Pay Tax Once In the Right Country, at the Right Rate
India has tax treaties with more than 90 countries. On paper, that means no income should be taxed twice. In practice, treaty relief is never automatic it is claimed, documented and defended. A missing Form 10F, an expired tax residency certificate, or a contract clause that quietly creates a permanent establishment can turn a 10 per cent treaty rate into a 30 percent plus domestic one, with the excess locked in refund proceedings for years.
A2 Consultants provides DTAA and international tax treaty advisory for foreign companies, NRIs, expatriates and cross-border professionals — reducing your global tax burden through correct treaty application, and keeping every claim audit proof from day one. Treaty relief is not a form-filling exercise; it is a structuring decision.
Our DTAA & Tax Treaty Services
1. Treaty Eligibility & Benefit Optimisation
The right treaty position starts before the transaction, not at filing time.
- Residency based eligibility analysis under OECD and UN model conventions.
- Selecting the optimal relief method — tax credit, exemption or reduced rate — per income stream.
- Article-specific advisory on royalties, dividends, interest and fees for technical services (FTS), where treaty rates diverge most sharply from domestic rates.
2. Documentation & Regulatory Support
Most rejected treaty claims fail on paperwork, not on substance. We make sure yours don t.
- Tax Residency Certificate (TRC) and Certificate of Residence coordination with foreign jurisdictions.
- Form 10F preparation and filing, plus supporting self-declarations.
- Full Rule 21AB compliance and Form 15CA/15CB certification for foreign remittances.
3. Permanent Establishment (PE) Risk Advisory
An unintended PE converts treaty-protected income into India-taxable business profits — the single most expensive surprise in cross-border operations.
- PE assessment across fixed-place, service PE and dependent-agent PE articles.
- Structuring of contracts, employee presence and liaison/project offices to keep activities on the right side of the line.
- Profit attribution, PE compliance and disclosure support where a PE does exist.
4. Dual Residency & Tie-Breaker Solutions
Cross-border executives and returning NRIs often qualify as tax resident in two countries at once. The treaty decides which one wins — if the analysis is done properly.
- Dual tax residency analysis using treaty tie-breaker rules.
- Elimination of same-income taxation across jurisdictions.
- Coordination with your home-country advisers so both filings tell the same story.
5. Withholding Tax (WHT) & Remittance Advisory
Every cross-border payment is a withholding decision, and over-withholding is a real cost — cash that leaves now and returns, if at all, after litigation.
- DTAA-based withholding rates on outbound and inbound payments — FTS, interest, dividends, royalties.
- Form 15CB certification, gross-up structuring and DTAA disclosures in returns.
6. MAP, APA & Treaty-Based Transfer Pricing
When treaty positions are challenged, the treaties themselves provide the remedy — used correctly.
- Treaty impact analysis on transfer pricing and related-party transactions.
- Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) assistance to resolve cross-border treaty disputes.
- Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) support involving DTAA interpretation — certainty before the dispute, not after.
Who This Is For
- Foreign companies receiving royalties, FTS, interest or dividends from India.
- NRIs and expatriates with income taxable in two jurisdictions.
- Indian businesses making foreign remittances requiring 15CA/15CB certification.
- Multinationals managing PE risk or facing treaty-based TP scrutiny — including under DTAAs with the USA, UK, Singapore and Germany.
Why A2 Consultants
- Two decades of international tax planning for foreign companies — treaty interpretation as practised, not just as printed.
- Zero-penalty record on foreign remittance tax filings.
- End-to-end ownership: from residency certificate to tax credit claim, one advisory lens across DTAA, FEMA, transfer pricing and repatriation.
Paying tax twice on the same income — or withholding more than the treaty requires? Book a free 30-minute consultation at a2consultants.in or write to [email protected]. We'll review your treaty position and documentation gaps before the next remittance.