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ARTICLE 12
ROYALTIES
(1) Royalties 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 royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise
and according to the laws of that State but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of
the royalties, the tax so charged shall not exceed ... per cent (the percentage is to be
established through bilateral negotiations) of the gross amount of the' royalties. The
competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode
of application of this limitation.
(3) The term "royalties" as used in this Article means payments of any kind
received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of
literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films, or films or tapes
used for radio or television broadcasting, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan,
secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial,
or scientific equipment, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or
scientific experience.
(4) The 'provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply if the beneficial owner 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 independent personal services from a fixed base
situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the royalties are paid is
effectively connected with (a) such permanent establishment or fixed base, or with (b)
business activities referred to under (c) of paragraph (1) of Article 7. In such cases the
provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
(5) Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State
itself, a political sub-division, 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 or a fixed base in connection
with which the liability to pay the royalties was incurred and such royalties are borne by
such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise
in the State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
(6) Where by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner
or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties, 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 arid the beneficial owner in the absence of such
relationship, the provisions of. this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned
amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to
the laws of each Contracting State due regard being had to the other provisions of this
Convention.
68. Scope
The Article deals with taxability of royalty income arising from the use of intangible
properties such as' copyrights, patents, and of the tangible properties such as
industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, or of information concerning industrial,
commercial or scientific experience. In the era of industrialisation the real wealth
consists in holding intangible assets, in contradistinction to traditionally holding of
tangible assets, such as houses, chattels, and money. Now intellectual property has been
becoming more and more important than the tangible and the physical assets. Consideration
for the use of these assets (royalties or fee for technical services) is taxed both in the
country in which it arises and in the country in which the recipient resides. What is
taxed is the royalty or fee in its character of remuneration for the assets and not the
latter in themselves. In the absence of a treaty each country would assert its
jurisdiction to tax the income arising from the use of the industrial asset.
It has now been well recognised that royalties from licensing of technology is having
their source where the licensed property is put to use. For taxing income from the
exploitation of industrial asset the attention is focussed to the country where the asset
is used to generate income and not to where it is formed and developed. Though the source
country has jurisdiction to tax income in regard to royalty income, the claim of country
of residence cannot be ignored. The OECD Model Convention, however, has given an exclusive
right to residence State. The UN Model departs substantially from the OECD Model. in
recognising the principle of taxation at source. This Model recognises that the taxing
jurisdiction depends on the nexus between it and economic activities producing income on
the one hand as also on the relationship between it and the taxpayer on the other. The
Model, however, limits the rights of the source country to tax royalty income at a certain
agreed upon percentage of the gross amount. Royalty has been defined exhaustively as
representing consideration for the use or right to use copyright, patents, industrial
equipment or information. Income, however, if it could be refused to a permanent
establishment or a fixed base becomes taxable as business, or professional income,
irrespective of its source being the copyright, etc.
69. Taxability in the source country
Paragraph (1) of Article 12 of the UN Model states that royalties arising in a Contracting
State and paid to a resident of the
other Contracting State shall be taxable only in that other State. Paragraph (2) is a
corollary of paragraph (1) extending the right of the source State to tax royalty income
but only to a limited extent confined only to the rate of tax as mutually agreed upon.
The jurisdiction of the source country to tax royalty income being not in doubt, the
question arises about the taxable base, whether and to what extent or whether not at all,
the expenses associated with the royalties be allowed deduction. Such expenditure must
have been incurred outside the jurisdiction of the source country and may involve
different years. Since allocation of expenditure relating to the royalty income is
pregnant with some inherent uncertainties and difficulties, taxing it by the source
country by the use of the method of applying a withholding tax on the gross amount is
advantageous. Such advantage is recognised world over because of the certainty in result,
and simplicity in administration. But the rate of deduction of tax at source be such so as
to approximate overall relationship of the expenses to gross royalty, so that overall
revenue will approximate to the results that would be reached through the application of
regular rate of tax to the net royalty income. In the case of non-residents, the tax
treatment of royalty income is provided in section 30 read with section 31(4) and rule 23.
These are produced as under:
"Sec. 39. Income from other sources. - (1) Income of every kind which may be
included in the total income of an assessee under this Ordinance shall be chargeable under
the head "Income from other sources", if it is not included in his total income
under any other head.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of
sub-section (1), the following incomes shall, save as otherwise provided in this
Ordinance, be chargeable under the head "Income from other sources", namely -
(a) dividend;
(b) interest, royalties and fees for technical services;
(c) ground rent;
(d) income from the hire of machinery, plant or furniture belonging to the assessee and
also of buildings belonging to him if the letting of the buildings is inseparable from the
letting of the said machinery, plant or furniture; and
(e) any income to which sub-section (12) of section 12 or section 13 applies.
Sec. 31. Deductions. - (1) In computing the income under the head "Income from
other sources", the following allowances and deductions shall be made, namely -
(a) in the case of dividends, any sum paid by way of commission to a banking company
realising such dividends on behalf of the assessee;
(b) any expenditure (not being in the nature of capital expenditure or personal expenses
of the assessee) laid out or expended wholly and exclusively for the purpose of earning
such income; and
(c) in the case of income to which clause (d) of sub-section (2) of section 30 applies,
any allowance or deduction computed in accordance with the provisions of clauses (iii),
(iv) and (v) of sub-section (1) of section 23.
Sec. 31(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) or sections 22 and
23, in the case of an assessee, being a foreign company or a foreign association, the
income by way of royalty received from a Pakistani concern in pursuance of any agreement
made by the foreign company or the foreign association, as the case may be, with the
Pakistani concern shall be computed in such manner as may be prescribed.
Rule 23. Income from royalties or fees for technical services. - For the purpose of
sub-section (4) of section 31, the income of a foreign company by way of royalty or fees
for technical services received from a Pakistani concern in pursuance of any agreement
made by the foreign company with the Pakistani concern shall be computed in the following
manner, namely :-
(1) In case the said income is by way of royalty ,-
(a) when received in pursuance of an agreement made before the 8th day of March, 1980, or
an agreement made on or after the said date the proposal in respect of which was approved
by the Government before the said date, the deductions admissible under section 31 shall
be allowed in accordance with the provisions of the said section; and
(b) when received in pursuance of any agreement made on or after the 8th day of March,
1980, no deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance shall be made under the said
section 31 from the gross amount of royalty.
(2) In case the said income is by way of fees for technical service -
(a) when received in pursuance of an agreement made before the 8th day of March, 1980, or
an agreement made on or after the said date the proposal in respect of which was approved
by the Government before the said date, the deduction admissible under section 31 shall be
allowed in accordance with the provisions of the said section;
(b) when received in pursuance of an agreement made on or after the 8th day of March,
1980, but before the 4th day of May, 1981, the deductions admissible under section 31
shall not exceed in the aggregate twenty per cent of the gross amount of such fees; and
(c) when received in pursuance of an agreement made on or after the 4th day of March,
1981, no deduction in respect of any expenditure or allowance, except the following
expenditure, shall be made under section 31 from the gross amount of such fees, namely -
(i) expenditure incurred in Pakistan on the provision of services of technical or other
personnel, including their salaries earned in Pakistan wherever paid;
(ii) expenditure incurred in Pakistan in respect of any work done in pursuance of such
agreement; and
(iii) expenditure incurred outside Pakistan in respect of any work done in pursuance of
such agreement not exceeding ten per cent of the gross amount of such fees."
69.1. Inter-relationship between the taxation by the countries of
source and recipient - The source country has exclusive tax jurisdiction in regard to
royalty income, yet the claim of country of residence cannot be ignored. In the absence of
a treaty each country would assert its jurisdiction to tax the income arising from the use
of the industrial asset. The country of residence would tax the income in terms of its tax
laws normally applicable to an assessee, unless tax relief is provided unilaterally by
exempting foreign income which has already been subjected to tax or by providing deduction
of tax thus paid from the amount found payable on determination of normal tax liability so
that income is not doubly taxed.
Unilateral relief provided, if achieved through bilateral agreements, the conflict between
the claims of jurisdiction of the country of source and of residence disappears. This
could be done by laying the rate of withholding tax at a level as at of the residence
country rate so that the source country tax gets amount entirely absorbed in any residence
country credit. This explains reasons that mostly the double taxation agreement fixes the
rate of withholding tax at a lower rate than the rate normally applicable. Reduction in
rate is also sought on account of another reason. The source country should not get any
unwanted advantage over the interest of the country of residence, by fixing the effective
rate of withholding tax on the gross amount (which reflects the element of expense) at a
higher level than the regular rate applicable to the net amount (gross amount minus the
permissible deduction) in the country of residence, i.e., in excess of the allowable
credit. Thus, the method of taxation by the source country and the general desirability of
applying withholding rate to the gross royalty payments, requires the rate to be
determined at a level which is appropriate to overall relationship of the expenses to the
gross royalty, so that there could be a close relationship of taxation at source and
taxation in the country of the recipient and that the source country tax involves the
aspect of 'sharing' of the revenue.
70. Arising or deemed arising in a country
The source State right to tax royalty income would be operative when the income arises
or is deemed to arise in that State. The expression 'arise' has been discussed in detail
in para 63.1. As regards deemed to arise' paragraph (5) states, inter alia, that
when the payer is the State itself, a political sub-division, or a local authority or
resident of that State, royalties shall be deemed to arise in that State. This expression
has been discussed in para 63. 1-1. In its meaning and contents it accords substantially
with section 12(4)(a) & (b) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979.
70.1. Royalty - A non-resident taxpayer is chargeable to tax in
Pakistan in respect of income by way of royalty which is received or is deemed to be
received in Pakistan or which accrues or arises or is deemed to accrue or arise in
Pakistan. The Income Tax Ordinance, 1979 did not contain clear cut source rule specifying
the circumstances in which royalty income could be regarded as accruing or arising in
Pakistan. Further, lump sum payments made for the supply of know-how were not chargeable
to tax where such know-how was supplied from abroad and the payment therefor was made
outside Pakistan, even though the know-how is used in Pakistan, if no part thereof was
attributable to any services rendered in Pakistan.
Section 12(4)(a) & (b) deals with this subject which says:
"Sec. 12(4) Any income by way of royalty payable by -
(a) a person who is a resident, except where the royalty is payable in respect of any
right, property or information used or services utilised for the purposes of a business or
profession carried on by such person outside Pakistan or for the purposes of making or
earning any income from any source outside Pakistan; or
(b) a person who is a non-resident, where the royalty is payable in respect of any Fight,
property or information used or services utilised for the purposes of a business or
profession carried on by such person in Pakistan or for the purposes of making or earning
any income from any source in Pakistan,
shall be deemed to accrue or arise in Pakistan."
In view of the aforesaid royalty income consisting of lump sum consideration for the
transfer outside Pakistan of, or the imparting of information outside Pakistan in respect
of any data, documentation, drawings or specifications relating to any patent, invention,
model, design, secret formula or process or trade mark or similar property, is ordinarily
become chargeable to tax in Pakistan.
70.2. Fees for technical services - As in the case of royalty,
the circumstances in which the income by way of 'fees for technical services' is deemed to
accrue or arise in Pakistan, .in the same manner.
Under section 12(5) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979, income by way of 'fees for
technical services' of the following types will be deemed to accrue or arise in Pakistan:
"Sec. 12(5) Any income by way of fees for technical services payable by -
(a) a person who is a resident, except where the fees are payable in respect of services
utilised in a business or profession carried on by such person outside Pakistan or for the
purposes of making or earning any income from any source outside Pakistan; or
(b) a person who is a non-resident, where the fees are payable in respect of services
utilised in a business or profession carried on by such person in Pakistan or for the
purposes of making or earning any income from any sources in Pakistan,
shall be deemed 'to accrue or arise in Pakistan."
The expression 'fees for technical services' is defined in Explanation to section 2(5) to
mean any consideration (including any lump sum consideration) for the rendering of
managerial, technical or consultancy services (including the provision of services of
technical or other personnel). It is defined as under:
"Sec. 12(5) Explanation - For the purposes of this sub-section, clause (b) of
section 24, sub-section (2) of section 30, sub-section (3A) of section 50 and section
80AA, "fees for technical services" means any consideration (including any
lump-sum consideration) for the rendering of any managerial, technical or consultancy
services (including the provision of the services of technical or other personnel) but
does not include consideration for any construction, assembly or like project undertaken
by the recipient or consideration which would be income of the recipient chargeable under
the head "Salary"."
Applicability of Section 80AA of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979
Fees for technical services accruing or arising to a
non-resident are chargeable to tax under section 80AA of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979,
which reads as follows:-
80AA. Tax on income of non-residents from fees for
technical services.-(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance,
where any consideration by way of fees for technical services referred to in the
Explanation to sub-section (5) of section 12 is received or is deemed to be received by,
or accrues or arises or is deemed to accrue or arise to, a non-resident, the whole of such
consideration shall be deemed to be income of the non-resident and tax thereon shall be
charged at the rate of fifteen per cent of such income.
(2) A non-resident referred to in sub-section (1), or an agent authorised by him in this
behalf, shall prepare and furnish to the Deputy Commissioner
within thirty days from the last day of each period of six months in every financial year,
that is to say, the thirty-first day of December and the thirtieth day of June,
respectively, a return, in respect of each such period of six months as aforesaid, showing
therein full particulars of the income referred to in the said sub-section:
Provided that, where such non-resident is likely to leave Pakistan in any six month period
as aforesaid or shortly after its expiry and he has no present intention of returning to
Pakistan, the provisions of section 81 shall, so far as may be, apply as if references to
financial year, the return of total income, the income year, the order of assessment, the
assessment year and rate of tax were references to the corresponding provisions of this
section.
(3) On receipt of such return, the Deputy Commissioner may, after
calling for such Particulars, accounts or documents as he may require, determine the
income referred to in sub-section (2) and charge tax thereon in accordance with the
provisions of this section.
(4) Nothing contained in this Ordinance shall be so construed as to allow any expense
against the income determined under sub-section (3).
(5) The tax paid under this section shall, to the extent that the income of the
non-resident is chargeable under this section, be deemed to be the final discharge of his
tax liability under this Ordinance, and he shall not be required to file the return of
total income under section 55 or be entitled to claim any refund or adjustment on the
basis of such return.
(6) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a non-resident in respect of any
consideration referred to in sub-section (1) for rendering technical services under an
agreement entered into on or before the thirtieth day of June, 1987.]
The provisions of section 50(3A) are also relevant for the purpose of Section 80AA.
Section 50(3A) reads as follows:
50(3A) Any person responsible for paying to a non-resident any sum
by way of fees for technical services shall, unless such person is himself liable to pay
tax thereon as an agent, deduct, at the time of payment, tax at the rate specified in the
First Schedule [:]
Provided that, where on an application of an assessee the Deputy
Commissioner gives a certificate in writing that the assessee is liable to pay tax under
any treaty or convention for avoidance of double taxation, entered into between the
Government of Pakistan and the country of residence of the assessee, at a rate which is
lower than the rate specified in the First Schedule, the person responsible for paying any
sum as fees for technical services to such assessee shall, until such certificate is
cancelled by the Deputy Commissioner, deduct tax at such lower rate.
It is evident that section 80AA would come into operation only when fee for technical
services "is received or is deemed to be received by, or accrues or arises, or is
deemed to accrue or arise, to a non-resident" in Pakistan. In a case reported as 1993
68 Tax 91 Trib, it is held: "it is well established that the sea-vices were
predominantly performed in Switzerland and that the payments (except for reimbursements)
were received in Switzerland. Moreover, it is pertinent, the assessing officer has nowhere
specifically held that the remuneration was received or is deemed to have been
received/accrued in Pakistan. Again we have already reversed the finding that the
Appellant had a permanent establishment in Pakistan. As a consequence, they would be
liable for income received/accrued (or deemed to have been received/accrued) in Pakistan
as could be said to be covered by the provisions of clause 'b' of sub-section (1) of
section 11 of the Ordinance. But, there is neither any definite evidence or categorical
finding by the assessing officer in this behalf, hence the Appellant nonresident cannot be
burdened with any tax liability on an income which accrued abroad, was earned abroad and
also was received outside Pakistan. Even if it were so received/accrued, the operation of
the terms of the Convention provides an umbrella for its exemption from Pakistani taxes".
71. Royalty
The term 'royalty' has been defined in paragraph (3) of Article 12 of the UN Model as to
mean payments of any kind received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use,
any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films or
films or tapes used for radio or television broadcasting any patent, trade mark, design or
model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use industrial,
commercial or scientific equipment or for information concerning industrial, commercial or
scientific experience.
The scope of the' income from royalty has not been confined to industrial royalties
arising out of patents and know-how, copyright royalties but also extended to cover
rentals within its scope such as film rentals, rentals of certain equipment and current
technical assistance. Rentals of tangible assets such as commercial or scientific
equipment should normally have been taken as business income, but since these are .to be
taken royalty income as per paragraph (3) of Article 12 of the UN Model, these may,
therefore, create confusion. This confusion could be dispelled if the tangible assets
referred to in aforesaid paragraph be understood as those which represent technical
know-how in the tangible form.
71.1. Royalty generally defined - Defined generally, the word
'royalty' means a share of the product or profit reserved by the owner for permitting
another to use the property; the share of the production or profit paid to the owner; a
share of the product or proceeds therefrom reserved to the owner for permitting .another
to use the property; the share of the produce reserved to the owner for permitting another
to exploit and use the property; a share of the profit, reserved by the owner for
permitting another to use the property; the amount reserved or the rental to be paid to
the original owner of the whole 'estate.
Royalty proper' is a share of product or profits reserved by the owner for
permitting another to use or develop his property, and a case of one of the American
Courts is referred to in support of this proposition in Corpus Juris Secundurn.
'Royalty' (except in the expression 'tonnage royalty') includes a dead rent and any
periodical or other payment for minerals got under a mining lease, and 'tonnage royalty'
means a royalty calculated by reference to the amount of minerals so got from time to
time, or of manufactured Articles produced from such minerals, or by any similar method.
The royalty is a payment made to the owners of certain types of rights by those who are
permitted by the owners to exercise the rights. The rights concerned are literary, musical
and artistic copyright, rights in inventions and designs, and rights in mineral deposits,
including oil and natural gas. The term originated from the fact that in Great Britain for
centuries gold and silver mines were the property of the Crown; such 'royal' metals could
be mined only if a payment ('royalty') were made to the
Crown. An individual inventor without capital or plant must licence others to manufacture
his invention. When owners of rights make arrangements for such exploitation by others,
the remuneration they receive in exchange is often in the form of a royalty, usually based
on the actual extent of the exploitation. As to inventions, a royalty may be said to be a
compensation paid under a licence granted by the owner of a patent ('the licensor') to
another person ('the licensee') who wishes to make use of the invention, the subject of
the patent. The patent remains the property of the licensor. A licence may be exclusive,
in which case the patent owner precludes himself from granting licences to third parties,
or non-exclusive, in which case the patent owner may grant licences to as many persons as
he wishes. The granting of licences and the payment of royalties thereunder are purely a
matter of contract between licensor and licensee. It is essential that all relevant
matters be provided for in the contract, especially the amount of royalties, and the
precise method of computing them. A licence may be limited or not, according to the
intentions of the parties. It may be limited to certain purposes or to geographical areas
or in any other way permissible under the national laws having jurisdiction over the
transaction. It will normally be for the full term of the patent. A royalty may be a
single payment covering the whole use of the patent for the whole term, but the more usual
practice is to make periodic payments and to relate the amounts of those payments to the
actual use of the patent by the licensee. It is common to charge royalties on the basis of
a percentage of the price for which the licensee sells the Articles or on the basis of the
number of the Articles made under the patent. Although the amount of royalties is
generally a matter of free bargaining between licensor and licensee, in some countries
governments preclude their nationals from paying royalties to foreign patent owners in
excess of a certain maximum fixed by the Government. Some Governments also reserve the
right to approve the entire licence contract concluded between their nationals and aliens.
Royalty payments may be in exchange for something in addition to the mere use of the
invention. The most common example is that wherein the licensor not only grants the right
to use the invention but also undertakes to supply the licensee with technical 'know-how',
that is to say, information from his own experience on the most efficient and economical
way of working the patent. It is estimated that more than 50 per cent of licence contracts
include 'know-how' provisions.
When applied to industrial designs, the meaning of the word 'royalty' is roughly the same
as in the case of patented inventions. Designs, depending on their nature or the various
national laws, may be protected by patents, copyright or registration. The form of legal
protection, however, does little to change the system of royalty payment as described in
regard to patents.
It is thus clear that in the case of secret processes, patents, special inventions, when
right of exploitation is given by the owner of the inventions, patents, etc., to a third
party, instead of outright sale, then, for the fight to exploit these inventions, secret
processes, some amount may be paid and the amount paid may be co-related to the extent of
exploitation. It is in this sense, that licence agreements for the exploitation of
patents, inventions, etc., are being entered into in modern commercial world and as part
of such agreements, even knowledge derived from his own experience and technical know-how
for the most economical and efficient user of the patents inventions, etc., are parted
with by the licensor to the licensee.
71.1.1 Royalty from mine, quarry, etc., to be taxed as income
from immovable property or as business - Under some agreements income earned as
royalty is taxed as arising from immovable property, if it is derived from the operation
of mine, quarry or any other extract/on of natural resources. As for an
illustration reads as follows:
- "(1) Income from immovable property may be taxed only in the territory in which the
property is situated. [(2)..........Royalty or other income derived from the operation of
a mine, quarry or any other extraction of natural resources shall be regarded as income
from immovable property."
For a limited purpose 'royalty' derived from mine, quarry or any other extraction of
natural resources is taken to be emanating as if from an immovable property along with
rent or other income. This Article only classifies that the nature of receipt derived from
that Particular source as royalty. It, thereafter, states that receipt designated as
royalty should be taxed as income from immovable property.
Nothing can in this Article lead to interpretation that the general meaning which is to be
attributed to 'royalties' as occurring in Article III(3) requires to be limited to
royalties derived from mines, quarries, or any other extraction of natural resources.
In fact income referable to mine or a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural
resources, is to be assessed as business income, as the UN Model Convention defines, inter
alia, to include these to mean permanent establishment. The nomenclature of a receipt as
'royalty, would not be decisive as characterising it to be so, if the receipt is having
reference to the permanent establishment. In that case it is to be taxed as business
income, and not as royalty convertible Under Article 12 or as arising from immovable
property taxable under Article 6.
71.2. Royalties as defined in double taxation agreements -
Royalty has been defined in double taxation agreements, Pakistan has entered with Hungary,
Denmark, Norway, Finland. Austria Indonesia, France, Belgium to mean any royalty or the
likeamount received as consideration for the right to use copyright, models or artistic
designs, plans, secret processes, formulae and other like property. In almost all
agreements the definition and concept of royalty as per OECD/UN Model, has been
incorporated. The modern international usage in the commercial field accepts this very
meaning of the word 'royalty in the sense of consideration paid from time to time
or, may be outright, for the exploitation of the rights, inter alia, to the knowledge
regarding secret process, patents, registered trade marks, etc., and also the right to
market the products as a result of those exploitations. These agreements were arrived at
in the field of taxation and the word 'royalty is thus understood by the contracting
parties, namely, the respective countries.
71.3. Royalty as defined under the income Tax Ordinance, 1979 -
The word 'royalty, has now been defined in Explanation to section 12(4). This definition
lends support that in the international commercial usage that the word 'royalty, has now
come to acquire a particular meaning. In the case of secret process, patent, special
inventions, when right of exploitation is given by the owner of the inventors, patents,
etc., to a third party, instead of outright sale, then for the right to exploit these
inventions, secret processes some amount may be paid and the amount paid may be co-related
to the extent of the exploitation. Licence agreements for the exploitation of patents,
inventions are being entered into in the modern commercial world and as part of such
agreements, even knowledge derived from his own experience and technical know-how for the
most efficient and economical user of the patents, inventions, etc., are parted with by
the licensor to the licensee. Payments of this kind are known as royalties.
71.3-1 Whether receipt of technical fee could be taxed on the basis
of its arising because of business connection, or as royalty - Section 12(2) refers to
-all income accruing or arising whether directly or indirectly, through or from any
business connection in Pakistan or through or from any property in Pakistan, or through or
from any asset or source of income in Pakistan or through the transfer of capital asset
situated in Pakistan. Section 12(5) refers to income by way of fees for technical services
payable by Government or a resident company or non-resident company in certain
circumstances. Section 12(2) is a general provision, whereas section 12(5) is a special
provision which refers to a particular type of income dealing with fees for technical
services rendered by the foreign company. The technical services may be rendered as a
result of the business connection or otherwise. But whether or not there is a business
connection any income by way of fees for technical services should be taken to have been
covered by the provision in section 12(5) because when there is a special provision
dealing with a special type of income, such a provision could exclude a general provision
dealing with the income accruing or arising out of any business connection. If the nature
of an income. is such as it falls under a specific provision, but on account of something
in that provision or proviso or Explanation thereto, it cannot be subjected to tax, it
cannot be brought within tax net by circumventing the general provision and extending its
sweep to embrace it within its folds. When it is not possible to tax amount under section
12(5) on account of the proviso thereto, the income received by a person by way of fee for
technical services rendered irrespective of whether it arises out of business connection,
cannot be taxed under section 12(2). Two provisions cannot operate in the same field in
respect of fees for technical services.
71.4. Royalty as defined in the Model Convention - 'Royalty'
has been defined to mean payments of any kind received.
(a) as consideration for the use or the right to use:
(i) any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films,
or films or tapes used for radio or television broadcasting; or
(ii) any patent, trade mark design or model, plan, secret formula or process; or
(iii) industrial, commercial or scientific equipment;
(b) as consideration for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific
experience.
71.4-1 Receipt of consideration for the use or right to use of
technical knowledge - What is taxed as royalty is the amount received as consideration
for the use or the right to use technical knowledge, etc. If, however, the consideration
does not so represent but represents the price for outright sale of technical knowledge,
the amount received is on capital account and taxable as capital gains.
There are different ways of imparting technical know-how, e.g., (i) outright sale of
designs, know-how, etc., (ii) lending the services of foreign technicians, (iii) giving
technical assistance, (iv) royalty or licensing agreements or (v) foreign capital
participation. Sale of technical know-how or imparting of technical knowledge and
information results in transfer or parting with the property or asset or any special
knowledge or skill which would ripen into a form of property, and after such transfer, the
transferor is deprived of using the asset. In all
other cases where no asset is parted with and the transaction is merely permitting the use
or granting the right to use the asset, the amount received would represent royalty.
The tax problems arising under technical collaboration agreements are broadly of two
kinds, viz, those relating to the admissibility of the expenditure incurred in the
assessments of the Paidstahl Participants (whether be taken as capital or revenue) and
those relating to the taxation of amounts in the hands of the non-resident collaborators.
As regards the former, the law has been well settled that
if the expenditure has been incurred for acquiring or bringing into existence an asset or
advantage of enduring nature, the expenditure will have to be regarded on capital account,
and if, for running the business and working it with a view to providing profits, it will
have to be regarded on revenue account.
The nature of the expenditure in relation to the payer is not determinative of the nature
of the corresponding receipt in the hands of the recipient. If to the recipient the amount
received represents rental for the mere user of technical knowledge or information, it
would be regarded royalty income in his hands.
Know-how can be put to use so as to produce revenue in two ways. The manufacturer can use
it himself to make things for sale and make profit in that way; or he can teach it to
others, so that they can make their own things, in that case he gets paid for the
knowledge and information which imparts to them. His fees and rewards are the revenue in
his hands. The manufacturer although teaching it to others, still retains the knowledge
himself and intends to go on using it himself and .making things from it. So long as he
does this, he retains the capital asset himself and is using it to produce revenue. But
know-how can be used to produce a capital receipt. It can be sold outright and bring in a
capital fund. This happens when a trader or manufacturer sells his know-how outright to a
purchaser and agrees not use the know-how to the prejudice of the purchaser. The purchase
price he receives is capital in his hands. In
Rolls Royce Ltd. v. Jeffrey (Inspector of Taxes)
the House of Lords held that the lump sum received for the know-how was revenue receipt.
This decision was followed in Musker v. English Electric Co. Ltd. as well as in Murray (Inspector of Taxes) v. Imperial
Chemical Industries Ltd. In Imperial Chemical industries' case, Lord
Denning, M.R., held that the lump sum for 'know-how' may be a revenue receipt as the
capital remained with the owner and all he did was to put it to use.
Thus, whether receipts from the provision of know-how are of capital or revenue nature
would essentially depend upon the transaction out of which receipts would arise and the
context in which the receipts are received. If the imparting of know-how is really in the
nature of services rendered without anything more the receipt must be treated as revenue
receipt. But when consideration is received for imparting know-how in association with
disposal of a capital asset, then the receipt will have to be treated capital receipt.
71.4-2 Industrial properties and technical know-how- Transfer of
revenue receipt or capital gains - Technology is embodied in various forms, such as
machinery, human capital and written documents. Transfer of technology involves industrial
properties like patents and trade marks, human skills and of equipment. In general,
contractual agreements can be divided into two broad types. The first includes what are
generally known as licensing agreements, and involves the transfer of the right to use
certain properties such as patents, trade mark, design, model, plan, secret formula or
process industrial, commercial and scientific equipment. The second involves the transfer
of skills, experiences and knowledge which are already in the public domain, for example,
turnkey contracts, service and engineering contracts. Technology transfer agreements cover
licence rights over specific processes, formula or manufacturing technology, other
knowledge or expertise necessary for the setting up of a plant and provision of various
technical assistance and supporting services.
The UN Model Convention covers both kinds of transfer and defines the consideration for
the use or the right to use of industrial asset, as also the consideration for transfer of
information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience, as royalty. A
licensing agreement may also include technical assistance; and a technical assistance
agreement may include the right to use the industrial asset. The consideration received in
respect of both is royalty. But under certain circumstances transfer may involve the
outright transfer as giving rise to capital gains. Having incurred heavy expenditure on
research and development before a manufacturing enterprise or an inventor develops a
patent or a process, he may desire to be compensated, as also to be somewhat profited. He,
therefore, permits the licensee to use the patent, invention or process for a lump sum
payment apart from the current royalty. However, whether the lump sum consideration or
even the subsequent amount to be received annually represents royalty or the capital gain,
depends upon the facts and circumstances of each case. Under the Ordinance, the
distinction between the two is well demarcated, when the expression 'royalty' is defined
in Explanation to section 12(4) as to mean consideration including lump sum consideration
but excluding any consideration which would be the income of the recipient chargeable
under the head 'Capital gains' for transfer of all or any right (including the licence) or
any information concerning with, or permitting the use of industrial assets as a patent,
invention, model, design, secret formula or process or trade mark or similar property, or
a copyright, literary or scientific work, etc. Thus, transfer of technology or know-how
may involve capital gain or it may be for a consideration which is taxed as royalty.
The Madras High Court in Fenner Woodroffe & Co Ltd. v. CIT held that agreement was a sale of technical know-how. References were made
to Lord Radcliffe's speech in Rolls Royce Ltd. v. Jeffrey decided by the House of Lords and to other English cases. It was held that
'know how' is an intangible asset. Quoting from Lord Denning's speech in Muskar v. English Electric Co. Ltd. it was observed
that 'know-how' could be sold to others and could also be used to produce an enduring
result by utilisation in manufacture.
The principles, on which foreign collaboration agreements have to be examined are well
settled, whether such agreements provide for the sale or the use of the know-how. There
can be an agreement by which the utilisation of the technical know-how is transferred,
there can be an agreement by which know-how is to be utilised in a restricted manner,
there can be an agreement in which know-how is to be transmitted as a part of the larger
agreement of collaboration. There may conceivably be other types of agreements in which a
question can arise as to whether the know-how has been acquired as a capital asset by the
assessee. Collaboration agreements and other agreements are full of complex questions
peculiar to the agreements in question. Each
agreement, therefore, requires critical examination.
The distinction between capital and revenue expense is sometimes difficult to ascertain
although the two things are distinct and yet they tend to overlap at particular points. If
an entrepreneur has to manufacture anything he must get the necessary machinery and plant
for making the Article. He must also get the information as to how that machinery is to be
utfiised in the making of the goods that he wants to market. The expense on the
manufacturing machinery and plant is most definitely a capital expenditure. The question
is as to whether the information obtained for running that machinery is a capital expense
or revenue expense becomes a problematic question. For instance, the manufacturer may buy
the know-how from another party or he may engage the services of another expert who knows
how to do the manufacture. If he gets expert managerial staff, the expense could be of
revenue in nature except to the extent utilised for setting up the machinery. If
information is given by way of plans and drawings for making the Article, it could be
considered to be capital. But if the utilisation is limited to manufacturing the goods for
a limited period, it has to be treated as revenue expenditure.
71.5. Speeialised knowledge or service yields royalty - The
term royalty connotes payment periodic or at a time for user of one person of certain
exclusive rights belonging to another person. The examples of such exclusive rights are in
the nature of a patent, mineral rights, or right in respect of publications. It appears
that the person who grants the user of the exclusive right might have the sanction of law
which guarantees exclusiveness. Such sanction may be obtained by taking out a patent in
respect of an invention. In other cases, such exclusive rights would arise from the
ownership of mineral rights, protected by the laws relating to property. In respect of
books and publication the exclusive right of the author is protected and sanctioned by the
laws of the copyright. It is possible that a person who invents may not take out a patent
for his invention but unless some other inventor independently and by his own efforts
comes to duplicate the invention the original invention remains exclusive to the inventor
and it is conceivable that such an inventor might exploit his invention permitting some
other person to have the user thereof against the payment. Similarly, it is possible for a
person carrying out operations of manufacture and production of a particular produce to
acquire specialised knowledge in respect of such manufacture and production which is not
generally available. A person having such specialised knowledge can claim exclusive right
to the same as long as he chooses to make such specialised knowledge to public. It is also
conceivable that such a person can exploit and utilise such specialised knowledge in the
same way as a person holding a patent or owning a mineral right or having the copyright of
a publication to allow limited user of such specialised knowledge to others in confidence
against payment. There is no reason why payment for the user of such specialised
knowledge, though not protected by a patent, should not be treated as royalty or in the
nature of royalty. The nomenclature used by the parties in respect of a particular service
would not b.. decisive of the matter but such nomenclature has to be construed on the
basis of commercial principles.
Technical assistance may be rendered by supply of information although such information by
way of technical assistance would be information of general nature; but supply of
exclusive and specialised information on the basis of which production and manufacture is
possible, goes beyond the concept of assistance and falls into the category of right of
user of an exclusive property right. If, therefore, information agreed upon to be supplied
in respect of working methods and manufacturing processes of the product are exclusive
information and knowledge available to the assessee and not generally disseminated, the
payment in respect thereof would bear the character of royalty. Industrial assets are held in the form of copyright, patent, design,
trade mark, model; or technical information concerning industrial, commercial and
scientific experience, which expressions are discussed in the following paras:
71.6. Copyright - Copyright is one of the intangible assets
whose value is limited by the rights and anticipative benefits that possession confers
upon the owner. It is an exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, and sell the matter,
and form of a literary, musical or artistic or scientific work, a right conveyed by a
statute. Other forms of intangible assets are
patents, design, trade marks, model, plan, secret formula or process.
71.7. Patent - Patent is a grant by the Government to an
inventor, giving him the exclusive right to make, produce, use and sell his invention, for
a term of years, it is an official document conferring a right or privilege, the monopoly
of the right or privilege so granted.
71.8. Design - Design means only the nature of shape,
configuration, pattern or ornament applied to any Article by an industrial process or means.
71.9. Trade mark - It is a distinctive identification of a
manufactured produce or of a service taking the form of a name, sign, motto, device or
emblem'. It is thus a distinctive mark attached to goods or services to identify them with
a particular trader or with his successor as the owner of the particular business.
71.10. Model - A pattern, system; or postulational set of
functional relations, including definitions, between variables and parameters, the purpose
of which is to conceptualize empirical findings and to plan, design and analyze the
results of systematic investigations. Sometimes models may take physical form (e.g, scale
models of ships or buildings) as an aid to planning or analysis, but more frequently they
retain the form of abstract constructs. Often thought of as being confined to
investigations in mathematical and developed sciences, models are essential to systematic
work in any field dealing with complex problems involving relations between facts and objectives.
71.11. Technical know-how and information concerning industrial,
commercial and scientific experience - All these rights in the form of copyright,
patent, design, trade mark, models, secret formula or process emanate from research and
investigation and may be grouped as technical knowledge or technical know-how. Information
relating to industrial, commercial or scientific experience is also known technical
knowledge and any consideration received for providing it is taxed as royalty.
71.12. Technical know-how - 'Technical know-how' is a term of
wide connotation and includes several kinds of technical knowledge, assistance and
services. There are several ingredients constituting technical know-how, such as (i) the
design of the product to be manufactured, (ii) the design of the process for manufacture,
(iii) the design and engineering of the plant, (iv) the erection and commission of the
plant, etc., etc.
Know-how is a peculiar kind of asset. It is the accumulated fund of knowledge acquired by
years of observation, research, experimentation and experience. Though it is an intangible
asset, the whole of it, however, is not in an intangible form, as it grows in the shape of
formulae, drawings, patterns, blueprints, specifications and so on. The material form it takes not only facilitates preservation,
collation and nearly reference, but also makes it perceptible and visible and easily
capable of being transmitted to others. When it assumes such a concrete shape, it ceases
to be an intangible entity and becomes in a sense of corporeal asset which can be bought
and sold, lent or borrowed, exchanged or stolen or imparted gratuitously to others. Though
physical records of know-how such as lists, drawings, engineering and manufacturing data
is imparted to another person, know-how is not lost to the owner thereof who still
continues to retain it for his own use, and, therefore, income arising from an agreement
under which such record is parted with cannot properly be termed as capital receipt. The
technical-know-how in the shape of drawings, designs, charts, plants, processing data and
other literature falls within the meaning of plant and is, therefore, a depreciable asset. Technology is a science or a body of' knowledge
applicable to the production of goods. Modern machinery is the product of technology. The
concept of transfer of technology is a complex phenomenon involving rights, obligations,
privileges and commitments of the parties concerned. The transaction permits access to
advanced means of production and control over the means of production. Such control,
however, is not always accompanied by control over technology. This is only when the
skill, information and technical excellence that make up technology, is transferred to the
national managers, supervisors and workers of enterprises from where it can eventually be
permeated into the economy of the developing country, technology could be said to have
been transferred. Such transfer is possible if access and use of commercial and scientific
equipment is permitted.
71.13. Equipment, use of or sale of, distinction - Royalty has
been defined as the consideration for the use or the right to use of, inter alia,
industrial, commercial or scientific equipment. Such a right is imparted as a part of
technology transfer, or sometimes as part of business activity of leasing of machinery or
equipment, or is granted for such time till the transaction ripens into sale. A
distinction has, therefore, to be made between the consideration paid for the use of
equipment, whether it could be taken royalty under Article 12, or business income under
Article 7, or capital gains under Article 13, or professional income under- Article 14, or
other income under Article 21.
Normally technology could be had through package deals which include comprehensive
transfer of equipment, industrial properties like patents and trade marks, skill, etc.
Transfer and dissemination takes place through collaborations, joint ventures, turnkey
projects, purchase of machineries, sale of technologies, hiring of expertise. The
collaboration agreements are of two types: (1) licensing arrangements, (2) transfer of
skills, experience and knowledge. The first relates to permitting the use of patents and
trade marks; and the second to transfer 'of experience and skills such as service and
engineering agreements. In practice, these are not mutually exclusive. A licensing
agreement may also include technical assistance. A technical assistance may include right
to use trade marks. In rendering technical assistance, the aid of machinery or equipment
is necessary, and therefore, agreement includes licensing of such machinery or equipment.
The consideration received for such licensing is taken to be 'royalty' income. If
equipment is given on hire by a person in the normal course of business, the consideration
received is taken as business income.
When an equipment has been leased for a consideration, the lessor retains the ownership of
an asset but conveys the right to use it to the lessee for an agreed period of time in
return for the payment of specified rentals. A lease consists of a right to the possession
and the use of the property owned by some other person. It is an outcome of the separation
of ownership and possession. Thus the basic
characteristic of the concept of leasing is the divorce between 'ownership' and 'use' of
the asset. But some contracts contain hire element and the sale element, as in the
hire-purchase agreement. It is the nature of a contract of bailment with an element of
sale added to it. It, however, differs from sale transaction. In a sale where price is
payable by instalments, property nonetheless passes on the date of the contract, while in
a hire-purchase agreement, it passes when the option is finally exercised by the intending
purchaser after complying with all terms of the agreement. Hire-purchase contract is often
used to describe contract which are in reality agreements to purchase chattels by
instalments, subject to the condition that the property in them is not to pass until
instalments have been paid. The hire-purchase
agreement contract fixes the total amount payable by the hirer-cum- purchaser which
exceeds the original price of the asset by an amount which may be called hire charges.
Thus instalments paid by the purchaser/hirer do not in principle constitute royalties and
the gain is taxable as capital gains' under Article 13. In the case of land lease, and
leasing in particular, the principal purpose of contract is normally that of hire, even if
the hirer ultimately exercises an option to purchase it. Article 12, therefore, applies in
the normal case to the rentals paid by the hirer, including all rentals paid by him upto
the date he exercises any right to purchase.
In the know-how contract, generally one of the parties agree to impart to the other, his
special knowledge or experience, so that the other can use it for his own account. The
grantor is not required to play any part himself in the application of the formula
granted. This differs from contracts for the provision of services, in which one of the
parties undertakes to use his skills and expertise to execute work himself for the other
party. Such Participation is ensured through many ways.
There are a number of modes open to business organisations to pool their resources. These
are:
- Franchising
- Licensing
- Sale of turnkey plants
- Co-production agreements
- Joint ventures
71.13-1 Franchising - In franchising, the ownership of
enterprise remains with the supplier of the patent. There is a privilege granted by the
owner of the technology to an individual or a corporation by which the grant is permitted
to operate a business under certain conditions. It means granting of an exclusive right to
another corporation. The features of franchise are:
-Duration of the issue
-Rates charged for services
- Services to be conducted
- Capitalisation
In return the grantee companies generally agree to pay a fixed percentage of the gross
sale. The ownership of the enterprise remains with the corporation and all taxes are borne
by its owner. Management is conducted locally with the experts from the foreign companies
available on request and on fee.
71.13-2 Licensing - In a licensing agreement, the
arrangement usually entails a form with sophisticated technical expertise in a specific
industry which sells package of technology to another for consideration.
71.13-3 Turnkey plants - In turnkey plants the foreign
companies provides machinery, supervising the assembling of production line for the
product which it has licensed, besides offering expertise to the host company.
71.13-4 Co-production agreements - In co-production
agreements, there is a joint manufacturing of a product generally for an extended period
of time One partner usually supplies components to be integrated into the equipment
produced by the other partner. The final product then is marketed by both the parties in
and outside the respective home States. Occasionally this form of corporation combines
both the licensing agreements and the turnkey plant sale.
71.13-5 Joint ventures - As association of individuals or
firms formed to carry out a specific business project although a joint venture is very
similar to the partnership. It differs in that it is limited to the success or failure of
the specific project for which it is formed. As in the case of partnership, a joint
venture is formed by a contract agreement in which each partner assumes unlimited
liability for the organisation debts.
Income arising as a result of co-production agreements or joint ventures is essentially
income from business, and the one arising from franchising licensing, turnkey projects is
partly business and partly royalty. The payments obtained 'as consideration for
after-sales service, for services rendered by a seller to the purchaser under a guarantee,
for pure technical assistance, for professional services given by a professional such as
an engineer, an advocate, or an accountant, do not constitute royalty. Such income
generally falls under Article 7 or 14. The cases where the contracts are of mixed nature,
consisting of imparting technical know-how and business venture, the appropriate course is
to apportion the receipt between its components as to ascertain how much of it could be
referable to technical know-how and how much to business or professional activity so that
each component is appropriately dealt with under the respective Article, unless where one
component constitutes by far the principal purpose and other is only ancillary and largely
unimportant character when the whole amount of the consideration is to be attributable to
the principal part. If, however, income is of such a nature that it could fall equally
under any of the Articles, it should be covered under that Article which specifically so
provides in respect of that income.
An almost similar question arose before the Madras High Court, whether the amount received
by a non-resident collaborator be taxed as an income arising or accruing in India by
reason of business connection in India in terms of section 9(1)(i) of the Indian Income
Tax Act [corresponding to section 12(2)(a) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979] or as the
technical fee for services rendered in terms of section 9(1)(vii) corresponding to section
12(5)(a) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979 in CITv. Copes Vulcan Inc. The Court held that if the nature of income is such as it falls under
a specific provision, it has to be taxed under that provision and not under the general
provision.
72. Article 12 vis-a-vis Article 11
The provisions relating to royalties in respect of property which is effectively connected
with permanent establishment or a fixed base, deal with in paragraph (4), the fictional
provisions about arising of income deal with in paragraph (5) and the determination of
income at arm's length deal with in paragraph (6) are not discussed here, as these
paragraphs are almost in pari materia with the similarly numbered paragraphs of Article
11. Discussion relating to them under that Article is also relevant for this Article.
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