Agreement

Between

the Slovak Republic

and

the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

for the Avoidance of Double Taxation

and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion

with respect to taxes on income

The Slovak Republic and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, 

desiring to conclude an Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income,

have agreed as follows: 

Article 1
Personal scope

This Agreement shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States. 

Article 2
Taxes Covered

(1) This Agreement shall apply to taxes on income imposed on behalf of a Contracting State or of its administrative - territorial units or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied. 

(2) There shall be regarded as taxes on income all taxes imposed on total income, or on elements of income, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable property, as well as taxes on capital appreciation. 

(3) The existing taxes to which this Agreement shall apply are in particular:

a) In the case of the Slovak Republic:
(i)	the tax on income of individuals;
(ii)	the tax on income of legal persons.
(hereinafter referred to as “ Slovak tax”).
b) In the case of the Ethiopia:
      (i)	the tax on income of individuals and legal persons;
      (ii)	the tax on income from mining, petroleum and agricultural activities.
(hereinafter referred to as “Ethiopian tax”).

(4) The Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes, which are imposed after the date of signature of this Agreement in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any substantial changes, which have been made in their respective taxation laws.

Article 3
General definitions

(1) For the purposes of this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires:
 
a) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean the Slovak Republic or Ethiopia  as the context requires; 

b) the term “the Slovak Republic” means the Slovak Republic and, used in a geographical sense, means its territory, within which the Slovak Republic exercises its sovereign rights and jurisdiction, in accordance with the rules of international law;

c) the term “Ethiopia” means the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, when used in a geographical sense, it means the national territory and any other area which in accordance with international law or the laws of  Ethiopia is or may be designed as an area in which Ethiopia exercises sovereign rights or its jurisdiction; 

d) the term "person" includes an individual, a company and any other body of persons;

e) the term "company" means any body corporate or entity that is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; 

f) the terms "enterprise of a Contracting State" and "enterprise of the other Contracting State" mean respectively an enterprise carried on by a resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident of the other Contracting State; 

g) the term "national" means: 

(i) any individual possessing the nationality of a Contracting State;     
(ii) any legal person, partnership or association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in a Contracting State;

h) the term "international traffic" means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise which has its place of  effective management in a Contracting State, except when such transport is operated solely between places situated in the other Contracting State;  

i) the term “Competent Authority” means:

(i) in the case of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Finance or its authorized representative;
(ii) in the case of Ethiopia, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development or his authorized representative.

(2) As regards the application of this Agreement at any time by a Contracting State any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning that it has at that time under the law of that Contracting State for the purposes of the taxes to which this Agreement applies, any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that Contracting State prevailing over a meaning given to them under other laws of that Contracting State. 

Article 4
Resident

(1) For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the laws of that Contracting State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of effective management, or any other criterion of a similar nature, and also includes that Contracting State and any administrative - territorial unit or local authority thereof. This term, however, does not include any person who is liable to tax in that Contracting State in respect only of income from sources in that Contracting State or capital situated therein. 

(2) Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows: 

a) he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State in which he has a permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available to him in both Contracting States, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (center of vital interests); 

b) if the Contracting State in which he has his center of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has not a permanent home  available to him in either Contracting State, he shall be deemed  to be a resident only of the Contracting State in which he has an  habitual abode; 

c) if he has an habitual abode in both Contracting States or in  neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State of which he is a national; 

d) if he is a national of both Contracting States or of neither of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall  settle the question by mutual agreement. 

(3) Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State in which its place of effective management is situated. 

Article 5
Permanent Establishment

(1) For the purposes of this Agreement, the term "permanent establishment" means a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on. 
	
(2) The term "permanent establishment" includes especially:

a) a place of management;

b) a branch;

c) an office;

d) a factory;

e) a sales outlet;
 
f) a workshop;

g) a commercial warehouse (in relation to a person carrying on business in the field of storage);

	h) a farm, plantation or other place where agricultural, forestry, plantation or related activities are carried on; and 
	
i) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of natural resources. 

(3) The term “permanent establishment” likewise encompasses:

a) a building site or a construction, assembly  or installation project or supervisory activities in connection therewith, but only where such site, project activities continue for a period of more than six months;

b) The furnishing of services, including consultancy or managerial services, by an enterprise of a Contracting State through employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise for such purpose, but only where activities of that nature continue in the territory of the other Contracting State for a period or periods exceeding in the aggregate six months within any twelve month period.

(4) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the term “permanent establishment" shall be deemed not to include: 

a) the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise; 

b) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery; 

c) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise; 

d) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of purchasing goods or merchandise or of collecting information, for the enterprise; 

e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or auxiliary character (such as advertising, supply of information, scientific research etc.); 

f) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination of activities mentioned in sub-paragraphs a) to  e), provided that the overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character. 

(5) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person - other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 7 applies - is acting on behalf of an enterprise and has, and habitually exercises, in a Contracting State an authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise, that enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in that Contracting State in respect of any activities which that person undertakes for the enterprise, unless the activities of such person are limited to those mentioned in paragraph 4 which, if exercised through a fixed place of business, would not make this fixed place of business a permanent establishment under the provisions of that paragraph.

(6) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, an insurance enterprise of a Contracting State shall, except in regard to reinsurance, be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State if it collects premiums in the territory of the other Contracting State or it insures risks situated therein through a person, other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 7 applies.
	
(7) An enterprise shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that Contracting State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business. However, where the activities of such an agent are devoted wholly or mainly to that enterprise he would not be considered an agent of an independent status within the meaning of this paragraph.

(8) The fact that a company which is a resident of a Contracting State controls or is controlled by a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State, or which carries on business in that other Contracting State (whether through a permanent establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself constitute either company a permanent establishment of the other. 

Article 6
Income from immovable property

(1) Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable property (including income from agriculture or forestry) situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State. 

(2) The term "immovable property" shall have the meaning, which it has under the law of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. The term shall in any case include property accessory to immovable property, livestock and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, rights to which the provisions of general law respecting landed property apply, usufruct of immovable property and rights to variable or fixed payments as consideration for the working of, or the right to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships and aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable property. 

(3) The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property. 

(4)The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to the income from immovable property of an enterprise and to income from immovable property used for the performance of independent personal services. 

Article 7
Business profits

(1) The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that Contracting State unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein.  If the enterprise carries on business as aforesaid, the profits of the enterprise may be taxed in the other Contracting State but only so much of them as is attributable to:

a)	 that permanent establishment; or

b)	sales in that other Contracting State of goods or merchandise of the same or similar kind as those sold through that permanent establishment.

(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, there shall in each Contracting State be attributed to that permanent establishment the profits which it might be expected to make if it were a distinct and separate enterprise engaged in the same or similar activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently with the enterprise of which it is a permanent establishment.

(3) In determining the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be allowed as deductions those expenses deducible under the domestic laws of the Contracting States which are incurred for the purposes of the permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses so incurred, whether in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere. 

(4) Insofar as it has been customary in a Contracting State to determine the profits to be attributed to a permanent establishment on the basis of an apportionment of the total profits of the enterprise to its various parts, nothing in paragraph 2 shall preclude that Contracting State from determining the profits to be taxed by such an apportionment as may be customary; the method of apportionment adopted shall, however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the principles contained in this Article. 

(5) No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the enterprise. 

(6) For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to the permanent establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year unless there is good and sufficient reason to the contrary. 

(7) Where profits include items of income, which are dealt with separately in other Articles of this Agreement, then the provisions of those Articles shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article. 

Article 8
International traffic

(1) Profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated. 

(2) If the place of effective management of a shipping enterprise is aboard a ship, then it shall be deemed to be situated in the Contracting State in which the home harbour of the ship is situated, or, if there is no such home harbour, in the Contracting State of which the operator of the ship is a resident. 

(3) The profits covered by this Article consist of the profits directly derived by the enterprise from the transportation of passengers or cargo by ships or aircraft (whether owned, leased or otherwise at the disposal of the enterprise) that it operates in international traffic. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 12, this Article also covers profits from activities directly connected with such operation of ships or aircraft, as well as profits from activities which are ancillary to such operation (e.g. profits from the incidental rental on a bareboat basis of ships or aircraft, profits from the incidental use, maintenance or rental of containers used for the transport of cargo, profits from sales of tickets on behalf of another transport enterprise).

(4) The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to profits from the participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency.

Article 9
Associated enterprises

(1) Where
a) an enterprise of a Contracting State participates directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of the other Contracting State, or

b) the same persons participate directly or indirectly in the management, control or capital of an enterprise of a Contracting State and an enterprise of the other Contracting State, 

and in either case conditions are made or imposed between the two enterprises in their commercial or financial relations which differ from those which would be made between independent enterprises, then any profits which would, but for those conditions, have accrued to one of the enterprises, but, by reason of those conditions, have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly. 

(2) Where a Contracting State includes in the profits of an enterprise of that Contracting State - and taxes accordingly - profits on which an enterprise of the other Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other Contracting State and the profits so included are profits which would have accrued to the enterprise of the first-mentioned Contracting State if the conditions made between the two enterprises had been those which would have been made between independent enterprises, then that other Contracting State shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of the tax charged therein on those profits.  In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this Agreement and the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall if necessary consult each other. 

(3) The provisions of paragraph 2 shall not apply in the case of fraud, gross negligence or wilful default.

Article 10
Dividends

(1) Dividends paid by a company, which is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other Contracting State. 

(2) However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident, but if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed

a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner holds at least 10 per cent of the capital of the company paying the dividends,

b) 10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases. 

This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid. 

(3) The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from shares or other rights, not being debt-claims, participating in profits, as well as other income which is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from shares by the laws of the Contracting State of which the company making the distribution is a resident.

(4) The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other Contracting State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 

(5) Where a company which is a resident of a Contracting State derives profits or income from the other Contracting State, that other Contracting State may not impose any tax on the dividends paid by the company, except insofar as such dividends are paid to a resident of that other Contracting State or insofar as the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed base situated in that other Contracting State, nor subject the company's undistributed profits to a tax on the company's undistributed profits, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in such other Contracting State. 

Article 11
Interest

(1) Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State. 

(2) However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises and according to the laws of that Contracting State, but if the beneficial owner of the interest is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 per cent of the gross amount of the interest. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of this limitation.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State who is the beneficial owner thereof shall be exempted from tax in the Contracting State in which interest arises if it is paid:

a)	to the Government of the other Contracting State, an administrative territorial unit or a local authority thereof or to the Central Bank of that other Contracting State; or

b)	in connection with a loan or a credit guaranteed or insured by the Government of the other Contracting State, an administrative-territorial unit or a local authority thereof or by the Central Bank of that other Contracting State.

(4) The term "interest" as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in the debtor’s profits, and in particular, income from government securities and income from bonds or debentures, including premiums and prizes attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures. Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purpose of this Article. The term “interest” shall not include any item of income which is considered as a dividend under the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 10.

(5) The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the interest, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises, through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other Contracting State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply. 

(6) Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is a resident of that Contracting State. Where, however, the person paying the interest, 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 indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated. 

(7) 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 interest, having regard to the debt- claim for which it is paid, exceeds the amount which would have been agreed upon by the payer and 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 Agreement. 

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 Contracting State. 

(2) However, such royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the laws of that Contracting State, but if the beneficial owner of the royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 per cent 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, and films or tapes for television or radio broadcasting, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or any 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 Contracting 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 such permanent establishment or fixed base.  In such case, 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 a resident of that Contracting 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 Contracting 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 and 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 Agreement. 

Article 13
Capital gains

(1) Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.
	
(2) Gains from the alienation of movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment, including shares and other comparable interests in a company, which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of movable property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of such fixed base, may be taxed in that other Contracting State. 

(3) Gains from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic or movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships and aircraft shall be taxable only in the Contracting State, in which the place of effective management of the enterprise owning such ships or aircraft is situated. 

(4) Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in paragraphs 1 to 3 shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.
	
Article 14
Independent personal services

(1) Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of professional services or other activities of an independent character shall be taxable only in that Contracting State unless he has a fixed base regularly available to him in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing his activities. If he has such a fixed base, the income may also be taxed in the other Contracting State but only so much of it as is attributable to that fixed base.

(2) The term "professional services" includes especially independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational or teaching activities as well as the independent activities of physicians, lawyers, engineers, architects, dentists and accountants. 

Article 15
Dependent personal services

(1) Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18, 19 and 20, salaries, wages and other similar remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment shall be taxable only in that Contracting State unless the employment is exercised in the other Contracting State. If the employment is so exercised, such remuneration as is derived therefrom may be taxed in that other Contracting State. 

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment exercised in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned Contracting State if all the following conditions are met: 

a) the recipient is present in the other Contracting State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned; and 

b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not  a resident of the other Contracting State;  and 

c) the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed base which the employer has in the other Contracting State. 

(3) The term “employer” mentioned in sub-paragraph b) of paragraph 2 means the person having right on the work produced and bearing the responsibility and risk connected with the performance of the work.

(4) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship or aircraft operated in international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated. 

Article 16
Directors′ fee

Directors' fees and other similar payments derived by a resident of a Contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors or any other similar organ of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State. 

Article 17
Artistes and sportsmen

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or a musician, or as a sportsman from his personal activities as such exercised in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

(2) Where income in respect of personal activities exercised by an entertainer or a sportsman in his capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsman himself but to another person, that income may, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the entertainer or sportsman are exercised. 

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, income derived from the activities referred to in paragraph 1 within the framework of cultural or sports exchanges agreed to by the Governments of the Contracting States and carried out other than for the purpose of profit shall be exempt from tax in the Contracting State in which these activities are exercised.

Article 18
Pensions

Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State in consideration of past employment shall be taxable only in that Contracting State.

Article 19
Government service

(1) 	
a) Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting State or an administrative- territorial unit or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that Contracting State or authority or unit shall be taxable only in that Contracting State. 

b) However, such salaries, wages and other similar remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that Contracting State and the individual is a resident of that Contracting State who: 

(i)	is a national of that Contracting State; or

(ii)	did not become a resident of that Contracting State solely for the purpose of rendering the services. 

(2)      
a) Any pension paid by, or out of funds created by a Contracting State or an administrative-territorial unit or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered to that Contracting State or authority or unit shall be taxable only in that Contracting State. 

b) However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the individual is a resident of, and a national of, that Contracting State. 

(3) The provisions of Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 shall apply to salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, and to pensions, in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State or an administrative- territorial unit or a local authority thereof. 

Article 20
Students and business apprentice

(1) Payments which a student or business apprentice who is or was immediately before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State and who is present in the first mentioned Contracting State solely for the purpose of his education or training receives for the purpose of his maintenance, education or training shall not be taxed in that Contracting State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that Contracting State. 

(2) In respect of grants, scholarships and remuneration from employment not covered by paragraph 1, a student or business apprentice described in paragraph 1 shall, in addition, be entitled during such education or training to the same exemptions, reliefs or reductions in respect of taxes available to residents of the Contracting State which he is visiting. 

Article 21
Other income

(1) Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement shall be taxable only in that Contracting State. 

(2) The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to income, other than income from immovable property as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, if the recipient of such income, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other Contracting State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of which the income is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, items of income of a resident of a Contracting State not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Agreement and arising in the other Contracting State may also be taxed in that other Contracting State. 

Article 22
Elimination of double taxation

(1) Where a resident of a Contracting State derives income which, in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement may be taxed in the other Contracting State, the first-mentioned Contracting State shall allow as a deduction from the tax on the income of that resident, an amount equal to the income tax paid in that other Contracting State. Such deduction shall not, however, exceed that part of the income tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable to the income which may be taxed in that other Contracting State.

(2) Where in accordance with any provision of the Agreement income derived by a resident of a Contracting State is exempt from tax in that Contracting State, such Contracting State may nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income of such resident, take into account the exempted income.

(3) For the purposes of paragraph 1 of this Article, the tax paid in the Contracting State includes the tax which would have been payable but for tax incentives granted under the laws of that Contracting State that are designed to promote economic development in that Contracting State.

Article 23
Non-Discrimination

(1) Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith, which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which nationals of that other Contracting State in the same circumstances, in particular with respect to residence, are or may be subjected. This provision shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, also apply to nationals of the Contracting States who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

(2) The taxation on a permanent establishment, which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State, shall not be less favorably levied in that other Contracting State than the taxation levied on enterprises or residents of that other Contracting State carrying on the same activities. 

(3) Nothing in this Article shall be construed as obliging a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents. 

(4) Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 7 of Article 11, or paragraph 6 of Article 12 apply, interest, royalties and other disbursements paid by an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable profits of such enterprise, be deductible under the same conditions as if they had been paid to a resident of the first mentioned Contracting State.  

(5) Enterprises of a Contracting State, the capital of which is wholly or partly owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by one or more residents of the other Contracting State, shall not be subjected in the first-mentioned Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-mentioned Contracting State are or may be subjected. 

(6) The provisions of this Article shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 2, apply to taxes, of every kind and description. 

Article 24
Mutual agreement procedure

(1) Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic laws of the Contracting States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident or, if his case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 23, to that of the Contracting State of which he is a national. The case must be presented within two years from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement. 

(2) The competent authority shall endeavour, if it appreciates that the objection is justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation, which is not in accordance with the Agreement. Any agreement reached shall be implemented in the time period provided in the domestic laws of the Contracting States. 

(3) The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of the Agreement. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Agreement. 

(4) The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of reaching an agreement, in the sense of the preceding paragraphs.  

Article 25
Exchange of Information
(1) The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or to the administration or enforcement of the domestic laws concerning taxes of every kind and description imposed on behalf of the Contracting States, or of their political subdivisions or local authorities, insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Articles 1 and 2.
(2) Any information received under paragraph 1 by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) concerned with the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, the determination of appeals in relation to the taxes referred to in paragraph 1, or the oversight of the above. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.
(3) In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:

a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;

b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the laws or in the normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting State;

c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public). 

(4) If information is requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this Article, the other Contracting State shall use its information gathering measures to obtain the requested information, even though that other State may not need such information for its own tax purposes. The obligation contained in the preceding sentence is subject to the limitations of paragraph 3 but in no case shall such limitations be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because it has no domestic interest in such information. 
(5) In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 3 be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because the information is held by a bank, other financial institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or because it relates to ownership interests in a person.

Article 26
Members of diplomatic missions and consular posts

Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the fiscal privileges of members of diplomatic missions or consular posts under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements. 

Article 27
Miscellaneous provisions

(1) The provisions of this Agreement shall in no case prevent either Contracting State from the application of its domestic laws aiming at the prevention of fiscal evasion, in particular, but it is not limited to, the provisions on thin capitalization, transfer pricing and substance over form.

(2) The competent authority of a Contracting State may, after consultation with the competent authority of the other Contracting state, deny the benefits of this Agreement to any person, or with respect to any transaction, if in its opinion the granting of those benefits would constitute an abuse of the Agreement according to its purposes. 

Article 28
Entry into force

This Agreement shall be approved in accordance with internal legal procedures of both Contracting States and shall enter into force 60 days after the date of the later diplomatic note confirming that the internal legal procedures have been complied with. The provisions of this Agreement shall thereupon have effect:

a)  in the case of Ethiopia:

(i) in respect of taxes withheld at source, to amounts of income paid or credited on or after the 1st January following  the year  on which the Agreement enters into force; and 

(ii) in respect of other taxes on income, to income in any taxable year beginning on or after 8th July following  the fiscal year on which the Agreement enters into force. 

b) In the case of the Slovak Republic:

(i) in respect of taxes withheld at  source, to  income paid or credited on or after the 1st  day of January of the calendar year following the year in which this Agreement enters into force; 

(ii) in respect of other taxes on income, to such taxes as will be imposed for any tax periods beginning on or after 1st day of January of the calendar year  following  the year in which this Agreement enters into force. 

Article 29
Termination

(1) This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State. Either Contracting State may terminate the Agreement through the diplomatic channels, by giving notice of termination at least six months before  the end of any calendar year following after the period of five years from the date on which the Agreement enters into force. In such event, this Agreement shall cease to have effect:

a)	in the case of Ethiopia:

(i) in respect of taxes withheld at  source, to amounts of  income paid or credited on or after the 1st day of January following  the year on which the notice is given; and 

(ii) in respect of other taxes on income, to income in any taxable year beginning on or after 8th July following after the fiscal year on which the notice is given. 

b)	In the case of the Slovak Republic:

(i) in respect of taxes withheld at  source, to amounts of  income paid or credited on or after the 1st day of January in the calendar year next following the year in which the notice of termination is given;  

(ii) in respect of other taxes on income, in any tax year beginning on or after 1st day of January in the calendar year next following  the year in which the notice of termination is given. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto, have signed this Agreement. 

DONE at ................. this.......... day of ............ 2008 in duplicate, each in the Slovak and in the English language. In case of divergence the English version shall prevail. 

FOR                    		     	FOR

the Slovak Republic                                                             	the Federal Democratic                                                         
                                                                                              	Republic of Ethiopia 

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