Slovenia - Interest

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 State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 5 per cent of the gross amount of the interest.

3.  Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, interest arising in one of the Contracting States and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State who is the beneficial owner thereof shall be taxable only in that other Contracting State, if one of the following requirements is fulfilled:

a.  the payer or the recipient of the interest is the Government of a Contracting State itself, a public body, a political subdivision, an administrative-territorial unit or a local authority thereof or the Central Bank of a Contracting State;

b.  the interest is paid in respect of a loan granted, approved, guaranteed or insured by the Government of a Contracting State, the Central Bank of a Contracting State, or any agency (including a financial institution) owned or controlled by the Government of a Contracting State;

c.  the interest is paid in respect of a loan granted by a bank or any similar financial institution (excluding an insurance company).

4.  The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of the limitations of paragraphs 2 and 3.

5.  The term "interest" as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in the debtor's profits, 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 paragraph 1, 2 and 3 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, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In such case the provisions of Article 7 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 in connection with which the indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment 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 Convention. 

Protocol:

IX. Ad Article 10, paragraph 5 and Article 11, paragraph 5

Notwithstanding paragraph 5 of Article 10, it is understood that the term dividends also means income from debt-claims provided that the law of a Contracting State subjects this income from debt-claims to the same taxation treatment as income from shares according to a combination of the following criteria: - the redemption date of a loan; - the size of the remuneration or indebtedness of the remuneration is depending on the profit or the distributions of profits; and - the subordination of a loan.

X. Ad Articles 10, 11 and 12

Where tax has been levied at source in excess of the amount of tax chargeable under the provisions of Articles 10, 11 or 12, applications for the refund of the excess amount of tax have to be lodged with the competent authority of the State having levied the tax, within a period of five years after the expiration of the calendar year in which the tax has been levied.