 royalties, whether he is a resident of a
Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment in
connection with which the liability to pay the royalties was incurred and such
royalties are borne by such permanent establishment, then such royalties shall be
deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is
situated.
(5) Where, owing to a special relationship between the payer and the recipient
or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties paid,
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 recipient in the
absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the
last-mentioned amount. In that case, the excess part of the payments shall remain
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 11
taxable according to the law of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the
other provisions of this Agreement.
ARTICLE 13
Capital Gains
(1) 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) 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 professional 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. However, gains
from the alienation of movable property of the kind referred to in paragraph (3) of
Article 23 shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which such movable
property is taxable according to the said Article.
(3) Gains from the alienation of any property other than those mentioned in
paragraphs (1) and (2) shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the
alienator is a resident.
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (3), gains derived by a resident
of Malta from the alienation of shares in a company which is a resident of Norway
may be taxed in the latter State unless the said gains are subject to tax in Malta.
ARTICLE 14
Independent Personal Services
(1) 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 he has a fixed base regularly available to him in the
other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities. If he has such a
fixed base, the income may be taxed in the other Contracting State but only so much
of it as is attributable to that fixed base.
(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, 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), 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 -
12 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
( a ) the recipient is present in the other State for a period or periods not
exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in the calendar 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
may be taxed in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of
the enterprise is situated. Where a resident of Norway derives remuneration in
respect of employment exercised aboard an aircraft operated in international traffic
by the Swedish, Danish and Norwegian Air Traffic Consortium, known as
Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), such remuneration shall be taxable only in
Norway.
ARTICLE 16
Directors’ Fees
Directors’ fees and similar payments derived by a resident of a Contracting State
in his capacity as a member of the board of directors or other similar organ of a
company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other
State.
ARTICLE 17
Artistes and Athletes
(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 these 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.
ARTICLE 18
Pensions and Annuities
(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (1) of Article 19, pensions and other
similar remuneration and annuities paid to a resident of a Contracting State shall be
taxable only in that State.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (1), payments made under a
social security or a national insurance scheme of a Contracting State may be taxed in
that State.
(3) As used in this Article -
( a ) the term "pensions and other similar remuneration" means periodic
payments made after retirement in consideration of past employment, or
by way of compensation for injuries received in connection with past
employment;
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 13
( b ) the term "annuity" means a stated sum paid periodically 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’s worth.
ARTICLE 19
Government Service 
(1) ( a ) Remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or a
political subdivision or a local authority thereof to any individual in respect of
services rendered to that State or subdivision or local authority thereof shall be taxed
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 recipient is a resident of that
other Contracting State who - 
(i) is a national of that State; or
(ii) did not become a resident of that State solely for the purpose of
performing the services.
(2) ( a )  Any pension paid by, or out of funds created by a Contracting State or
a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to any individual in respect of
services rendered to that State or subdivision or local authority thereof shall be
taxable only in that State.
( b ) However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if
the recipient is a national of and a resident of that State.
(3) The provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 17 shall apply to remuneration in
respect of services rendered in connection with any business carried on by a
Contracting State, a political subdivision or a local authority thereof.
(4) The provisions of paragraph (1)( a ) shall likewise apply in respect of
remuneration paid under a development assistance programme of a Contracting
State, a political subdivision, or a local authority thereof, out of funds exclusively
supplied by that State, those political subdivisions or local authorities thereof, to a
specialist or volunteer seconded to the other Contracting State with the consent of
that other State.
ARTICLE 20
Teachers, Students and Trainees
(1) Remuneration which a professor or teacher who is, or immediately before
was, a resident of a Contracting State and who visits the other Contracting State for a
period not exceeding two years for the purpose of carrying out advanced study or
research or for teaching at a university, college, school or other educational
institution receives for such work shall not be taxed in that other State, provided that
such remuneration is derived by him from outside that other State.
(2) An individual who was a resident of a Contracting State immediately before
visiting the other Contracting State and is temporarily present in that other State
solely as a student at a university, college, school or other similar educational
institution in that other State or as a business apprentice shall, from the date of his
first arrival in that other State in connection with that visit, be exempt from tax in
that other State -
14 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
( a ) on all remittances from abroad for purposes of his maintenance,
education or training; and
( b ) for a period not exceeding in the aggregate three years, on any
remuneration not exceeding 20,000 Norwegian kroner or the equivalent
in Malta currency, for each calendar year for personal services rendered
in that other Contracting State with a view to supplementing the
resources available to him for such purposes.
(3) An individual who was a resident of a Contracting State immediately before
visiting the other Contracting State and is temporarily present in that other State
solely for the purpose of study, research or training as a recipient of a grant,
allowance, or award from a scientific, educational, religious, or charitable
organisation, or under a technical assistance programme entered into by the
Government of a Contracting State shall, from the date of this first arrival in that
other State in connection with that visit, be exempt from tax in that other State -
( a ) on the amount of such grant, allowance or award; and
( b ) on all remittances from abroad for the purposes of his maintenance,
education or training.
ARTICLE 21
Estates of Deceased Persons
(1) Income or capital of an estate of a deceased person which, according to the
law of Norway, is deemed to be a resident of Norway and is there treated as a
juridical entity, may be taxed in Norway, whether or not one or more of the
beneficiaries are resident in that State.
(2) However, the beneficiaries from the estate may be taxed in Malta on their
relative share of the income arising from the estate according to the law of Malta if
they are resident in that State. In such a case, the appropriate part of the tax paid by
the estate in Norway shall be deemed to be the tax paid on the relative share of the
said estate which is charged in the hands of the beneficiaries in Malta.
ARTICLE 22
Other Income
(1) Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not
dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement shall be taxable only in that
State.
(2) The provision of paragraph (1) shall not apply if the recipient of the 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
State professional 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 a case, the provisions of Article 7 or
Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 15
CHAPTER IV 
Taxation of Capital
ARTICLE 23 
Capital
(1) Capital represented by immovable property, as defined in paragraph (2) of
Article 6, may be taxed in the Contracting State in which such property is situated.
(2) Debts contracted for the purposes of immovable property situated in a
Contracting State and owned by a resident of the other Contracting State shall be
allowed as deductions when assessing the net value of the property.
(3) Capital represented by movable property forming part of the business
property of a permanent establishment of an enterprise, or by movable property
pertaining to a fixed base used for the performance of professional services, may be
taxed in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is
situated.
(4) Ships and aircraft operated in international traffic, and movable property
pertaining to the operation of such ships and aircraft, shall be taxable only in the
Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is
situated.
(5) All other elements of capital of a resident of a Contracting State shall be
taxable only in that State.
CHAPTER V 
Elimination of Double Taxation
ARTICLE 24
Elimination of Double Taxation
(1) In the case of Norway, double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:
( a ) Where a resident of Norway derives income from Malta which may be
taxed in Malta in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement,
Norway shall, subject to the provisions of sub-paragraph ( b ), exempt
such income from tax, but may, in calculating tax on the remaining
income of that person, apply the rate of tax which would have been
applicable if the exempted income had not been so exempted.
( b ) Where a resident of Norway derives income from Malta which may be
taxed in Malta in accordance with the provisions of Article 10, 11, or
12, the amount of the Maltese tax payable in respect of that income shall
be allowed as a credit against Norwegian tax imposed on that resident.
The amount of credit, however, shall not exceed that part of the
Norwegian tax which is appropriate to that income before allowing the
credit.
( c ) The provisions of sub-paragraphs ( a ) and ( b ) shall also apply when the
Malta tax has been wholly relieved or reduced for a limited period of
time as if no such relief had been given or no such reduction had been
allowed.
( d ) Dividends distributed by a company which is a resident of Malta to a
16 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
company which is a resident of Norway shall be exempt from
Norwegian tax to the extent that the dividends would have been exempt
from tax under Norwegian law if both companies had been residents of
Norway.
( e ) For the purposes of sub-paragraph ( b ), Malta tax paid in respect of
interest and royalties shall be deemed to have been paid at a minimum
rate of 25 per cent of the amount of the net income charged with tax in
Norway.
(2) In the case of Malta, double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:
Subject to the provisions of the law of Malta regarding the allowance of a credit
against Malta tax in respect of foreign tax, where, in accordance with the provisions
of this Agreement, there is included in a Malta assessment income from sources
within Norway or elements of capital situated in Norway, the Norwegian tax on such
income, or elements of capital, as the case may be, shall be allowed as a credit
against the relative Malta tax payable thereon.
CHAPTER VI 
Special Provisions
ARTICLE 25 
Non-discrimination
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1 the nationals of a Contracting
State, whether or not they are residents of one of the Contracting States, 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.
This provision 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 taxatian purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities
or any other personal circumstances which it grants to its own residents.
(3) Except where the provisions of paragraph (1) of Article 9, paragraph (7) of
Article 11, or paragraph (5) of Article 12 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 purpose 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 State.
Similarly, any debts of an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the
other Contracting State shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable capital of
such enterprise, be deductible as if they had been contracted to a resident of the first-
mentioned State.
(4) The provisions of this Article shall not be construed as obliging Norway to
grant to nationals of Malta not being nationals of Norway the exceptional tax relief
which is accorded to Norwegian nationals and individuals born in Norway of parents
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 17
having Norwegian nationality pursuant to section 22 of the Norwegian Taxation Act
for the Rural Districts and section 17 of the Norwegian Taxation Act for the Urban
Districts.
(5) 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 taxatian 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.
(6) In this Article the term "taxation" means taxes of every kind and description.
ARTICLE 26
Mutual Agreement Procedure
(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 Agreement, 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. This case must be presented within three
years of the first notification of the actions which give rise to taxation not in
accordance with 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 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
Agreement. Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time
limits in the national laws of the Contracting State.
(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 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 for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the
preceding paragraphs.
ARTICLE 27
Exchange of Information
(1) The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such
information as is necessary for the carrying out of this Agreement and of the
domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by this Agreement
in so far as the taxation thereunder is in accordance with this Agreement. Any
information so exchanged shall be treated as secret and shall not be disclosed to any
persons or authorities including courts other than those concerned with the
assessment or collection of the taxes which are the subject of the Agreement or with
the prosecution of offences in relation thereto. 
(2) In no case shall the provisions of paragraph (1) be construed so as to impose
on one of the Contracting States the obligation -
( a ) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws or the
administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;
18 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
( b ) to supply particulars which are 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.
ARTICLE 28
Diplomatic and Consular Officials
(1) Nothing in this Agreement 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) In so far as, due to privileges granted to diplomatic or consular officials
under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special
international treaties, income or capital are not subject to tax in the receiving State,
the right to tax shall be reserved to the sending State.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 4, an individual who is a member
of a diplomatic or consular or permanent mission of a Contracting State which is
situated in the other Contracting State or in a third State, shall be deemed for the
purposes of this Agreement to be a resident of the Sending State if -
( a ) in accordance with international law he is not taxable in the receiving
State on income from sources outside that State; and
( b ) he is liable in the sending State to the same obligations in relation to tax
on his total world income as are residents of that sending State.
ARTICLE 29
Territorial Extension
(1) This Agreement may be extended, either in its entirety or with
modifications, to any territory which is excluded from the application of this
Agreement under the provisions of paragraph (1)( a ) of Article 3, and in which taxes
are imposed which are substantially similar in character to those to which this
Agreement applies.
Any such extension shall take effect from such date and subject to such
modifications and conditions, including conditions as to termination, as may be
specified and agreed between the Contracting States in notes to be exchanged
through diplomatic channels.
(2) Unless otherwise agreed by both Contracting States, in case this Agreement
shall terminate according to Article 31 it shall cease to have effect to any territory to
which it has been extended under provisions of this Article.
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY [ S.L.123.08 19
CHAPTER VII
Final Provisions
ARTICLE 30
Entry into Force
(1) This Agreement shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be
exchanged at Valletta as soon as possible.
(2) This Agreement shall enter into force upon the exchange of the instruments
of ratification, and its provisions shall have effect -
( a ) in respect of taxes on income derived on or after the first January next
following such exchange, and
( b ) in respect of taxes on capital levied during any year commencing with
the second calendar year following such exchange.
ARTICLE 31
Termination
This Agreement shall remain in force indefinitely but either of the Contracting
States may, on or before the thirtieth day of June in any calendar year beginning
after the expiration of a period of three years from the date of its entry into force,
give to the other Contracting State, through diplomatic channels, written notice of
termination and, in such event, the Agreement shall cease to be effective:
( a ) in respect of taxes on income derived on or after the 1st January
immediately following such notification, and
( b ) in respect of taxes on capital levied during any year commencing with
the second calendar year following such notification.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their
respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
DONE at Oslo this 2nd day of June 1975 in duplicate in the English language.
PROTOCOL
At the signing of the Agreement between the Republic of Malta and the Kingdom
of Norway for the Avoidance of Double Taxation the undersigned have agreed that
the following shall form an integral part of the Agreement:
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Agreement, the Contracting States
retain the right to levy taxes on enterprises engaged in the exploration for, or the
exploitation of petroleum and allied natural resources according to their appropriate
respective domestic laws. The Contracting States will in due course consult each
other to determine whether, and if so how, this rule should be modified in the light of
For the Government of Malta 
JOSEPH ATTARD KINGSWELL
Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary
For the Government of Norway
KNUT FRYDENLUND
Minister of Foreign Affairs 
20 [ S.L.123.08
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF NORWAY
further developments in this connection.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of this Protocol, in the case of any joint
venture undertaken by Norwegian and Maltese interests, either alone or in
conjunction with other interests for the purpose of holding and operating or leasing
drilling rigs, platforms or other similar structures engaged in oil exploration, profits
referred to in Article 7, capital gains referred to in Article 13 and capital referred to
in Article 23 of the said joint venture, shall, in principle, be taxable in the
Contracting States in proportion to the share in the said partnership, or of the equity
capital thereof which is owned by Maltese and Norwegian interests, or to the extent
to which the said interests are entitled to a share of the profits thereof, in those cases
where profits are not divisible in accordance with the proportionate share of the
capital or equity owned by such interests. The Contracting States shall agree the
application of these provisions in the case of each particular rig, platform or other
similar structure.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of the Agreement, profits derived from the
operation of a ship in international traffic derived by a company which is a resident
of Malta but which has more than 25 per cent of its capital owned directly or
indirectly by persons resident in Norway, may be taxed in Norway unless the
company proves that the profits derived from the operation of such a ship are subject
to Malta tax without any relief therefrom as provided for in article 86 of the
Merchant Shipping Act, or in any identical or similar provision. Where Norway may
levy tax as aforesaid, that part of the company’s profits which bears the same
proportion to its total profits as the shareholding owned by Maltese residents, if any,
bears to its total shareholding, shall nonetheless be exempt from Norwegian tax.
(4) The Contracting States agree that sub-paragraphs ( a ) and ( b ) of paragraph
(1) of Article 24 shall be replaced by the following text at the request of Norway
which shall be forwarded through diplomatic channels. The new text set out below
shall thereupon become effective in a manner similar to that set out in sub-
paragraphs ( a ) and ( b ) of paragraph (2) of Article 30 of the Agreement:
"( a ) Where a resident of Norway derives income or owns capital which in
accordance with the provisions of this Agreement may be taxed in
Malta, Norway shall allow as a deduction from the income tax or capital
tax of that person an amount equal to the income tax or capital tax paid
in Malta. Such deduction shall not, however, exceed that part of the
Norwegian tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is
appropriate to the income derived from or capital owned in Malta.".
DONE at Oslo this 2nd day of June, 1975, in duplicate in the English language.
For the Government of Malta 
JOSEPH ATTARD KINGSWELL
Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary
For the Government of Norway
KNUT FRYDENLUND
Minister of Foreign Affairs 
