ARTICLE 12

Royalties

(1) Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the laws of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the royalties the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.

(2) 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 cinematographic films, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience.

(3) The provisions of paragraph (1) 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 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 cases, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.

(4) Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is that State itself, one of its Lander or a political subdivision or local authority, or resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the royalties, whether 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 the 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.

(5) Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner of the royalties or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the royalties paid, having regard to the work 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 may be taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.