Luxembourg plans to sign a double taxation treaty with India to boost bilateral trade, whose volume is currently low, Henri Grethen, the visiting economy minister of the European country, said on Tuesday.
The main reason behind the low volume of trade at $11.19 million during 2001-02, was the absence of a double taxation treaty "and we are currently in talks with the Indian government to have one," he said on the sidelines of a function organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
He said New Delhi has similar treaties with Switzerland, Germany and France which was putting Luxembourg in a disadvantageous position vis-a-vis trade with India.
A double taxation treaty is intended to remove roadblocks created by disparities in tax law and the benefits of such a treaty is that one country relinquishes its right to tax a particular item in favour of the other.
Grethen said the identified areas of cooperation between the two countries were iron and steel and financial services. He invited Indian business to explore joint ventures in these areas.
Indian companies could use Luxembourg as a gateway to the European Union, he said. On the movement of IT professionals, he said his country has visa restrictions but that could be relaxed depending upon specific IT projects.
© 2025 Rediff.com -