The amending protocol to the 2013 income tax treaty between South Korea and Tajikistan entered into force on 11 June 2022. The protocol, signed 29 November 2021, is the first to amend the treaty and includes the following changes:

• The preamble is updated in line with BEPS standards;
• Article 25 (Mutual Agreement Procedure) is amended to provide that a person may present a MAP case to the competent authority of either Contracting State, instead of just the competent authority of the Contracting State of which the person is a resident; and
• Article 28 (Limitation on Benefit) is replaced with a new Article 28 (Entitlement to Benefits), providing that a benefit under the treaty shall not be granted in respect of an item of income if it is reasonable to conclude, having regard to all relevant facts and circumstances, that obtaining that benefit was one of the principal purposes of any arrangement or transaction that resulted directly or indirectly in that benefit, unless it is established that granting that benefit in these circumstances would be in accordance with the object and purpose of the relevant provisions of the treaty.

The protocol generally applies from 1 January 2023, although the change to Article 25 (Mutual Agreement Procedure) applies for cases presented on or after 11 June 2022, without regard to the taxable period to which the case relates.