DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME
WITH THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM ġ S.L.123.05 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 123.05
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON 
INCOME WITH THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM 
ORDER
20th August, 1976
 LEGAL NOTICE 108 of 1976, as amended by Legal Notice 83 of 2003.
Title.
Taxation Relief on Taxes on Income with the Kingdom of Belgium
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 Belgium 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 Belgium:
(i) individual income tax;
(ii) corporate income tax;
(iii) income tax on legal entities; 
(iv) income tax on non-residents;
including the prepayments, the surcharges on these
taxes and prepayments, and the communal supplement
to the individual income tax; and
( b ) that it is expedient that those arrangements should
have effect.
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WITH THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM
AGREEMENT 
BETWEEN THE STATE OF MALTA AND
THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM
FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION 
AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION
The Government of the State of Malta and the Government of the Kingdom of
Belgium, desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation
and the prevention of fiscal evasion, have agreed as follows:
I.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) The existing taxes to which this Agreement shall apply are in particular: 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 in particular: 
( a ) in Belgium:
(i) the individual income tax; 
(ii) the corporate income tax;
(iii) the income tax on legal entities;
(iv) the income tax on non-residents;
(v) the special levy assimilated to the individual income tax;
including the prepayments, the surcharges on these taxes and
prepayments, and the supplements to the individual income tax,
(hereinafter referred to as "Belgian tax") 
( b ) in Malta:
the income tax, including prepayments of tax whether made by
deduction at source or otherwise,
(hereinafter referred to as "Malta tax").
Amended by:
L.N. 83 of 2003. SCHEDULE
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WITH THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM ġ S.L.123.05 3
(4) This Agreement shall also apply 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 changes which have been made in their respective
taxation laws.
(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.
II.Definitions
ARTICLE 3
General definitions
(1) In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:
( a ) the term "Belgium", when used in a geographical sense, means the Kingdom
of Belgium, including the territorial waters thereof, and any area outside the
territorial sea of Belgium which, in accordance with international law, has been or
may hereafter be designated, under the laws of Belgium concerning the continental
shelf, as an area within which the rights of Belgium with respect to the sea-bed and
subsoil and their natural resources may be exercised;
( b ) the term "Malta", when used in a geographical sense, means the Island of
Malta, the Island of Gozo and the other islands of the Maltese archipelago, including
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
Belgium 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 "national" means:
(i) in respect of Belgium any individual possessing the nationality of
Belgium and any legal person, partnership and association deriving its
status as such from the law in force in Belgium;
(ii) in respect of Malta, any citizen of Malta as provided for in Chapter III
of the Constitution of Malta and in the Maltese Citizenship Act, and any
legal person, partnership and association deriving its status as such from
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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
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 Belgium, the Minister responsible for finance 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 law 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, whose income is subject to tax in that State, by reason of
his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a similar
nature, but 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 case shall be determined in accordance
with the following rules:
( 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.
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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) 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 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 paragraph
(5) 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.
(5) 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.
(6) 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 make either company a permanent
establishment of the other.
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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) 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 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), 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 and 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 purpose 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.
(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 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 laid down 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. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed
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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) Where profits include items of income which are dealt with separately in
other Articles of this Agreement, then the provisions of these Articles shall not be
affected by the provisions of this Article.
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, then it shall be decided to be situated in the Contracting State in which the
home harbour of the ship is situated, or, if there is no such home harbour, in the
Contracting State of which the operator of the ship is a resident.
(3) 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
Where -
( a ) an enterprise of a Contracting State participates directly or indirectly in
the arrangement, 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
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 dividends are paid by a company resident of Belgium to a
resident of Malta who is the beneficial owner thereof, the tax so charged
shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends; this
provision shall not affect the taxation of the Belgian company in respect
of the profits out of which the dividends are paid;
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( b ) where dividends are paid by a company resident of Malta to a resident
of Belgium 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) hereof, Malta
tax shall not exceed 15 per cent 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
provisions regulating aids to industries in Malta, and the
shareholder submits returns and accounts to the taxation
authorities of Malta in respect of his income liable to Malta tax
for the relative year of assessment.
(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 from other
corporate rights which is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from
shares by the taxation treatment as income from shares by the taxation law of the
State of which the Company making the distribution is a resident. This term means
also income, even when paid in the form of interest, which is taxable under the head
of income on capital invested by the members of a company other than a company
with share capital, which is a resident of Belgium.
(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 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 dividends may be taxed by that other State in
accordance with its law.
(5) Where a company which is a resident of one of the Contracting States
derives profits or income from the other Contracting State, that other State may not
impose any tax on the 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 or the undistributed profits consist
wholly or partly of profits or income arising in that other State; this provision shall
not prevent that other State from taxing dividends relating to a holding which is
effectively connected with a permanent establishment 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 to 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 if the recipient is the beneficial
owner of the interest, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the amount
of the interest.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) -
( a ) interest arising in Belgium and paid to the State of Malta, the Central
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Bank of Malta or any other institution the capital of which is wholly
owned by the State of Malta shall be exempt from Belgian tax;
( b ) interest arising in Malta and paid to the Kingdom of Belgium, the
National Bank of Belgium or any other institution the capital of which
is wholly owned by the Kingdom of Belgium shall be exempt from
Malta tax;
( c ) interest on commercial debt-claims - including debt-claims represented
by negotiable instruments - resulting from deferred payments for goods,
merchandise or services supplied by an enterprise of a Contracting State
shall be exempt from tax in the other Contracting State.
(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, as well as income assimilated to or taxed in the
same way as income from money lent by the taxation law of the State in which the
income arises. However, the term "interest" does not include for the purpose of this
Article, penalty charges far late payment nor interest treated as dividends under
paragraph (3) of Article 10.
(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 of this Agreement, 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 of which the interest is paid was incurred,
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 payer 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 a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of
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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) of this Article 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 of this
Agreement, 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 contract under which the royalties are paid was
concluded, 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 paid 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 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 moveable property of the kind referred to in paragraph (3) of
Article 22 shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which such movable
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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.
ARTICLE 14
Independent personal services
(l) 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 13, 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:
( 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.
ARTICLE 16
Company Managers
(1) Directors’ fees and other similar payments derived by a resident of a
contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors or a similar
organ of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed
in that other State.
This provision shall also apply to payment derived in respect of the
discharge of functions which, under the law of the Contracting State of which the
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company is a resident, are regarded as functions of a similar nature as those
performed by a person referred to in the said provision.
(2) Remuneration derived by a person referred to in paragraph (1) from the
company in respect of the discharge of day-to-day functions of a managerial or
technical nature and remuneration received by a resident of a Contracting State in
respect of his personal activity as a partner of a company, other than a company with
share capital, which is a resident of the other Contracting State, may be taxed in
accordance with the provisions of Article 15, as if the remuneration were
remuneration of an employee in respect of an employment and as if references to the
employer were references to the company.
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
(1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of Article 19, pensions and other
similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State in consideration of
past employment shall be taxable only in that State.
(2) However, pensions and other allowances, periodic or non periodic, paid
under the social security legislation of a Contracting State or under a public scheme
organised by a Contracting State in order to supplement the benefits of that
legislation shall be taxed in that State.
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 in that State or subdivision or local authority thereof 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 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
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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 paragraph (1) 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.
(4) The provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18 shall apply to remuneration and
pensions in respect of services rendered in connection with any business carried on
by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof.
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 or any other recognized educational
institution receives for such work shall not be taxed in 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 or any other recognized 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:
( a ) on all remittances from abroad for purposes of his maintenance,
education or training; and
( b ) for a period not exceeding in the aggregate four years, on any
remuneration not exceeding 120,000 Belgian Francs 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 his 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
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.
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(2) The provisions 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.
IV.Taxation of Capital
ARTICLE 22
(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) Capital represented by movable property forming part of the business
property of a permanent establishment of an enterprise, or by moveable 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.
(3) 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.
(4) All other elements of capital of a resident of a Contracting State shall be
taxable only in that State.
V.Elimination of Double Taxation
ARTICLE 23
(1) In the case of Belgium, double taxation shall be avoided as follows:
( a ) Where a resident of Belgium derives income or owns items of capital
which may be taxed in Malta in accordance with the provisions of this
Agreement, other than those of subparagraph ( b ) of paragraph (2) of
Article 10, of paragraphs (2) and (7) of Article 11 and of paragraphs (2)
and (5) of Article 12, Belgium shall exempt such income or such items
of capital from tax but may, in calculating the amount of tax on the
remaining income or capital of that resident, apply the rate of tax which
would have been applicable if such income or items of capital had not
been exempted.
( b ) (i) Subject to the provisions of the Belgian law regarding the allowance
as a credit against Belgian tax of taxes paid abroad, when a resident of
Belgium derives items of his aggregate income for Belgian tax purposes
which are dividends taxable in accordance with paragraph (2)( b ) of
Article 10, not exempt from Belgian tax in accordance with
subparagraph ( c ) hereof, or interest taxable in accordance with
paragraphs (2) or (7) of Article 11, or royalties taxable in accordance
with paragraphs (2) or (5) of Article 12, the Malta tax levied on that
income shall be allowed as a credit against Belgian tax relating to such
income.
(ii) Belgium shall also allow the credit provided for in (i) of this
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subparagraph in respect of tax chargeable on dividends or interest
derived from direct investment which are taxable in Malta by virtue of
the Agreement and the general law of Malta where such tax is
temporarily remitted or reduced under special provisions designed to
promote the economic development of Malta.
Such credit shall apply for the first five years for which the
Supplementary Agreement is effective; however the competent
authorities of the Contracting States may consult each other to
determine whether this period of time shall be extended or not.
The term ''dividends or interest derived from direct investment'' means
dividends paid in respect of shares or interest paid in respect of debt-
claims which are directly and durably connected with industrial or
commercial development projects in Malta..
( c ) Where a company which is a resident of Belgium owns shares in a
company which is a resident of Malta, dividends which are paid to it by
the latter company and which may be taxed in Malta in accordance with
subparagraph ( b ) of paragraph (2) of Article 10, shall be exempt from
the corporate income tax in Belgium under the conditions and within the
limits provided for in Belgian law.
( d ) When, in accordance with Belgian law, losses of a Belgian enterprise
attributable to a permanent establishment situated in Malta have been
effectively deducted from the profits of that enterprise for its taxation in
Belgium, the exemption provided in sub-paragraph ( a ) shall not apply in
Belgium to the profits of other taxable periods attributable to that
establishment to the extent that those profits have also been exempted
from tax by Malta by reason of compensation for the said losses.
(2) In the case of Malta, double taxation shall be avoided 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 Belgium or elements of capital situated in Belgium, the Belgian tax on such
income or elements of capital shall be allowed as a credit against Malta tax payable
thereon.
VI.Special Provisions 
ARTICLE 24
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
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reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities
which it grants to its own residents.
(3) Except where the provisions of Article 9, or 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) 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
(5) Nothing in this Article shall be construed as preventing Belgium:
( a ) from taxing the total amount of the profits attributable to a permanent
establishment in Belgium of a company being a resident of Malta or of
an association having its place of effective management in Malta at the
rate of tax provided by the Belgian law, but this rate may not exceed the
maximum rate applicable to the whole or a portion of the profits of
companies which are residents of Belgium;
( b ) from imposing the movable property prepayment on dividends derived
from a holding which is effectively connected with a permanent
establishment or a fixed base maintained in Belgium by a company
which is a resident of Malta or by an association which has its place of
effective management in Malta and is taxable as a body corporate in
Belgium.
(6) In this Article the term ''taxation'' means taxes of every kind and description.
ARTICLE 25
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, saving 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 action which gives 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.
(3) The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to
resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the application
of the Agreement.
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(4) The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall agree on
administrative measures necessary to carry out the provisions of the Agreement,
particularly on the proofs to be furnished by residents of either Contracting State in
order to benefit in the other Contracting State from the exemptions and reductions
provided for in the Agreement.
(5) The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall communicate
directly with each other for the application of the Agreement.
ARTICLE 26
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 national
laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Agreement in so far
as the taxation thereunder is in accordance with the Agreement. Any information so
exchanged shall be treated as secret and may only be disclosed to the taxpayer or his
agent, and to persons, authorities or courts concerned with the assessment or
collection of the taxes which are the subject of the Agreement or the determination
of appeals or 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 of the
administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;
( 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 processing, or
information, the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy.
ARTICLE 27
Diplomatic and Consular Officials
(1) Nothing in this Agreement shall affect diplomatic or consular privileges
under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special
agreements.
(2) For the purposes of this Agreement, persons who are members of a
diplomatic or consular mission of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State
or in a third State and who are nationals of the sending State, shall be deemed to be
residents of the sending State if they are subjected therein to the same obligations in
respect of taxes on income and capital as are residents of that State.
VII.Final Provisions
ARTICLE 28
Entry into force
(1) This Agreement shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be
exchanged at Brussels as soon as possible.
(2) The Agreement shall enter into force 30 days after the date of exchange of
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instruments of ratification, and its provisions shall have effect - 
( a ) in Belgium:
(i) in respect of taxes due at source on income credited or payable on
or after the first day of January in the calendar year immediately
following that in which the instruments of ratification have been
exchanged;
(ii) in respect of taxes other than taxes due at source, on income of
any accounting period ending on or after the 31st day of
December in the calendar year in which the instruments of
ratification have been exchanged; 
( b ) in Malta: in respect of taxes which are levied for any year of assessment
beginning on or after the first day of January in the calendar year
immediately following that in which the instruments of ratification have
been exchanged.
ARTICLE 29
Termination
This Agreement shall remain in force indefinitely but either of the Contracting
States may, on or before the thirteenth day of June in any calendar year from the
third year following that in which the instruments of ratification have been
exchanged, give to the other Contracting State, through diplomatic channels, written
notice of termination and, in such event, the Agreement shall cease to have effect -
( a ) in Belgium:
(i) in respect of taxes due at source on income credited or payable
after the 31st day of December of the calendar year in which the
notice of termination is given;
(ii) in respect of taxes other than taxes due at source, on income of
any accounting period ending after the 30th day of December of
the calendar year in which the notice of termination is given;
( b ) in Malta: in respect of texes which are levied for the year of assessment
beginning on the first day of January of the calendar year immediately
following that in which the notice of termination is given and for
subsequent years of assessment.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their
respective Governments, have signed this Agreement.
DONE at Brussels this 28th day of June, 1974, in duplicate in the English
language.
For the Government of 
The Kingdom of Belgium
R. VAN ELSLANDE
For the Government of 
The State of Malta
J. ATTARD KINGSWELL
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PROTOCOL
At the signing of the Agreement between the Kingdom of Belgium and the State of
Malta for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion,
the undersigned have agreed that the following provisions shall form an integral part
of the Agreement:
Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 8 of the Agreement, profits from the
operation of a ship in international traffic derived by a company which is a resident
of Malta having more than 25 per cent of its capital owned, directly or indirectly, by
persons not residents of Malta, may be taxed in Belgium unless the company proves
that the profits derived from the operation of such ship are subject to Malta tax
without regard to any relief therefrom as provided for in article 88 of the Merchant
Shipping Act, or in any identical or similar provision.
DONE at Brussels this 28th day of June, 1974, in duplicate in the English
language.
For the Government of 
The Kingdom of Belgium
R. VAN ELSLANDE
For the Government of 
The State of Malta
J. ATTARD KINGSWELL
