Revised DTAA a win-win for India, Mauritius: Pranab

Double Taxation Avoidance Convention means that there are agreed rates of tax and jurisdiction on specified types of income arising in a country to a tax resident of another country. Therefore, a company resident in Mauritius selling shares of an Indian company will not pay tax in India. Since there is no capital gains tax in Mauritius, the gain will escape tax altogether. Mauritius A has been often accused of being used as a conduit for routing of untaxed funds to and from India Port Louis (PTI): India and Mauritius are jointly working to find out a mutually acceptable and beneficial outcome on the Comprehensive Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) which will be a 'win-win' situation for both, President Pranab Mukherjee said. Mukherjee, who is here on a three-day visit, said that the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) cannot be seen in isolation, separate from the many strands that weave the tapestry of India-Mauritius relationship and efforts, and it should remain focused on realisation of the full potential of the bilateral ties. "The Joint Working Group (JWG) on the DTAC has met twice in the last one year which has provided an opportunity for both sides to discuss the means forward to a mutually acceptable and beneficial outcome - a win-win situation for both. India looks forward to holding the next meeting of the JWG in New Delhi," he said in an interview to Mauritius newspaper 'Le Matinal'. He was replying to a question on the criticism of DTAA and up to what extent such criticism was justified and any possible changes that needed to be brought to the DTAA. Asked about the progress on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius, he said that the two countries are engaged in negotiations for a successful CECPA to evolve ways and means to further stimulate trade and investment between them. On how favourable the investment climate is for the willing Mauritians in India, Mukherjee, himself a former Finance Minister, said since the 1990s, India had been incrementally liberalising the investment climate and more recently, in September 2012, the Government of India ushered in a slew of reforms. "The budget 2013-14, which has been tabled in Parliament, acknowledges that FDI is imperative for India. Over the last two decades, several measures to attract FDI from all over the world have been undertaken making India one of the most attractive destinations for FDI in the world," he added. India should be on UNSC Mauritius on Tuesday extended its full support to India's bid for permanent membership in an enlarged United Nations Security Council, saying it was "inconceivable" that the world's largest democracy is not a member of the top organ of the international body. Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam said he would like to "assert in no uncertain terms" that his country would continue to support India's legitimate bid for a permanent seat in an enlarged UNSC. "It is inconceivable that the largest democracy in the world should have no permanent seat at the Security Council. There can be no justification for this aberration, which is contrary to the very principles of democracy that the UN stands for," he said in a speech delivered at the banquet hosted in honour of President Pranab Mukherjee.