On 26 January 2018, the Nigerian government announced the ratification of the Nigeria-Spain avoidance of double taxation agreement (DTA).
The DTA was initially negotiated in June 2009 and presented to the National Assembly for ratification in 2016, alongside DTAs with Sweden and South Korea. Ratification involves the passage of a treaty by the National Assembly so that it forms part of the country’s domestic law.
The takeaway
Although Nigeria’s DTAs with Qatar, South Korea, Sweden, Singapore and UAE – which were all listed for amendment in Nigeria’s position at the time of signing the MLI – are yet to be ratified, the announcement of the Nigeria-Spain DTA expands Nigeria’s treaty network to 13.
Some of the potential changes to the Nigeria-Spain DTA (based on Nigeria’s MLI position) include amendments to the definition of PE to prevent abuse through commissionaire arrangements, qualify existing PE exemptions (specific activity exemption), and introduction of a principal purpose test to prevent treaty shopping etc.
Read our alert for details.
Download PwC Tax Alert_Nigeria ratifies DTA with Spain_Jan2018