Proclamation giving notice that the attached supplementary convention, which alters and adds to the Convention set out in Schedule II to the Act, came into force on January 29, 2001 — “ARTICLE 26
Article 26 of the Convention shall be deleted and replaced by the following: “ARTICLE 26 Exchange of Information and Administrative Assistance 1 The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or of the domestic laws in the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Convention insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Convention. The carrying out of provisions of the domestic laws of the Contracting State concerning taxes includes penal investigations with regard to fiscal offences relating to taxes covered by the Convention. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may agree on information which shall be furnished on a regular basis. The exchange of information is not restricted by Article 1. Any information received by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) involved in the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to taxes. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions. 2 In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation (a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and the administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State; (b) to supply information that is not obtainable under the laws or in the normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting State; or (c) to supply information that would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or information, the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy (ordre public). 3 If information is requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this Article, the other Contracting State shall obtain the information to which the request relates in the same way as if its own taxation were involved, even though the other State does not, at that time, need such information. If specifically requested by the competent authority of a Contracting State, the competent authority of the other Contracting State shall endeavour to provide information under this Article in the form requested, such as depositions of witnesses and copies of unedited original documents (including books, papers, statements, records, accounts or writings), to the same extent such depositions and documents can be obtained under the laws and administrative practices of that other State with respect to its own taxes. 4 The preceding paragraphs of this Article shall likewise apply to assistance carried out under penal investigation procedures carried out by either judicial (including assistance in respect of pending judicial proceedings in tax matters) or administrative bodies. However, requests for arrests of persons are not covered by the Convention. 5 The Contracting States undertake to lend each other support and assistance in the collection of taxes to the extent necessary to ensure that relief granted by the Convention from taxation imposed by a Contracting State does not enure to the benefit of persons not entitled thereto, provided that: (a) the requesting State shall produce a copy of a document certified by its competent authority specifying that the sums referred to for the collection of which it is requesting the intervention of the other State, are finally due and enforceable; (b) a document produced in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph shall be rendered enforceable with the laws of the requested State. It is specified that under current Austrian legislation, such documents must be rendered enforceable by t