India France DTAC Structural Recalibration

On 23 February 2026, India and France signed a significant Amending Protocol to their Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC). The changes mark a decisive shift from a relief-oriented, investment-promotion treaty to a modern, anti-abuse aligned, revenue-secure framework consistent with post-BEPS global tax standards. The Protocol restructures capital gains taxation, deletes the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) clause, introduces differentiated dividend withholding, aligns the Fees for Technical Services (FTS) definition with India’s contemporary treaty practice, expands Permanent Establishment (PE) exposure through a Service PE concept, upgrades exchange of information provisions, and embeds BEPS Multilateral Instrument safeguards directly into the treaty text.