- 1
- The competent authority of the requested Party may decline to assist where:
-
- a)the request is not made in conformity with this Agreement;
- b)the applicant Party would not be able to obtain the information
- (i)under its own laws for purposes of administration or enforcement of its own tax laws, or
- (ii)in response to a valid request from the requested Party under this Agreement.
- 2
- The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a Contracting Party the obligation to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process. Notwithstanding the foregoing, information of the type referred to in paragraph 4 of Article 5 shall not be treated as such a secret or trade process merely because it meets the criteria in that paragraph.
- 3
- The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a Contracting Party the obligation to obtain or provide information, which would reveal confidential communications between a client and an attorney, solicitor or other admitted legal representative where such communications are subject to legal professional privilege under the laws in force in the requested Party.
- 4
- The requested Party may decline a request for information if the disclosure of the information would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).
- 5
- A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that the tax claim giving rise to the request is disputed.
- 6
- The requested Party may decline a request for information if the information is requested by the applicant Party to administer or enforce a provision of the tax law of the applicant Party, or any requirement connected therewith, which discriminates against a national of the requested Party as compared with a national of the applicant Party in the same circumstances.
