CBDT Notifies Provisions of the Protocol Amending the DTAA Between India and Belgium

Notification No. 160/2025, dated 10-11-2025

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified the Protocol amending the Agreement and the Protocol between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The following changes are introduced in the DTAA:

1. Broader Definition of “Competent Authority”

The Protocol amends Article 3(1)(d) by expanding the definition of Belgium’s “competent authority.” Earlier, Belgium’s competent authority was limited to the federal Minister of Finance or an authorised representative. The term now includes the Minister of Finance of the Federal Government as well as any Regional or Community Government, or their authorised representative.

2. Introduction of a New Definition – “Criminal Tax Matters”

A new clause, Article 3(1)(k), has been inserted to define the term “criminal tax matters.” It covers tax matters involving intentional conduct that is liable for prosecution under the criminal or tax laws of the requesting country, irrespective of whether such conduct occurred before or after entry into force of the Protocol.

3. Exchange of Information

The original Article 26 has been deleted and substituted with a wider information-exchange framework. Under the new Article 26, information can be exchanged if it is reasonably foreseeable to be relevant to the administration or enforcement of the DTAA or domestic tax laws. The scope is no longer restricted to income tax alone but extends to taxes of every kind levied by central, state or local authorities. The Protocol also eliminates banking secrecy as a ground for refusal: information cannot be withheld merely because it is held by a bank, nominee, fiduciary or financial institution.

4. Assistance in Tax Collection

The earlier provision on recovery of taxes has been replaced with Article 27 titled “Assistance in the Collection of Taxes.”

The new Article obligates both countries to assist each other in collecting “revenue claims,” a term that now covers taxes of every kind, along with interest, penalties and collection costs. If a tax claim is legally enforceable in one country and the taxpayer cannot prevent its recovery there, the other country must collect it as if it were its own tax debt.

The new Article retains key safeguards, allowing assistance to be refused if it conflicts with domestic laws, breaches public policy, or if the requesting State has not first taken reasonable steps to recover the tax itself.

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