India and Belgium sign Protocol on Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

•  India and Belgium have signed a Protocol amending the existing Agreement and Protocol between the two countries for Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income.
• The Protocol will broaden the scope of the existing framework of exchange of tax related information.
• This in turn will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two countries and will also enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes.

Analysis(Indo-Belgium relations):

• Belgium was among the first European countries to establish diplomatic relations with independent India in September 1947.
• India is Belgium’s 2nd largest export destination and 4th largest trade partner outside the EU. Bilateral trade between India and Belgium during January-December 2015 stood at € 11.95 Billion.
• The major exports from India to Belgium are in the sectors of gems &jewelry, textiles, chemicals and chemical products. The cumulative FDI inflows from Belgium into India amounted to US $ 896.09 million during April 2000 to March 2016 making Belgium as 22nd largest investor in India.
• Several Indian companies, particularly in the IT and software sectors, such as TCS, Infosys, Tech Mahindra and HCL, have established base in Belgium to cater to the Belgian as well as European markets.
• To promote seafood export, India participates in the ‘Seafood Expo Global’ - the world’s largest seafood trade event – held annually in the third week of April in Belgium, in a big way.
• India and Belgium have a cultural agreement in place since 1973. India was the partner country for the prestigious Europalia-India Cultural Festival .
• India and Belgium cooperate in the field of Science and Technology under the framework of an MoU signed during the visit of the Belgian PM to India in November 2006. A Joint Committee on S&T has been established based on the agreement.
• The Indian Diaspora in Belgium numbers around 18,000 as per estimates from the local Government. Of this, nearly 10,000 are Indian citizens. Around 1500 Indian IT professionals work for various Belgian companies along with around 800 Indian students in various universities. Around 2,500 NRIs/PIOs are based in Antwerp, mainly involved in the diamond trade.

By: Vishal