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the extent permitted under its laws, to interview individuals and examine records with the prior written consent of

the individuals or other persons concerned. The competent authority of the requesting Party shall notify the

competent authority of the requested Party of the time and place of the intended meeting with the individuals

concerned.

2. At the request of the competent authority of the requesting Party, the competent authority of the requested

Party may allow representatives of the competent authority of the requesting Party to be present at the

appropriate part of a tax examination in the requested Party.

3. If the request referred to in paragraph 2 is acceded to, the competent authority of the requested Party

conducting the examination shall, as soon as possible, notify the competent authority of the requesting Party

about the time and place of the examination, the authority or official designated to carry out the examination and

the procedures and conditions required by the requested Party for the conduct of the examination. All decisions

with respect to the conduct of the tax examination shall be made by the requested Party conducting the

examination.

Article 7

POSSIBILITY OF DECLINING A REQUEST

1. The competent authority of the requested Party may decline to assist:

a) Where the request is not made in conformity with this Agreement;

b) Where the requesting 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

Party.

2. This Agreement shall not impose upon a requested 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 subparagraph shall affect the obligations of a 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 Party shall not be required to obtain and provide information which the requesting Party

would be unable to obtain in similar circumstances under its own laws for the purpose of the administration or

enforcement of its own tax laws or in response to a valid request from the requested Party under this Agreement.

5. The requested Party may decline a request for information if the information is requested by the requesting

Party to administer or enforce a provision of the tax law of the requesting Party, or any requirement connected

therewith, which discriminates against a citizen or a national of the requested Party as compared with a citizen

or a national of the requesting Party in the same circumstances.

Article 8

CONFIDENTIALITY AND DATA PROTECTION

1. All information provided and received by the competent authorities of the Parties shall be kept confidential.

2. Such information shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative

bodies) concerned with the purposes specified in Article 1, and used by such persons or authorities only for such

purposes, including the determination of any appeal. For these purposes information may be disclosed in public

court proceedings or in judicial decisions.

3. Such information may not be used for any purpose other than for the purposes stated in Article 1 without

the expressed written consent of the competent authority of the requested Party.