II SÉRIE-A — NÚMERO 30 158

constitute a crime under the laws of the requested Party if it had occurred in the territory of the requested Party.

The competent authority of the requesting Party shall only make a request for information pursuant to this Article

when it is unable to obtain the requested information by other means in its own territory, except where recourse

to such means would give rise to disproportionate difficulty.

2. If the information in the possession of the competent authority of the requested Party is not sufficient to

enable it to comply with the request for information, that Party shall use at its own discretion all applicable

information gathering measures necessary to provide the requesting Party with the information requested,

notwithstanding that the requested Party may not, at that time, need such information for its own tax purposes.

3. If specifically requested by the competent authority of the requesting Party, the competent authority of the

requested Party shall provide information under this Article, to the extent allowable under its laws, in the form of

depositions of witnesses and authenticated copies of original records.

4. Each Party shall ensure that its competent authorities, in accordance with the terms of this Agreement

have the authority to obtain and provide upon request:

a) Information held by banks, other financial institutions, and any person, including nominees and trustees,

acting in an agency or fiduciary capacity; and

b) Information regarding the beneficial ownership of companies, partnerships and other persons, including in

the case of collective investment funds and schemes, information on shares, units and other interests; in the case

of trusts, information on settlors, trustees, protectors and beneficiaries; and in the case of foundations, information

on founders, members of the foundation council and beneficiaries,

provided that this Agreement does not create an obligation on the Parties to obtain or provide ownership

information with respect to publicly traded companies or public collective investment funds or schemes unless

such information can be obtained without giving rise to disproportionate difficulties.

5. Any request for information shall be formulated with the greatest detail possible and shall specify in writing:

a) The identity of the person under examination or investigation,

b) The period for which the information is requested,

c) The nature of the information sought and the form in which the requesting Party would prefer to receive it,

d) The tax purpose for which the information is sought,

e) The reasons for believing that the information requested is foreseeably relevant to the tax administration

and enforcement of the tax law of the requesting Party, with respect to the person identified in subparagraph a)

of this paragraph,

f) Grounds for believing that the information requested is held in the requested Party or is in the possession

of or obtainable by a person within the jurisdiction of the requested Party,

g) To the extent known, the name and address of any person believed to be in possession of the requested

information,

h) A statement that the request is in conformity with the laws and administrative practices of the requesting

Party, that if the requested information was within the jurisdiction of the requesting Party then the competent

authority of the requesting Party would be able to obtain the information under the laws of the requesting Party

or in the normal course of administrative practice and that it is in conformity with this Agreement,

i) A statement that the requesting Party has pursued all means available in its own territory to obtain the

information, except those that would give rise to disproportionate difficulties.

6. The competent authority of the requested Party shall acknowledge receipt of the request to the competent

authority of the requesting Party and shall use its best endeavours to forward the requested information to the

requesting Party with the least reasonable delay.

Article 6

TAX EXAMINATIONS ABROAD

1. By reasonable notice given in advance, the requesting Party may request that the requested Party allow

representatives of the competent authority of the requesting Party to enter the territory of the requested Party, to