The Tax Information Exchange Agreement (Taxes on Income) (Virgin Islands) Order 2005

Article 8 Definition of “paying agent”

(1) For the purposes of this Agreement, “paying agent” means any economic operator who pays interest to or secures the payment of interest for the immediate benefit of the beneficial owner, whether the operator is the debtor of the debt claim which produces the interest or the operator charged by the debtor or the beneficial owner with paying interest or securing the payment of interest.

(2) Any entity established in a contracting party to which interest is paid or for which interest is secured for the benefit of the beneficial owner shall also be considered a paying agent upon such payment or securing of such payment. This provision shall not apply if the economic operator has reason to believe, on the basis of official evidence produced by that entity, that—

(a) it is a legal person with the exception of those legal persons referred to in paragraph 5 of this Article;

(b) its profits are taxed under the general arrangements for business taxation; or

(c) it is an UCITS recognised in accordance with Council Directive 85/611/EEC or an equivalent undertaking for collective investment established in the BVI.

An economic operator paying interest to, or securing interest for, such an entity established in the other contracting party which is considered a paying agent under this paragraph shall communicate the name and address of the entity and the total amount of interest paid to, or secured for, the entity to the competent authority of its contracting party of establishment, which shall pass this information on to the competent authority of the contracting party where the entity is established.

(3) The entity referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article shall, however, have the option of being treated for the purposes of this Agreement as an UCITS or equivalent undertaking as referred to in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (2). The exercise of this option shall require a certificate to be issued by the contracting party in which the entity is established and presented to the economic operator by that entity. A contracting party shall lay down the detailed rules for this option for entities established in their territory.

(4) Where the economic operator and the entity referred to in paragraph (2) of this Article are established in the same contracting party, that contracting party shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the entity complies with the provisions of this Agreement when it acts as a paying agent.

(5) The legal persons exempted from sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2) of this Article are,

(a) in Finland: avoin yhtio (Ay) and kommandiittiyhtio (Ky)/oppet bolag and kommanditbolag;

(b) in Sweden: handelsbolag HB) and kommanditbolag (KB).