PROTOCOL

PROTOCOL TO THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY AND GRENADA FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION RELATING TO TAX MATTERS

The Federal Republic of Germany and Grenada (the “Contracting States”) have agreed at the signing of the Agreement between the two Contracting States for the Exchange of Information Relating to Tax Matters on the following provisions which shall form an integral part of the said Agreement:

(1) With respect to sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (5) of Article 5 it is understood that the identity of the person under examination or investigation may be determined by identifying information other than the name.

(2) With respect to paragraph (4) of Article 8 the Contracting States shall ensure the protection of personal data at a level that is equivalent to that of Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data. In addition the following shall apply:

• (a) The receiving agency may use such data in compliance with paragraph (2) of Article 8 only for the purpose stated by the supplying agency and shall be subject to the conditions prescribed by the supplying agency and that conform with Article 8.
• (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of Article 8, the information may be used for other purposes, if under the law of both Contracting States it may be used for these other purposes and the competent authority of the supplying Contracting State has agreed to this use.
• (c) The supplying agency shall be obliged to exercise vigilance as to the accuracy of the data to be supplied and their forseeable relevance within the meaning of Article 1 and their proportionality to the purpose for which they are supplied. Data are forseeably relevant if in the concrete case at hand there is the serious possibility that the  other Contracting State has a right to tax and there is nothing to indicate that the data are already known to the competent authority of the other Contracting State or that the competent authority of the other Contracting State would learn of the taxable object without the information. If it emerges that inaccurate data or data which should not have been supplied have been supplied, the receiving agency shall be informed of this without delay. That agency shall be obliged to correct or erase such data without delay.
• (d) The receiving agency shall on request inform the supplying agency on a case-by-case basis for the purpose of informing the person concerned about the use of the supplied data and the results achieved thereby.
• (e) The receiving agency shall inform the person concerned of the data collection by the supplying agency. The person concerned need not be informed if and as long as on balance it is considered that the public interest in not informing him outweighs his right to be informed.
• (f) Upon application the person concerned shall be informed of the supplied data relating to him and of the use to which such data are to be put. The second sentence of paragraph (e) shall apply accordingly.
• (g) The receiving agency shall bear liability under its domestic laws in relation to any person suffering unlawful damage in connection with the supply of data under the exchange of data pursuant to this Agreement. In relation to the damaged person, the receiving agency may not plead to its discharge that the damage had been caused by the supplying agency.
• (h) The supplying and the receiving agencies shall be obliged to keep official records of the supply and receipt of personal data.
• (i) Where the domestic law of the supplying agency contains special provisions for the deletion of the personal data supplied, that agency shall inform the receiving agency accordingly. In any case, supplied personal data shall be erased once they are no longer required for the purpose for which they were supplied.
• (j) The supplying and the receiving agencies shall be obliged to take effective measures to protect the personal data supplied against unauthorised access, unauthorised alteration and unauthorised disclosure.

(3) Pursuant to Article 9 of the Agreement it is mutually decided that ordinary costs that are incurred for the purpose of responding to a request for information will be borne by the requested Contracting State. Such ordinary costs will normally cover internal administration costs of the competent authority and any minor external costs such as the cost of couriers. All reasonable costs incurred by third parties in complying with the request for exchange of information are considered extraordinary costs and will be borne by the requesting Contracting State. Examples of extraordinary costs include, but are not limited to, the following:

• (a) reasonable fees charged for staff employed by third parties in assisting with the request;
• (b) reasonable fees charged by third parties for carrying out research;
• (c) reasonable fees charged by third parties for copying documents;
• (d) reasonable costs of engaging experts, interpreters, or translators;
• (e) reasonable costs of conveying documents to the requesting Contracting State;
• (f) reasonable litigation costs of the requested Contracting State in relation to a specific request for information;
• (g) reasonable costs for obtaining depositions or testimony; and
• (h) reasonable fees and expenses, determined in accordance with amounts allowed under applicable law, on the person who voluntarily appears for an interview, deposition or testimony relating to a particular information request.

The competent authorities will consult each other in any particular case where extraordinary costs are likely to exceed $US 500 to determine whether the requesting Contracting State will continue to pursue the request and bear the cost.

(4) Formal communications, including requests for information, made in connection with or pursuant to the provisions of the Agreement entered into will be in writing directly to the competent authority of the other Contracting State at the addresses given below, or such other address as may be notified by one Contracting State to the other from time to time. Any subsequent communications regarding requests for information will be either in writing or verbally, whichever is most practical, between the earlier mentioned competent authorities or their authorised entities.