Article 26 Exchange of information

Avtalstext

1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or to the administration or enforcement of the domestic laws concerning taxes of every kind and description imposed on behalf of the Contracting States, or of their political subdivisions or local authorities, insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Articles 1 and 2.

2. Any information received under paragraph 1 by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) concerned with the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, the determination of appeals in relation to the taxes referred to in paragraph 1, or

the oversight of the above. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.

3. In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:

a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;

b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the laws or in the normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting State;

c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business,

industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or

information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).

4. If information is requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this Article, the other Contracting State shall use its information gathering measures to obtain the requested information, even though that other State may not need such information for its own tax purposes. The obligation contained in the preceding sentence is subject to the limitations of paragraph 3 but in no case shall such limitations be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because it has no domestic interest in such information.

5. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 3 be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because the information is held by a bank, other financial institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or because it relates to ownership interests in a person.

Skatteverkets kommentarer

I punkt 9 b i kommentarerna till artikel 26 finns en hänvisning till två rådsrekommendationer från OECD om de format som bör användas vid informationsutbyte. Punkten har följande lydelse:

9. Regeln i punkt 1 medger utbyte av upplysningar på tre olika sätt:

a) - - -

b) - - -, “se OECD:s Rådsrekommendation C (81)39/Final (5 maj 1981) (“Recommendation of the Council Concerning a Standardised Form for Automatic Exchanges of Information under International Tax Agreements”) och OECD:s Rådsrekommendation C(92)50/Final (23 juli 1992) ”(Recommendation of the Council Concerning a Standard Magnetic Format for Automatic Exchange of Tax Information)” vilka båda diskuteras i “Tax Information Exchange Between OECD Member Countries: A Survey of Current Practices” (OECD, Paris, 1994)”;

c) - - -.

I kommentarerna diskuteras också att stater enligt intern lagstiftning måste informera en skattskyldig innan information utväxlas enligt ett skatteavtal. Vidare anges följande i punkt 12.1 i kommentarerna:

Information får också överlämnas till tillsynsorgan. Sådana tillsynsorgan innefattar myndigheter som kontrollerar skatte- och kronofogdemyndighet som en del av den allmänna administrationen av statsförvaltningen i en avtalsslutande stat. Avtalsslutande stater kan emellertid avvika från denna princip vid sina bilaterala förhandlingar och överenskomma om att undanta överlämnande av information till sådana tillsynsorgan.