paper were due. Each competent authority may also submit to the arbitration panel, by a date

set by agreement, a reply submission with respect to the proposed resolution and supporting

position paper submitted by the other competent authority. A copy of any reply submission shall

be provided to the other competent authority by the date on which the reply submission was

due.

c) The arbitration panel shall select as its decision one of the proposed resolutions for the case submitted by the competent authorities with respect to each issue and any threshold questions,

and shall not include a rationale or any other explanation of the decision. The arbitration

decision will be adopted by a simple majority of the panel members. The arbitration panel shall

deliver its decision in writing to the competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions. The

arbitration decision shall have no precedential value.

2. For the purpose of applying this Article with respect to its Covered Tax Agreements, a Party may reserve the right for paragraph 1 not to apply to its Covered Tax Agreements. In such a case, except to the

extent that the competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions mutually agree on different rules, the

following rules shall apply with respect to an arbitration proceeding:

a) After a case is submitted to arbitration, the competent authority of each Contracting Jurisdiction shall provide any information that may be necessary for the arbitration decision to all panel

members without undue delay. Unless the competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions

agree otherwise, any information that was not available to both competent authorities before the

request for arbitration was received by both of them shall not be taken into account for purposes

of the decision.

b) The arbitration panel shall decide the issues submitted to arbitration in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Covered Tax Agreement and, subject to these provisions, of those

of the domestic laws of the Contracting Jurisdictions. The panel members shall also consider

any other sources which the competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions may by

mutual agreement expressly identify.

c) The arbitration decision shall be delivered to the competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions in writing and shall indicate the sources of law relied upon and the reasoning which

led to its result. The arbitration decision shall be adopted by a simple majority of the panel

members. The arbitration decision shall have no precedential value.

3. A Party that has not made the reservation described in paragraph 2 may reserve the right for the preceding paragraphs of this Article not to apply with respect to its Covered Tax Agreements with Parties

that have made such a reservation. In such a case, the competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions

of each such Covered Tax Agreement shall endeavour to reach agreement on the type of arbitration process

that shall apply with respect to that Covered Tax Agreement. Until such an agreement is reached, Article 19

(Mandatory Binding Arbitration) shall not apply with respect to such a Covered Tax Agreement.

4. A Party may also choose to apply paragraph 5 with respect to its Covered Tax Agreements and shall notify the Depositary accordingly. Paragraph 5 shall apply in relation to two Contracting Jurisdictions with

respect to a Covered Tax Agreement where either of the Contracting Jurisdictions has made such a

notification.

5. Prior to the beginning of arbitration proceedings, the competent authorities of the Contracting Jurisdictions to a Covered Tax Agreement shall ensure that each person that presented the case and their

II SÉRIE-A — NÚMERO 84____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

228