ARTICLE 7
Possibility of Declining a Request
(1) The competent authority of the requested Contracting Party may decline to assist:
- (a) where the request is not made in conformity with this Agreement;
- (b) where the requesting Contracting Party has not pursued all means available in its own territory to obtain the information, except where recourse to such means would give rise to disproportionate difficulty; or
- (c) where the disclosure of the information requested would be contrary to the public policy of the requested Contracting Party.
(2) This Agreement shall not impose upon a requested Contracting Party any obligation:
- (a) to provide items subject to legal privilege, or any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, provided that information described in paragraph (4) of Article 5 shall not by reason of that fact alone be treated as such a secret or trade process; or
- (b) to carry out administrative measures at variance with its laws and administrative practices, provided that nothing in this sub-paragraph shall affect the obligations of a Contracting Party under paragraph (4) of Article 5;
(3) A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that the tax claim giving rise to the request is disputed.
(4) The requested Contracting Party shall not be required to obtain and provide information which if the requested information was within the jurisdiction of the requesting Contracting Party the competent authority of the requesting Contracting Party would not be able to obtain under its laws.
(5) The requested Contracting Party may decline a request for information if the information is requested by the requesting Contracting Party to administer or enforce a provision of the tax law of the requesting Contracting Party, or any requirement connected therewith, which discriminates against a citizen of the requested Contracting Party as compared with a citizen of the requesting Contracting Party in the same circumstances.