author(s)
Firdous Ahmad Hurrah and Khalid Ashraf Chisti

abstract
The study attempts to analyses how Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements affect bilateral trade between India and its top 18 partner countries from 2000 to 2020 using the augmented gravity model of trade. The study employs Poisson Pseudo Maximum Likelihood (PPML) as a base line estimation technique to handle zero trade flows and address issues of heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation. The results of the study reveal that double taxation treaties considerably boosts India’s bilateral trade even after controlling for factors like economic size, distance, legal origin, and historical ties. Further to ensure the robustness of the results the study has employed Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) model reaffirming the results of the PPML model The results of the study reinforce the conceptualization of tax treaties not only as investment-boosting tools but also as catalyst of India’s international trade through the reduction of legal uncertainty, elimination of double taxation, and help in building stronger commercial relationships.