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 State.

(2) However, such interest may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises and according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the interest is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 percent of the gross amount of the interest.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2,

• (a) interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to the Government of the other Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in the first-mentioned State;
• (b) interest arising in a Contracting State and paid in consideration of a loan guaranteed or insured by the other Contracting State or any financial institution wholly owned by it shall be exempt from tax in the first-mentioned State;
• (c) interest arising in China and paid to the German Federal Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank), the Development Loan Corporation (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) or the German Investment and Development Company (DEG-Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH), and any public credit institution of the Federal Republic of Germany, if the competent authorities of both States have agreed thereto, shall be exempt from Chinese tax;
• (d) interest arising in the Federal Republic of Germany and paid to:
  • (i) the People's Bank of China;
  • (ii) the China Development Bank Corporation;
  • (iii) the Agricultural Development Bank of China;
  • (iv) the Export-import Bank of China;
  • (v) the National Council for Social Security Fund;
  • (vi) the China Investment Corporation, and
  • (vii) any other public credit institution of the Government of China, if the competent authorities of both States have agreed thereto; shall be exempt from German tax.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest as referred to in paragraph 1 may be taxed only in the Contracting State of which the recipient is a resident if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the interest and the interest is paid in connection with the sale of commercial or scientific equipment on credit.

(5) The term "interest" as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage, 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.

(6) The provisions of paragraphs 1 to 4 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 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.

(7) Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is a resident of that 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 State in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.

(8) 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.