1. The applicant XYZ/ABC Equity Fund, Mauritius has made this application seeking advance ruling on as many as 16 questions which are as under :

"1. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, XYZ/ABC Equity Fund, (‘Applicant’) will be a resident in Mauritius and, hence, entitled to the benefits of the Convention between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of Mauritius for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital Gains and for Encouragement of Mutual Trade and Investment, as notified on 6-12-1983 (‘Treaty’).

2. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case based on the provisions of article 13 of the Treaty, the applicant will not be taxable in India on capital gains (whether long-term or short-term) arising from the transfer of securities it holds in companies incorporated in India ("Portfolio Companies") ?

3. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the activities of the investment adviser will not constitute a permanent establishment of the applicant in India ?

4. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the activities of the Custodian will not constitute a permanent establishment of the applicant in India ?

5. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, would the employees of the Investment Adviser appointed as "Nominee Directors" on the Board of Directors of the Portfolio Companies on behalf of the applicant constitute the permanent establishment of the applicant in India ?

6. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, if for any reason the activities of the applicant were to constitute a permanent establishment in India, even then, since the securities held by it in India would not form part of the business property of its permanent establishment, the applicant would not be subject to tax on capital gains (whether long-term or short-term) arising from the transfer of securities it holds in India ?

7. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, will the income earned by the applicant from units of an Indian mutual fund set up in the form of a trust not being specifically covered by any other article of the Treaty, fall within the purview of article 22 of the Treaty and be taxable in Mauritius only and not in India ?

8. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, will the interest including penal interest received by the applicant pursuant to a loan agreement in respect of debentures and any other debt claims issued pursuant to the approval of the Reserve Bank of India (‘RBI’)/Government of India be exempt from tax under article 11 of the Treaty ?

9. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, will interest or capital gains earned by the applicant from the securities it holds in portfolio companies be regarded as its ‘business income’ ?

10. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, even if interest or capital gains earned by the applicant from the securities it holds in Portfolio Companies were regarded as ‘business income’ based on the provisions of article 7 of the Treaty, they will not be taxable in India as the applicant does not have a permanent establishment in India ?

11. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, ‘Front and fees’ (‘Deference Fees’) received on a discretionary basis by the applicant from Portfolio Companies, not being specifically covered by any other article of the Treaty, will fall within the purview of article 22 of the Treaty ?

12. Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, would the premium on redemption of debentures receivable by the applicant from the Portfolio Companies be treated as capital gains and be tax exempt in India as per the provisions of article 13 of the Treaty ?

13. Whether, on the facts and circumstances of the case, the applicant will be absolved from filing a tax return in India, under the provisions of section 139 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1961 if t