S.O. 566(E).—Whereas, an agreement between the Government of Republic of India and Government of Samoa for exchange of information with respect to taxes, was signed at Apia, Samoa on 12 th day of March, 2020, as set out in the Annexure to this notification (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”);
And, whereas, the said Agreement came into force on the 12 th day of September, 2023, being the date of the later of the notifications of the completion of the procedures required by the respective laws of the contracting states for entry into force of the said Agreement, in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 12 of the said Agreement, And, whereas, paragraph 2 of Article 12 of the said Agreement provides that the Agreement shall have effect forthwith after the date of entry into force;
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby notifies that all the provisions of the said Agreement, as annexed hereto, shall be given effect to in the Union of India.
ANNEXURE
“AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA
AND
GOVERNMENT OF SAMOA
FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES
The Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Samoa desiring to facilitate the exchange of information with respect to taxes have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Object and Scope of the Agreement
The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall provide assistance through exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting Parties concerning taxes covered by this Agreement. Such information shall include information that is foreseeably relevant to the determination, assessment and collection of such taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the investigation or prosecution of tax matters. Information shall be exchanged in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement. The rights and safeguards secured to persons by the laws or administrative practice of the requested Party remain applicable to the extent that they do not unduly prevent or delay effective exchange of information.
Article 2
Jurisdiction
Information shall be exchanged in accordance with this Agreement without regard to whether the person to whom the information relates is, or whether the information is held by, a resident of a Contracting Party. However, a requested Party is not obliged to provide information which is neither held by its authorities nor is in the possession or control of persons who are within its territorial jurisdiction.
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