Amended Proposal for a Council Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part, to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests and to ensure exchange of information on tax matters
Date: 2009-11-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Liechtenstein, administrative cooperation, cooperation agreement (EU), exchange of information, fraud, fraud against the EU, judicial cooperation, ratification of an agreement, tax avoidance

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 23.11.2009 
COM(2009)648 final 

2008/0234 (CNS) 

Amended Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the  
Cooperation Agreement  
between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and  
the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part,  
to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests 
and to ensure exchange of information on tax matters 

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EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

On 10 December 2008, the Commission adopted a proposal for a Council Decision 
on  the  signing,  on  behalf  of  the  European  Community,  of  the  Cooperation 
Agreement  between  the  European  Community  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  one 
part, and the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part, to combat fraud and any 
other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests as well as a proposal 
for a Council Decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Community, of 
the  Cooperation  Agreement  between  the  European  Community  and  its  Member 
States,  of  the  one  part,  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein,  of  the  other  part,  to 
combat  fraud  and  any  other  illegal  activity  to  the  detriment  of  their  financial 
interests1. 

This  proposal  was  adopted  following  the  authorization  given  by  the  Council  on  7 
November 2006. 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE AMENDED PROPOSAL 

Following  the  conclusions  adopted  by  the  ECOFIN  Council  on  10  February  2009, 
Liechtenstein is expected to encompass in the agreement with the European Union at 
least a similar scope of obligations as it had agreed with third Countries. The Council 
also mandated the Commission to obtain changes to ensure effective administrative 
assistance  and  access  to  information  with  regard  to  all  forms  of  investments,  in 
particular foundations and trusts. 

Liechtenstein, followed by other countries, issued an official statement, by which it 
recognises  the  standard  for  cooperation  under  the  OECD  Article  26  of  the  Model 
Convention on income and capital (2005). Following the conclusions of the G20 of 2 
April 2009, the inclusion of the standards of the OECD model is a logical step. The 
Council  conclusions  therefore  need  to  be  interpreted  in  this  light.  Such  a  standard 
should  not  be  restricted  to  cases  of  tax  fraud  and  tax  evasion  but  should  cover  all 
exchanges of information, including for tax cooperation purposes. 

In  2009,  the  Commission  has,  therefore,  in  close  liaison  with  the  Council,  in 
particular through the work carried out in the framework of the EFTA Working Party 
and  the  Working  Party  on  Tax  Questions  (direct  taxation),  negotiated  with 
Liechtenstein several issues including: 

-  the  global  coverage  of  the  Agreement  needs  to  be  extended  to  include  tax 
cooperation in accordance with the Article 26 OECD standard; 

- the general scope should be extended in a way to properly reflect OECD standards, 
specifying that assistance on request through exchange of information shall include 
the  determination,  assessment, 
information 

is  foreseeably  relevant 

that 

to 

1 

COM(2008) 839 final. 

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enforcement and collection of taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims or 
the investigation or prosecution of tax matters; 

-  tax  evasion  including  the  omission  of  submitting  a  legally  required  tax  return 
should be covered and a clarification of what is meant by tax fraud and tax evasion is 
needed, in particular, to determine the scope for assistance concerning investigations; 

- the drafting of the revised agreement should also better reflect the exact wording of 
the OECD Article 26 standard with regard to the limits to exchange of information; 

-  in  order  to  guarantee  full  application  of  the  standard  of  Article  26  of  the  OECD 
model,  it  appears  necessary  to  define  the  powers  which  the  administration  of  a 
requested  partner  has  at  its  disposal;  the  parties  must  in  particular  ensure  that  their 
administrative authorities have the powers to obtain and provide information held by 
banks,  companies,  partnerships,  trusts  and  foundations,  in  particular  regarding 
ownership and beneficiaries in order to supply this information upon request; 

- the Agreement should be revised to give an additional role to the Joint Committee 
with regard to monitoring and evaluation; 

-  the  form  and  content  of  requests  for  assistance  should  be  specified  to  integrate  a 
description  of  the  content  of  the  request  for  assistance  that  mirrors  provisions 
recently agreed by Liechtenstein with third countries; 

-  the  Agreement  should  allow  for  its  quick  implementation  and  provide  for  a 
differentiated  regime  with  provisional  application  of  certain  Union  competences, 
namely  as  regards  traditional  own  resources  and  certain  aspects  of  information 
exchange provisions. 

In the context of these negotiations, the Principality of Liechtenstein raised the main 
following issues: 

•  the context of the Agreement is for Liechtenstein characterized by its membership 
of the EEA and therefore by its participation in the Internal Market freedoms and 
its signed association agreements on the Schengen and the Dublin Acquis; 

•  equal  treatment  and  non-discrimination  are  fundamental  principles  and,  as  such, 
should be applied by all Member States in their relations with Liechtenstein; it is 
also  an  objective  for  Liechtenstein  to  obtain  equal  treatment  and  non-
discrimination with respect to both the other European third countries and the tax 
information exchange obligations under the Agreement; 

•  Liechtenstein  preserves  the  possibility  to  conclude  complementary  bilateral  tax 
cooperation  agreements  with  individual  Member  States  within  their  sphere  of 
competence.  Such  agreements  have  already  been  concluded  with  some  Member 
States. 

The  Commission  has  regularly  presented  progress  reports  on  its  negotiation  with 
Liechtenstein to the Council. 

On 9 June 2009, recalling the Council Conclusions of 10 February 2009, the Council 
urged  the  Commission  to  swiftly  present  the  negotiating  result  on  the  anti-fraud 

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agreement with Liechtenstein and noted the intention of the Commission to present 
negotiating directives for anti-fraud agreements with Monaco, Andorra, San Marino 
and Switzerland. 

The  discussions  carried  out  within  the  Council  working  groups  (EFTA  Working 
Party  and  Working  Party  on  Tax  Questions  -  direct  taxation)  helped  to  prepare  an 
informal revised draft; the Commission incorporated the requests and overcome the 
concerns  of  the  Member  States  as  far  as  possible.  This  draft  was  submitted  to 
COREPER on 8 and 14 October 2009 for discussion. 

At the ECOFIN Council, on 20 October, the Council concluded that it would come 
back to the issue in December. 

The amended proposal takes into account these recent developments. In addition, it 
also  takes  into  account  the  new  provisions  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the 
European Union, in particular with regard to the legal bases. 

This Agreement should serve as a model for negotiating Anti-fraud agreements with 
other third Countries. 

3. 

MODIFICATIONS INTRODUCED 

•  Title of the Agreement and Article 1 - "Objective" 

The title and this Article are amended to reflect the extension of the objective of the 
Agreement  (covering  also  assistance  through  exchange  of  information  that  is 
foreseeably relevant for the determination, assessment, enforcement and collection of 
taxes). 

•  Article 2 - "General Scope" 

This Article is amended to reflect the extension of the scope of the Agreement. To 
that end, Article 2(1)(c) has been added to take into account the Council conclusions 
of 10 February 2009 and the Liechtenstein commitment of 12 March 2009 to adopt 
the  OECD  standard  of  exchange  of  information  in  tax  matters  (Article  26  of  the 
OECD Model Convention on Income and Capital). 

Moreover, in Article 2(1)(a), the term “all” has been deleted before “the Parties”, as 
it  does  not  bring  any  added  value  and  in  Article  2(1)(b),  (e)  and  (f),  the  term 
“fraudulent” has been deleted. 

A new definition of direct taxes has been drafted in Article 2(4)(e); this definition is 
in line with the definition of Article 3 of the OECD Model Agreement for exchange 
of information on tax matters. 

Article  2(4)(b)  and  Article  2(4)(d)  have  been  amended  to  cover  the  omission  of 
correct declarations and the evasion of customs duties and indirect taxes in line with 
the  definition  in  Article  2(4)(f)  regarding  the  conduct  contrary  to  the  legislation 
covering direct taxes. 

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An  additional  definition  of  the  person  is  added  in  Article  2(4)(g).  This  definition 
takes on board the definition proposed by the Swedish Presidency in the compromise 
for the draft directive on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation. 

A new paragraph 5 is inserted in Article 2 to precise that the exchange of information 
is  without  regard  to  whether  the  person  to  whom  the  information  relates  is,  or 
whether the information is held by, a resident of a Party, as well as what is meant by 
the  authorities  of  the  Parties.  This  is  in  line  with  Article  2  of  the  OECD  Model 
Agreement for exchange of information on tax matters as well as with the obligations 
agreed  by  Liechtenstein  with  the  United  States  of  America  (Article  2  of  the 
USA/Liechtenstein Agreement2). 

Finally,  the  omission  to  comply  with  a  legal  requirement  to  submit  a  tax  return  is 
foreseen (Article 2(4)(f)(vi)). 

•  Article 3 - “Minor cases” 

This  Article  has  been  amended  so  as  to  abandon  the  threshold  with  regard  to  the 
exchange of information concerning tax matters. 

•  Article 4 - “Ordre public” 

This  Article  has  not  been  modified.  However,  it  has  to  be  pointed  out  that  this 
provision has to be interpreted in a very restrictive way in order to preserve essential 
interests of one Party. It may not be interpreted in a way that it would allow to hinder 
the proper functioning of the Agreement. 

•  Article 5 - “Transmission of information and evidence” 

Article 5(2)(b) has been amended to add the reference on Article 2(1)(c). 

•  Article 6 - “Confidentiality” 

This  Article  has  not  been  amended.  This  provision  has  to  be  read  in  the  light  of 
Article 21 regarding the use of information. 

•  Article 7 - “Relationships with other Agreements” 

This  Article  is  amended  in  order  to  make  it  clear  that  the  Agreement  has  to  be 
interpreted  as  providing  minimum  rules  and  that  bilateral  agreements  (but  also 
arrangements) may go beyond this minimum in so far as they entail more extensive 
cooperation in the field of administrative assistance. 

•  Article 8 - “Extent of Administrative Assistance” 

This  Article  is  amended  so  as  to  mention  explicitly  the  administrative  cooperation 
through  the  exchange  of  information  in  the  field  of  the  taxes  covered  by  the 
Agreement. 

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Agreement  between  the  Government  of  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  government  of  the 
Principality of Liechtenstein on tax cooperation and the exchange of information relating to taxes. 

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•  Article 9 - “Statute of limitations” 

The  last  sentence  is  added  so  as  to  precise  that  the  expiration  of  a  statute  of 
limitations  for  taxes  of  the  requested  Party  shall  not  preclude  this  Party  from 
obtaining  and  providing  the  requested  information.  This  is  in  line  with  the 
obligations agreed by Liechtenstein with the United States of America (Article 7(5) 
of the USA/Liechtenstein Agreement). 

•  Article 10 - “Powers” 

In line with the Council conclusions of February 2009, this Article is revised in order 
to reach a similar scope of obligations as Liechtenstein agreed with the United States 
of America (Article 5(6)) and with the 2002 OECD Model Agreement for Exchange 
of information on tax matters. 

Two  footnotes  have  been  inserted  in  order  to  indicate  that  establishments  and 
foundations will be translated in German as Anstalten and Stiftungen. 

A link is made with the new definition of the person in Article 2(4)(g). 

•  Article 11 - “Limits to exchange of information” 

This  Article  is  amended  so  as  to  fully  take  into  account  the  OECD  Article  26 
Standard (paragraph 2). It is also amended to specify that a request for information 
shall not be refused on the ground that the tax liability giving rise to the request is 
contested by the taxpayer (new paragraph 3), in line with the obligations agreed by 
Liechtenstein  with 
the 
USA/Liechtenstein Agreement). 

the  United  States  of  America 

(Article  7(3)  of 

•  Article 12 - “Costs and obligation to exhaust the usual sources of information” 

The first paragraph has been replaced by a new provision on costs, which is in line 
with the 2002 OECD Model Agreement for exchange of information on tax matters 
(Article 9 according to which the “Incidence of costs incurred in providing assistance 
shall be agreed by the Contracting Parties” and commentary). 

In  the  second  paragraph  concerning  the  obligation  to  exhaust  the  usual  sources  of 
information,  the  exception  when  recourse  to  such  means  would  give  rise  to 
disproportionate difficulties has been added. 

•  Article 14 - “Request for information” 

The  new  wording  of  this  Article  is  in  line  with  the  obligations  agreed  by 
Liechtenstein with the United States of America (Article 5 of the USA/Liechtenstein 
Agreement) which are inspired by the 2002 OECD Model Agreement for exchange 
of information on tax matters. 

•  Article 18a- “Presence of authorised staff of the authority of the requesting Party 

with regard to tax cooperation” 

These  new  provisions  concerning  tax  cooperation  are  inserted  following  the 
extension  of  the  scope  of  the  Agreement  (new  Article  2(1)(c)).  This  is  in  line  with 

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the  2002  OECD  Model  Agreement  for  exchange  of  information  on  tax  matters 
(Article 6 and commentary, in particular paragraphs 66 to 70) and is inspired by the 
obligations agreed by Liechtenstein with the United States of America (Article 6 of 
the USA/Liechtenstein Agreement). 

•  Article 20a - “Form and content of the request for assistance in tax matters” 

In line with the Council conclusions of February 2009, this Article is revised in order 
to reach a similar scope of obligations as Liechtenstein agreed with the United States 
of America (Article 5(2) of the USA/Liechtenstein Agreement). 

This Article should be interpreted in the light of the joint declaration regarding this 
provision, in particular where the identity of the accountholder is unknown. 

•  Article 21 – “Use of information” 

This  Article  has  not  been  modified.  However,  it  should  be  noted  that  judicial 
proceedings under this Article shall mean both civil and criminal proceedings. 

•  Article 24 – “Recovery” 

In addition to the explanations provided for in the explanatory memorandum of the 
initial  proposals  adopted  on  10  December  2008,  it  is  worth  indicating  that  the 
provision  of  Article  24(2)  are  without  prejudice,  where  necessary,  to  additional 
requirements under domestic law. 

•  Article 25 - “Relationship with other Agreements” 

As pointed out under Article 7, this Article is also amended in order to make it clear, 
in a complementary way, that the provisions of title III do not prevent more extensive 
cooperation on the basis of other instruments, in particular bilateral Agreements. 

•  Article 31 - “Searches and seizures” 

This  Article  has  not  been  amended.  However,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  list  of 
conditions for the admissibility of requests foreseen in this Article is exhaustive. 

•  Article 32 - “Request for banking and financial information” 

Article 32(5) has been redrafted in order to better reflect the OECD standard. In this 
paragraph, “Party” shall mean requested Party. 

In addition to the explanations provided for in the explanatory memorandum of the 
initial  proposals  adopted  on  10  December  2008,  it  has  to  be  pointed  out  that  the 
limits  for  rejecting  a  request  for  information  should  not  be  different  between 
administrative assistance and mutual legal assistance. 

•  Article 33 - “Controlled deliveries” 

This Article has not been modified. However, it should be noted that this provision 
has to be read in the light of Article 8(2). 

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•  Article 38 - “Joint Committee” 

Article 38(1) and (2) have been slightly amended, in particular in order to clarify that 
decisions,  to  be  taken  by  unanimity,  cover  both  practical  modalities  for  the 
implementation of the Agreement in addition to decisions foreseen in another Article 
in the Agreement. 

Article 38(2) specifies what is meant by all the Parties. 

•  Article 41 - “Entry into force” 

Taking  into  account  the  precedent  with  the  Swiss  Confederation,  a  provision  is 
inserted so as to make some specific provisions of the Agreement (Title I and Title II 
in so far as they regard income covered by the taxation on savings and information 
exchange and mutual assistance on fraud and any other illegal activity in the area of 
traditional  own  resources  and  Community  funds)  applicable  from  the  moment  the 
Agreement has been signed by the Parties and the Principality of Liechtenstein has 
notified its instrument of ratification. 

The Union legal order allows for such provisional application. 

Traditional own resources have to be understood in the light of Council Decision of 7 
June 2007 on the system of the European Communities' own resources3 (this concept 
covers the list under in Article 2(1)(a), but not VAT). 

•  Article 43 -“Temporal application” 

This  Article  is  amended  to  specify  temporal  application  rules  with  regard  to  the 
assistance  through  exchange  of  information  for  the  determination,  assessment, 
enforcement and collection of direct and indirect taxes (new Article 2(1)(c)). 

The  wording  of  Article  43(c)  is  inspired  by  Article  15  of  the  2002  OECD  Model 
Agreement for exchange of information on tax matters. This new provision aims at a 
temporal application regime which is compatible with the need of a predictable legal 
framework  for  existing  client  relationships.  If  the  Agreement  were  to  be  signed 
before  the  end  of  2009,  the  first  tax  year  concerned  would  be  2010  and  the  first 
exchange of information based on this specific tax year would be made in 2011. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The Commission modifies its proposal as follows: 

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OJ L 163, 23.06.2007, p. 17.  

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2008/0234 (CNS) 

Amended Proposal for a 

COUNCIL DECISION 

on the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the  
Cooperation Agreement  
between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and  
the Principality of Liechtenstein, of the other part,  
to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests 
and to ensure exchange of information on tax matters 

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 325(4) in conjunction with Article 218(6)(a) thereof, 

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission4, 

Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament5,  

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

On  7  November  2006,  the  Council  authorised  the  Commission  to  negotiate  with  the 
Principality  of  Liechtenstein  an  Agreement  to  counter  fraud  and  all  other  illegal 
activities  to  the  detriment  of  public  financial  interests,  including  the  resources  and 
expenditures,  in  particular  grants  and  taxes  and  the  Council  asked,  on  10  February 
2009,  to  include  all  necessary  changes  to  ensure  effective  administrative  assistance 
and  access  to  information  with  regard  to  all  forms  of  investments,  in  particular 
foundations and trusts. 

In  accordance  with  Council  Decision  […/…]/  of  ,  and  subject  to  its  conclusion  at  a 
later date, the Agreement was signed on behalf of the European Union on . 

In  accordance  with  Article  17(1)  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union,  the  Commission 
shall  represent  the  Union  in  the  Joint  Committee  established  by  the  Cooperation 
Agreement.  The  positions  to  be  adopted  on  the  Union’s  behalf  when  the  Joint 
Committee  is  called  upon  to  adopt  acts  having  legal  effects,  will  be  established  in 
accordance  with  Article  218(9)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European 
Union. 

(4) 

The Agreement should be approved, 

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OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 

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HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: 

Article 1 

The Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one 
part,  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein,  of  the  other  part,  to  combat  fraud  and  any  other 
illegal  activity  to  the  detriment  of  their  financial  interests  and  to  ensure  exchange  of 
information on tax matters is hereby approved on behalf of the European Union. 

The text of the Agreement is attached to this Decision. 

Article 2 

The President of the Council is hereby authorised to designate the person empowered to effect 
the  notification  provided  for  in  Article  41(2)  of  the  Agreement  on  behalf  of  the  European 
Union6. 

Article 3 

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the Council 
The President 

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The date of entry into force of the Agreement will be published in the Official Journal of the European 
Union by the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union. 

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ANNEX  
Cooperation Agreement 
between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Principality of 
Liechtenstein, of the other part, 
to combat fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment of their financial interests and 
to ensure exchange of information on tax matters 

THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

THE KINGDOM OF BELGIUM, 

REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA, 

THE CZECH REPUBLIC, 

THE KINGDOM OF DENMARK, 

THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, 

THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA, 

IRELAND, 

THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC, 

THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN, 

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC, 

THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC, 

THE REPUBLIC OF CYPRUS, 

THE REPUBLIC OF LATVIA, 

THE REPUBLIC OF LITHUANIA, 

THE GRAND DUCHY OF LUXEMBOURG, 

THE REPUBLIC OF HUNGARY, 

THE REPUBLIC OF MALTA, 

THE KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS, 

THE REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA, 

THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND, 

THE PORTUGUESE REPUBLIC, 

ROMANIA, 

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THE REPUBLIC OF SLOVENIA, 

THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC, 

THE REPUBLIC OF FINLAND, 

THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN, 

THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND, of the one 
part, 

and 

THE PRINCIPALITY OF LIECHTENSTEIN, of the other part, 

Hereinafter referred to as the Parties, 

DESIRING to be effective in combating fraud and any other illegal activity to the detriment 
of  the  Parties  financial  interests  and  in  ensuring  administrative  cooperation  for  the 
determination, assessment, enforcement and collection of direct and indirect taxes, 

TAKING  NOTE  that  this  Agreement  integrates  the  standards  of  the  OECD  as  expressed  in 
the Model Agreement on exchange of information on tax matters, 

HAVING  REGARD  to  Liechtenstein’s  membership  of  the  European  Economic  Area  and 
thereby to its participation in the four freedoms, 

HAVE DECIDED TO CONCLUDE THIS AGREEMENT:  

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TITLE I GENERAL PROVISIONS 

Article 1 - Objective 

The  objective  of  this  Agreement  is  to  extend  administrative  assistance  and  mutual  legal 
assistance  between  the  European  Union  and  its  Member  States,  of  the  one  part,  and  the 
Principality  of  Liechtenstein,  of  the  other  part,  so  as  to  combat  fraud  and  any  other  illegal 
activity to the detriment of their financial interests as referred to in Article 2 and to provide 
administrative  cooperation  through  the  exchange  of  information  between  the  Parties  that  is 
foreseeably  relevant  for  the  determination,  assessment,  enforcement  and  collection  of  taxes 
covered under this Agreement. 

1. 

This Agreement is applicable to: 

Article 2 - General Scope 

(a) 

the administrative and criminal law prevention, detection, investigation, 
prosecution  and  repression  of  fraud  and  any  other  illegal  activity  to  the 
detriment of the respective financial interests of the Parties, concerning: 

– 

– 

– 

trade in goods contrary to customs and agricultural legislation; 

trade contrary to legislation covering indirect taxes, as they are defined 
in paragraph (4)(c); 

the  charging  or  retention  of  funds  –  including  their  use  for  purposes 
other than those for which they were initially granted – from the budget 
of the Parties or  budgets managed by them  or on their behalf, such as 
grants and refunds; 

– 

procedures for the award of contracts by the Parties; 

(b) 

(c) 

the administrative and criminal law prevention, detection, investigation, 
prosecution and repression of illegal activities to the detriment of the respective 
financial  interests  of  the  Member States  of  the  European  Union  and  the 
Principality  of  Liechtenstein,  through  conduct  contrary  to  the  legislation 
covering direct taxes; 

the administrative cooperation through exchange of information that is 
foreseeably  relevant  to  the  administration  and  the  enforcement  of  domestic 
laws of the parties concerning direct and indirect taxes, including information 
concerning  the  determination,  assessment,  enforcement  or  collection  of  taxes 
with  respect  to  persons  subject  to  such  taxes  as  well  as  the  recovery  and 
enforcement of tax claims or the related investigation or prosecution; 

(d) 

the seizure and recovery of amounts due or wrongly received as a result 

of the illegal activities referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(b). 

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2. 

3. 

Cooperation  within  the  meaning  of  Titles  II  (Administrative  assistance)  and  III 
(Mutual  legal  assistance)  may  not  be  withheld  on  the  sole  ground  that  the  request 
relates  to  an  offence  treated  as  a  tax  offence  in  the  requested  Party  or  that  the 
legislation  of  the  requested  Party  does  not  provide  for  the  same  type  of  tax,  duty, 
levy, expenditure, grant or refund or does not contain the same type of rules or the 
same legal characterisation of the facts as the legislation of the requesting Party. 

The scope of this Agreement includes the laundering of the proceeds of the activities 
covered by paragraph (1)(a) provided that the laundering is covered by the scope of 
Directive  2005/60/EC,  incorporated  into  the  EEA  Agreement  with  Decision  of  the 
EEA  Joint  Committee  No  87/2006  of  7  July  2006  amending  Annex  IX  (Financial 
services) to the EEA Agreement, or that the activities which constitute the predicate 
offence are punishable under the law of both the requesting and the requested Parties 
by  a  penalty  involving  deprivation  of  liberty  or  a  detention  order  of  a  maximum 
period of more than six months. 

4. 

For the purpose of this Agreement: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

"fraud and any other illegal activity" as referred to in paragraph (1)(a) extends 
to  smuggling,  corruption  and  laundering  of  the  proceeds  of  the  activities 
covered by paragraph (1)(a), subject to paragraph (3); 

"trade in goods contrary to customs and agricultural legislation" as referred to 
in paragraph (1)(a) is to be understood independently of the passage (departure, 
destination  or  transit)  or  otherwise  of  the  goods  through  the  territory  of  the 
other Party and includes the omission of correct declarations and the evasion of 
customs duties committed by the means of the intentional use of false, falsified 
or  incorrect  documents,  incomplete  tax  returns  submitted  by  natural  or  legal 
persons and incorrect business records; 

”indirect taxes” as referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) and (1)(c) shall be regarded 
as  indirect  taxes  of  every  kind  and  description  at  the  moment  of  signature 
including  customs  duties,  value  added  tax,  special  tax  on  consumption  and 
excise duties; the Agreement shall apply also to any identical or substantially 
similar taxes that are imposed after the date of signature of the Agreement in 
addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes; 

"trade contrary to legislation covering indirect taxes" referred to in paragraph 
(1)(a) is to be understood independently of the passage (departure, destination 
or  transit)  or  otherwise  of  the  goods  or  services  through  the  territory  of  the 
other Party and includes the omission of correct declarations and the evasion of 
indirect taxes committed by the means of the intentional use of false, falsified 
or  incorrect  documents,  incomplete  tax  returns  submitted  by  natural  or  legal 
persons and incorrect business records; 

“direct  taxes”  referred  to  in  paragraphs  (1)(b)  and  (1)(c)  are  direct  taxes  of 
every  kind  and  description  at  the  moment  of  signature  including  taxes  on 
income,  profits  and  capital,  as  well  as  taxes  on  net  wealth  and  estate, 
inheritance and gift, irrespective of the manner in which these taxes are levied, 
which  are  imposed  by  or  on  behalf  of  the  Parties  or  political  subdivisions  or 
local authorities of the Parties; the Agreement shall apply also to any identical 

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or substantially similar taxes that are imposed after the date of signature of the 
Agreement in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. 

(f) 

“conduct  contrary  to  the  legislation  covering  direct  taxes”  referred  to  in 
paragraph (1)(b) consists in the evasion of direct taxes committed by the means 
of  the  intentional  use  of  false,  falsified  or  incorrect  documents,  including 
incomplete tax returns submitted a person and incorrect business records. Any 
of  the  following  activities,  if  committed  intentionally,  constitutes  “conduct 
contrary to the legislation covering direct taxes”: 

(i) 

preparing, causing to be prepared, signing, or filing any document that: 

– 

– 

– 

is required by law to be filed to evidence to the tax authorities 
the amount of taxable income, 

serves as the basis for an assessment of tax, and 

is  false  as  to  any  matter  necessary  to  the  assessment  of  such 
tax; 

(ii)  keeping a double set of books; 

(iii)  making false entries or alterations or false invoices or documents; 

(iv)  destroying books or records; or 

(v) 

concealing assets or covering up any sources of income by means of the 
use  of  false,  falsified  or  incorrect  documents,  including  incomplete  tax 
returns submitted by a person and incorrect business records 

(vi)  omitting to comply with a legal requirement to submit a tax return; 

(g) 

“person” is to be understood as a natural, legal person, or where the legislation 
in  force  so  provides,  an  association  of  persons  recognised  as  having  the 
capacity to perform legal acts but lacking the legal status of a legal person and 
any  other  legal  arrangement  of  whatever  nature  and  form,  which  has  legal 
personality or not, owning or managing assets which, including income derived 
there from, are subject to any of the taxes covered by this Agreement. 

5. 

Information shall be exchanged in accordance with this Agreement by the competent 
authority  of  the  requested  Party  without  regard  to  whether  the  person  to  whom  the 
information  relates  is,  or  whether  the  information  is  held  by,  a  resident  of  a  Party. 
However,  a  requested  Party  is  not  obliged  to  provide  information  which  is  neither 
held  by  its  authorities  (to  be  understood  as  all  government  agencies,  political 
subdivisions  and  local  authorities)  nor  in  the  possession  or  control  of  persons  who 
are within its territorial jurisdiction. 

Article 3 

Minor cases 

1. 

The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  may  refuse  a  request  for  cooperation,  except 
requests  concerning  exchange  of  information  in  tax  matters,  where  the  alleged 

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amount of tax or duty underpaid or evaded, or of the grant or refund misused, does 
not  exceed  EUR  25000  or,  as  regards  Article  2(1)(d)  in  combination  with  Article 
2(1)(a),  where  the  presumed  value  of  the  goods  exported  or  imported  without 
authorisation  does  not  exceed  EUR  100000.  The  minimum  amount  of  tax  or  duty 
underpaid,  or  of  the  grant  or  refund  misused,  or  the  minimum  value  of  goods  as 
referred  to  before  may  consist  of  operations,  which  are  interdependent,  whose 
generating  fact  is  prolonged  in  time  and  whose  financial  impact  is  greater  than  the 
threshold, while each operation considered in isolation remains below the threshold. 
The  thresholds  shall  not  apply  if,  given  the  circumstances  or  the  identity  of  the 
suspect, the case is deemed to be extremely serious by the requesting Party. 

2. 

The authority of the requested Party shall inform the authority of the requesting Party 
without delay of its reasons for refusing the request for cooperation. 

Article 4 

Ordre public 

Cooperation may be refused if the requested Party considers that execution of the request is 
likely to prejudice its sovereignty, security, ordre public or other essential interests.  

Article 5 

Transmission of information and evidence 

1. 

Information and evidence transmitted or received under this Agreement, whatever its 
form,  shall  be  subject  to  professional  confidentiality  and  shall  enjoy  the  protection 
enjoyed  by  comparable  information  conferred  by  the  domestic  law  of  the  Party 
receiving  it  and  by  the  corresponding  provisions  applicable  to  the  Community 
institutions. 

In  particular,  such  information  and  evidence  may  not  be  divulged  to  persons  other 
than  those  who,  in  the  Union  institutions,  its  Member States  or  the  Principality  of 
Liechtenstein,  are  required  by  their  functions  to  be  acquainted  with  it,  nor  used  by 
them for purposes that are not within the scope of this Agreement. Such persons shall 
use  the  information  and  evidence  only  for  such  purposes,  unless  the  use  for  a 
specified different purpose is expressly permitted by the competent authority of the 
requested Party, if, under the legislation of this Party, such information and evidence 
could,  in  similar  circumstances,  be  used  for  similar  purposes.  Such  persons  may 
disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions. 

2. 

The information and evidence obtained by the requesting Party under this Agreement 
may be transmitted to any Party if this Party is conducting an investigation in respect 
of which cooperation is not excluded or if there are clear indications that this Party 
could usefully conduct such an investigation. 

(a) 

(b) 

As  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(a)  and 
Article  2(1)(d)  in  combination  with  Article  2(1)(a)  the  requesting  Party  shall 
inform  the  requested  Party  to  which  other  Party  of  this  Agreement  and  for 
which purpose the information will be transmitted. 

As  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(b)  and 
Article  2(1)(d)  in  combination  with  Article  2(1)(b),  the  requesting  Party  may 
transmit  information  and  evidence  to  another  Party  of  this  Agreement  if  the 

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requested Party which supplied the information does not expressly oppose to it 
at  the  moment  when  it  supplies  the  information  or,  as  regards  the 
administrative cooperation covered by Article 2(1)(c), only with the consent of 
the requested Party which supplied the information. 

No such transmission may serve any purpose other than those of this Agreement. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The  transmission  of  information  and  evidence  obtained  pursuant  to  this  Agreement 
by a Party to another Party or to more than one Party may not be open to appeal in 
the Party initially requested. 

Any  Party  to  which  information  or  evidence  is  transmitted  in  conformity  with 
paragraph (2) shall respect such limits as are put by the requested Party on the use of 
the information by the requesting Party of the first transmission. 

The  transmission  of  information  and  evidence  obtained  under  this  Agreement  by  a 
Party to a third State shall be subject to authorisation from the Party from which the 
information or evidence originated. 

Article 6 

Confidentiality 

The requesting Party may ask the requested Party to ensure that the request and the content 
thereof remain confidential, except in so far as this is incompatible with the execution of the 
request.  If  the  requested  Party  cannot  comply  with  confidentiality  requirements,  it  shall 
inform the authority of the requesting Party in advance. 

Title II  ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE 

Chapter 1 General provisions 

Article 7 

Relationship with other Agreements 

This Title shall not affect  

(a) 

as  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(a),  and 
Article  2(1)(c)  and  Article  2(1)(d)  in  combination  with  Article  2(1)(a),  the 
provisions  applicable  to  mutual  legal  assistance  in  criminal  matters,  or  the 
provisions of bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements concluded or 
to  be  concluded  between  the  Parties  in  so  far  as  they  entail  a  more  extensive 
cooperation  in  the  field  of  administrative  assistance  than  the  cooperation 
foreseen  in  this  Agreement  which  constitutes  minimum  rules  on  exchange  of 
information and assistance between all the Parties, in particular the Protocol 11 
on mutual assistance in customs matters of the EEA Agreement and; 

(b) 

as  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(b),  and 
Article  2(1)(c)  and  Article  2(1)(d)  in  combination  with  Article  2(1)(b),  the 
provisions  applicable  to  mutual  legal  assistance  in  criminal  matters,  or  the 
provisions of bilateral or multilateral agreements or arrangements concluded or 

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17 

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to  be  concluded  between  the  Parties  in  so  far  as  they  entail  a  more  extensive 
cooperation  in  the  field  of  administrative  assistance  than  the  cooperation 
foreseen  in  this  Agreement  which  constitutes  minimum  rules  on  exchange  of 
information and assistance between all the Parties, in particular the Agreement 
between  the  European  Community  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein 
providing  for  measures  equivalent  to  those  laid  down  in  Council  Directive 
2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments.7  

1. 

2. 

Article 8 

Extent of the Administrative Assistance 

The Parties shall provide each other with mutual assistance to combat fraud and any 
other illegal activities to which this Agreement applies and to provide administrative 
cooperation  through  the  exchange  of  information  for  taxes  covered  under  this 
Agreement,  in  particular  in  preventing  and  detecting  operations  and  other  acts  of 
commission  and  omission  contrary  to  the  relevant  legislation  and  in  conducting 
investigations relating thereto. 

The assistance provided for by this Title shall apply to all administrative authorities 
in  the  Parties  acting  within  the  scope  of  Article  2  and  in  the  exercise  of 
administrative investigation powers or criminal prosecution powers, including cases 
where these authorities exercise powers at the request of the judicial authorities. 

If  a  criminal  investigation  is  conducted  by  or  under  the  direction  of  a  judicial 
authority,  such  authority  shall  determine  whether  related  requests  for  mutual 
assistance  or  cooperation  in  that  connection  shall  be  submitted  on  the  basis  of  the 
provisions applicable to mutual legal assistance in criminal matters or on the basis of 
this Title. 

Article 9 

Statute of limitations 

In  determining  whether  information  or  other  assistance  provided  for  by  this  Title  may  be 
provided  in  response  to  a  request,  the  requested  Party  shall  apply  the  statute  of  limitations 
applicable  under  the  laws  of  the  requesting  Party  instead  of  the  statute  of  limitations  of  the 
requested Party. In the field of taxation, the expiration of a statute of limitations for taxes of 
the  requested  Party  shall  not  preclude  the  requested  Party  from  obtaining  and  providing  the 
requested information. 

Article 10 

Powers 

Without  prejudice  to  paragraph  2  the  authorities  of  the  Parties  shall  apply  this  Title 
1. 
within the limits of the powers conferred on them by their domestic law. Nothing in this Title 
may  be  construed  as  affecting  the  powers  conferred  under  domestic  provisions  upon  the 
authorities of the Parties within the meaning of this Title. 

7 

OJ L 379, 24.12.2004, p. 84.  

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18 

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They shall proceed as if they were acting on their behalf or at the request of another authority 
of the same Party. To that end they shall exercise all the legal powers which they enjoy under 
their domestic law in meeting the request. 

For the purposes of Article 14 of this Agreement, each Party shall ensure that it has the 

2. 
authority to obtain and provide, through its competent authorities: 

a)  information  held  by  banks,  other  financial  institutions,  and  any  person,  including 

nominees and trustees, acting in an agency or fiduciary capacity; 

b)  information  regarding  the  legal  and  the  beneficial  ownership  of  companies  and 
other  legal  entities,  including,  in  particular,  establishments8,  including  information  on  all 
persons in an ownership chain; 

c) in the case of partnerships, information regarding the identities of the members of 

the partnership; 

d)  in  the  case  of  trusts,  information  on  the  settlors,  trustees,  beneficiaries  and 

protector; 

e) in the case of foundations9, information on the founders, members of the foundation 

council, and beneficiaries; 

f) information on any person as defined in Article 2(4)(g). 

1. 

2. 

8 

9 

Article 11 

Limits to exchange of information 

Without prejudice to Article 10(2), administrative assistance in respect of activities 
covered by Article 2(1)(b) and Article 2(1)(c) does not impose any obligation upon a 
Party from which information is requested to carry out inquiries or to communicate 
information, if it would be contrary to its legislation or administrative practices for 
the competent administrative authorities of that Party to conduct such inquiries or to 
collect  the  information  sought.  In  case  of  such  assistance,  the  provision  of 
information may be refused where it would lead to the disclosure of a commercial, 
industrial or professional secret or of a commercial process, or of information whose 
disclosure would be contrary to Article 4, or the competent authority of a Party may 
decline transmission of information when the requesting Party is unable, for reasons 
of fact or law, to provide the same type of information. 

In  no  case  shall  the  provisions  of  paragraph  1  be  construed  to  permit  a  Party  to 
decline to supply information solely because the information is held by a bank, other 
financial institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or 
because it relates to ownership interests in a person or because it has no interest in 
such information. 

The interpretation of the term “establishment” and of the equivalent terms in all authentic languages of 
this Agreement shall be based on the interpretation of the term “Anstalt” in the German Version of the 
Agreement. 
The interpretation of the term “foundation” and of the equivalent terms in all authentic languages of this 
Agreement  shall  be  based  on  the  interpretation  of  the  term  “Stiftung”  in  the  German  Version  of  the 
Agreement. 

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3. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

A  request  for  information  shall  not  be  refused  on  the  ground  that  the  tax  liability 
giving rise to the request is contested by the taxpayer. 

Article 12 

Costs and obligation to exhaust the usual sources of information 

Costs incurred in providing assistance shall be borne by the requested Party, unless 
the  competent  authorities  of  the  Parties  otherwise  agree  because  of  significant 
constraints.  The  competent  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  consult  the 
competent  authority of the requesting  Party whether in providing assistance upon a 
specific request, significant costs are to be foreseen. 

The authority of the requested Party may refuse a request for cooperation where it is 
clear that the authority of the requesting Party has not exhausted the usual sources of 
information which, in the circumstances, it could have used to obtain the information 
sought without running the risk of jeopardising the chances of achieving the desired 
result,  except  when  recourse  to  such  means  would  give  rise  to  disproportionate 
difficulties. 

Article 13 

Central departments 

Each  Party  shall  designate  one  or  more  central  departments  empowered  to  process 
requests for administrative assistance under this Title. 

These  departments  shall  call  on  all  competent  administrative  authorities  for  the 
execution of the assistance requested. 

The central departments shall communicate directly with each other. 

The  activities  of  the  central  departments  shall  not,  especially  in  urgent  cases, 
preclude direct cooperation between the other authorities in the Parties having power 
to act in matters to which this Agreement applies. The central departments shall be 
informed  of  all  action  in  which  a  call  is  made  on  any  action  involving  such  direct 
cooperation. 

The  Parties,  when  making  the  notification  provided  for  by  Article 41(2),  shall 
announce  which  are  the  authorities  regarded  as  the  central  departments  for  the 
purposes of this Article. 

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Chapter 2 Assistance on request 

Article 14 

Requests for information 

1. 
The  competent  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  provide  on  request  by  the 
requesting party information for the purposes referred to in Article 1 of this Agreement and in 
accordance with its further provisions. 

2. 
Information shall be obtained and exchanged under this Agreement without regard to 
whether  the  requested  Party  needs  such  information  for  its  own  purposes  or  whether  the 
conduct being investigated would constitute a crime under the laws of the requested Party if it 
had occurred in the territory of the requested Party. 

If the information in the possession of the competent authority of the requested Party 
3. 
is not sufficient to enable to comply with the request of information, the requested Party shall 
take  all  relevant  information  gathering  measures  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.  Privileges  under  the  laws  and  practices  of  the 
requesting Party shall not apply in the execution of a request by the requested Party and such 
matters shall be reserved for resolution by the requesting Party. 

4. 
Each Party shall take all necessary measures to obtain the information requested, and 
if  specifically  requested,  the  information  shall  be  provided  in  the  form  specified  by  the 
competent  authority  of  the  requesting  Party,  including  depositions  of  witnesses  and 
authenticated  copies  of  original  documents.  The  reports  and  other  documents,  or  certified 
copies  of  or  extracts  from  the  reports  or  documents,  on  which  the  information  notified  is 
based  and  which  are  available  to  the  authorities  of  the  requested  Party  or  which  have  been 
produced or obtained to meet the request shall be attached to the information that is supplied. 

5. 
By  agreement  between  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party  and  the  authority  of  the 
requested Party, and in accordance with the latter's detailed instructions, staff duly authorised 
for  the  purpose  by  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party  may  have  access  to  documents  and 
information  to  which  paragraph  (1)  applies,  held  in  the  offices  of  the  authorities  of  the 
requested  Party,  which  refers  to  specific  illegal  activities  falling  within  the  scope  of  this 
Agreement. Such staff shall be authorised to make copies of that documentation. 

6. 
The Joint Committee set up in accordance with Article 38 shall establish the deadlines 
within  which  the  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  confirm  receipt  of  a  request  to  the 
authority of the requesting Party and, if necessary, notify the authority of the requesting Party 
of deficiencies in the request or whether it encounters obstacles in furnishing the information 
or it refuses to furnish the information. 

Article 15 

Requests for surveillance 

At  the  request  of  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party,  the  authority  of  the  requested  Party 
shall wherever possible exercise surveillance over trade in goods in breach of the legislation 
referred  to  in  Article 2(1)(a).  Such  surveillance  may  relate  to  a  person  suspected  on 
reasonable grounds of having participated or of participating in the commission of such illegal 

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activities or of performing acts preparatory to the commission of such illegal activities, or to 
the premises, means of transport and goods connected with such activities. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

Article 16 

Notification and transmission by post 

At the request of the authority of the requesting Party, the authority of the requested 
Party shall notify the addressee or cause him to be notified, in accordance with the 
domestic provisions of the requested Party, of all instruments or decisions emanating 
from  the  relevant  authorities  of  the  requesting  Party  which  are  within  the  scope  of 
this Agreement. 

Requests for notification, which shall specify the object of the instrument or decision 
to be notified, shall specify the name and address of the addressee, together with any 
other  information  which  may  facilitate  identification  of  the  addressee  and  shall  be 
accompanied  by  a  translation  in  an  official  language  of  the  requested  Party  or  in  a 
language acceptable to that Party. The requested authority shall inform the requesting 
authority immediately of its response to the request for notification and shall notify 
it,  in  particular,  of  the  date  of  notification  of  the  decision  or  instrument  to  the 
addressee. 

The Parties may post acts of notification and requests for information and documents 
directly to persons residing in the other Party's territory. If these acts of notification 
and  requests  for  information are  sent  to  the  operators  concerned  by  the  third  and 
fourth  indents  of  Article 2(1)(a)  residing  in  the  other  Party's  territory,  such  persons 
may respond thereto and provide the relevant documents and information in the form 
provided for by the rules and arrangements under which the funds were granted. 

Nothing  in  the  Agreement  shall  be  construed  as  invalidating  any  service  of 
documents by a Party in accordance with its laws. 

Article 17 

Requests for investigations 

At the request of the requesting Party, the requested Party shall undertake all useful 
administrative  investigations,  or  order  such  investigations  to  be  undertaken,  into 
operations  or  forms  of  conduct  that  constitute  illegal  activities  to  which  this 
Agreement applies or which prompt the requesting authority to suspect on reasonable 
grounds that such illegal activities have been committed. 

The requested Party shall make use of all investigation facilities allowed by its legal 
system  as  if  it  were  acting  on  its  own  behalf  or  at  the  request  of  another  internal 
authority, including the involvement or authorisation of the judicial authorities where 
required. 

This  provision  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the  duty  of  economic  operators  to 
cooperate under Article 19. 

The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  communicate  the  results  of  such 
investigations  to  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party.  Article 14(2)  shall  apply 
mutatis mutandis. 

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3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  extend  assistance  to  all  circumstances, 
objects  and  persons  apparently  linked  to  the  object  of  the  request  for  assistance, 
without any need for a supplementary request. In cases of doubt, the authority of the 
requested Party shall first contact the authority of the requesting Party. 

Article 18 

Presence of authorised staff from the authority of the requesting Party  

By agreement between the authority of the requesting Party and the authority of the 
requested Party, officials appointed by the authority of the requesting Party may be 
present at the administrative investigations referred to in the previous Article. Their 
presence  shall  not  require  the  consent  of  the  person  or  economic  operator  being 
investigated. 

Staff  of  the  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  at  all  times  conduct  the 
investigations.  Staff  of  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party  may  not  of  their  own 
motion  exercise  the  powers  conferred  on  the  staff  of  the  authority  of  the  requested 
Party. 

However, they shall have access to the same premises and the same documents as the 
staff of the authority of the requested Party, through them and for the sole purposes 
of the investigation in hand. 

Conditions may be attached to the authorisation. 

The  information  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party 
may  not  be  used  as  evidence  until  the  transmission  of  the  documents  relating  to 
execution has been authorised. 

Article 18a  Presence of authorised staff from the authority of the requesting Party with 
regard to tax cooperation 

1. 

2. 

As  regards  assistance  in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(c),  by 
reasonable notice given in advance, the authorities of the requested Party may allow 
officials  of  the  requesting  Party  to  enter  the  territory  of  the  requested  party,  to  the 
extent  permitted  under  its  domestic  laws,  to  interview  individuals  and  examine 
records  with  the  prior  written  consent  of  the  individuals  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. 
At  the  option  of  the  requested  Party,  an  official  of  the  requested  Party  may  attend 
such meeting. 

At  the  request  of  the  competent  authority  of  the  requesting  Party,  insofar  as  this  is 
permitted under the legislation of the requested Party, the competent authority of the 
requested  Party  may  permit  representatives  of  the  competent  authority  of  the 
requesting  Party  to  be  present  at  the  appropriate  part  of  a  tax  examination  in  the 
territory  of  the  requested  Party,  in  which  case  the  competent  authority  of  the 
requested  Party  conducting  the  examination  shall,  as  soon  as  possible,  notify  the 
competent authority of the requesting party of the time and place of the examination, 
the  authority  or  person  authorized  to  carry  out  the  examination  and  the  procedures 
and  conditions  required  by  the  requested  Party  for  the  conduct  of  the  examination. 

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All  decisions  regarding  the  conduct  of  the  examination  shall  be  made  by  the 
requested Party conducting the examination. 

Article 19 

Duty to cooperate 

Economic  operators  shall  be  required  to  cooperate  with  the  execution  of  the  request  for 
administrative  assistance  by  giving  access  to  their  premises,  means  of  transport  and 
documentation  and  providing  all  relevant  information.  The  requesting  Party  may  ask  the 
requested  Party  to  enforce  the  fulfilment  of  this  duty  within  the  limits  set  by  the  requested 
Party’s  domestic  law  for  investigations  of  the  same  nature  undertaken  by  its  administrative 
authorities and aimed at ensuring the respect of such law. 

Article 20 

Form and content of requests for assistance 

1. 

Requests for assistance shall be made in writing. They shall be accompanied by such 
documents as are regarded as helpful to the reply. 

In cases of urgency, oral requests shall be accepted, but they must be confirmed in 
writing at the earliest possible opportunity. 

2. 

Requests shall be accompanied by the following information: 

(a) 

the requesting authority; 

(b) 

the measure requested; 

(c) 

(d) 

(e) 

(f) 

the object and the grounds for the request; 

the legislation, rules and other legal provisions involved; 

the clearest and fullest indications possible of the natural or legal persons to be 
investigated; 

a summary of the relevant facts and of the enquiries already carried out, except 
in cases provided for in Article 16. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

Requests shall be made in an official language of the requested Party or in a language 
that is acceptable to that Party. 

Incorrect  or  incomplete  requests  may  be  corrected  or  completed.  The  measures 
needed to act on the request shall be carried out in the meantime. 

Requests addressed to non-competent authorities shall be forwarded without delay to 
the competent authority. 

Article 20a  Form and content of requests for assistance in tax matters 

Requests in respect of activities covered by Article 2(1)(c) shall be framed with the greatest 

degree of specificity possible and shall specify in writing the following information: 

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a) the identity of the person under examination or investigation; 

b) the period of time with respect to which the information is requested; 

c) the nature of the information requested and the form in which the requesting Party would 
prefer to receive it; 

d) the matter under the requesting Party's law with respect to which the information is sought; 

e)  the  reasons  for  believing  that  the  information  requested  is  foreseeably  relevant  to  tax 
administration and enforcement of the requesting Party with respect to the person identified 
under a) of this paragraph; 

f) grounds for believing that the information requested is present in the requested Party or is 
in the possession or control of 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 or 
control of the information requested; 

h)  a  statement  that  the  requesting  party  would  be  able  to  obtain  and  provide  the  requested 
information if a similar request were made by the requested Party; 

i) a statement that the requesting Party has pursued all reasonable means available in its own 
territory  to  obtain  information,  except  where  that  would  give  rise  to  disproportionate 
difficulty. 

Article 21 

Use of information 

1. 

2. 

3. 

The  information  obtained  shall  be  used  exclusively  for  the  purposes  of  this 
Agreement. Where a Party asks to use such information for other purposes, it shall 
request the prior written agreement of the supplying authority. Such use shall then be 
subject to any restrictions laid down by that authority. 

Paragraph  (1)  shall  not  preclude  the  use  of  the  information  in  judicial  or 
administrative  proceedings  for  failure  to  comply  with  the  legislation  to  which  the 
request for administrative assistance applies if the same forms of assistance would be 
available  for  these  proceedings.  The  relevant  authority  of  the  Party  which  supplied 
the information shall be advised without delay of such use. 

The  Parties  may  use  the  information  obtained  and  the  documents  consulted  in 
accordance with this Agreement by way of evidence in their reports and depositions 
and in proceedings and prosecutions in the courts. 

Chapter 3 Special forms of cooperation 

Article 22 

Joint operations 

1. 

On imports, exports and transit of goods, where the volume of transactions and the 
resultant risks in terms of taxes and grants are such that there are likely to be major 

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losses  to  the  budget  of  the  Parties,  those  Parties  may  agree  to  conduct  joint  cross-
border operations for the prevention and prosecution of illegal activities to which this 
Agreement applies. 

The  coordination  and  planning  of  such  cross-border  operations  shall  be  the 
responsibility of the central department or of an office designated by it. 

Where  the  tax  situation  of  one  or  more  persons  liable  to  tax  is  of  common  or 
complementary interest to the Parties, the Parties may agree to conduct simultaneous 
controls,  in  their  own  territory,  with  a  view  to  exchanging  the  information  thus 
obtained, whenever they would appear to be more effective than controls conducted 
by one Party alone. 

Article 23 

Joint special investigation teams 

The  authorities  of  several  Parties  may  by  agreement  among  themselves  establish  a 
joint special investigation team located in a Party. 

The  joint  team  shall  conduct  difficult  investigations  entailing  the  mobilisation  of 
substantial resources and shall coordinate joint actions. 

Participation  in  such  a  team  shall  not  have  the  effect  of  conferring  on  the 
representatives of the participating Parties' authorities the power to act in the territory 
of the Party in which the investigations are conducted. 

Where officers of the Party engage in activities in the territory of another Party and 
cause damage by their activities, the Party in whose territory the damage was caused 
shall make good the damage, in accordance with its national legislation in the same 
way as it would have done if the damage had been caused by its own officers. That 
Party will be reimbursed in full by the Party whose officers have caused the damage 
for the amounts it has paid to the victims or to other entitled persons or institutions. 

Without  prejudice  to  the  exercise  of  its  rights  vis-à-vis  third  parties  and 
notwithstanding  the  obligation  to  make  good  damages  according  to  the  second 
sentence of paragraph 4, each Party shall refrain, in the case provided for in the first 
sentence of paragraph 4, from requesting reimbursement of the amount of damages it 
has sustained form another Party. 

In  the  course  of  the  operation,  officers  on  mission  in  the  territory  of  another  Party 
shall  be  treated  in  the  same  way  as  officers  of  that  State  as  regards  infringements 
committed against them or by them. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

Chapter 4 Recovery 

Article 24 

Recovery 

1. 

At  the  request  of  the  requesting  Party,  the  requested  Party  shall  proceed  to  the 
recovery of claims to which this Agreement applies as if they were its own claims. 

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26 

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2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

The  request  for  recovery  of  a  claim  shall  be  accompanied  by  an  official  copy  or  a 
certified  copy  of  the  instrument  permitting  enforcement  (“Vollstreckungstitel”), 
issued by the requesting Party and, where appropriate, the original or a certified copy 
of other documents needed for recovery. 

The requested Party shall take precautionary measures to ensure recovery of a claim. 

The authority of the Party requested shall transfer to the authority of the requesting 
Party the amount of the claim that it has recovered. In agreement with the requesting 
Party,  it  may  deduct  a  percentage  corresponding  to  the  administrative  costs  it  has 
incurred. 

Notwithstanding paragraph (1), claims to be recovered shall not necessarily enjoy the 
same priority status as comparable claims arising in the requested Party. 

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Title III  MUTUAL LEGAL ASSISTANCE 

Article 25 

Relationship with other Agreements 

The  purpose  of  this  Title  is  to  supplement  the  European  Convention  on  Mutual 
Assistance in Criminal Matters of 20 April 1959, and the Convention on Laundering, 
Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime of 8 November 1990, 
and to facilitate their application between the Parties. 

This  Title  does  not  prevent  more  extensive  cooperation  on  the  basis  of  bilateral  or 
multilateral Agreements between the Parties. 

Article 26 

Procedures in which mutual legal assistance shall be afforded 

Mutual legal assistance shall also be afforded when one of the following conditions 
arises: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

in  proceedings  brought  by  the  administrative  authorities  in  respect  of  acts 
which  are  punishable  under  the  national  law  of  one  of  the  two  Parties,  or  in 
both,  by  virtue  of  being  infringements  of  the  rules  of  law,  and  where  the 
decision  may  give  rise  to  proceedings  before  a  court  having  jurisdiction  in 
particular in criminal matters; 

in civil actions joined to criminal proceedings, as long as the criminal court has 
not yet taken a final decision in the criminal proceedings; 

for offences or infringements which a legal person of the requesting Party may 
be liable. 

Assistance shall also be given for the purposes of investigations and proceedings for 
the seizure and confiscation of the instruments and products of these illegal activities. 

Article 27 

Transmission of requests 

Requests under this Title shall be presented by the authority of the requesting Party 
either  via  a  relevant  central  authority  of  the  requested  Party  or  direct  to  the  Party's 
authority  which  is  empowered  to  execute  the  requesting  Party's  request.  The 
authority  of  the  requesting  Party  and,  where  appropriate,  the  authority  of  the  Party 
requested shall send a copy of the request to its central authority for information. 

All documents relating to requests or the execution thereof may be sent by the same 
channels.  They,  or  at  least  a  copy,  must  be  sent  directly  to  the  authority  of  the 
requesting Party. 

If the authority of the Party receiving a request has no power to authorise assistance, 
it shall forthwith forward it to the competent authority. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

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28 

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4. 

5. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

1. 

2. 

Defective  or  incomplete  requests  shall  be  applied  if  they  contain  the  information 
needed  to  satisfy  them,  without  prejudice  to  subsequent  regularisation  by  the 
authority  of  the  requesting  Party.  The  authority  of  the  Party  requested  shall  inform 
without delay the authority of the requesting Party of the defects and allow it time to 
regularise them. 

The  authority  of  the  Party  requested  shall  without  delay  send  the  authority  of  the 
requesting  Party  all  other  indications  that  may  help  it  to  complete  its  request  or 
extend it to include other measures. 

The  Parties,  when  making  the  notification  provided  for  by  Article 41(2),  shall 
announce which are the competent central authorities for the purposes of this Article. 

Article 28 

Service by post 

As  a  rule  the  Parties  shall,  in  proceedings  for  illegal  activities  covered  by  this 
Agreement, send procedural documents intended for persons who are in the territory 
of the other Party directly by post. 

If the authority of the Party that issued the documents knows or has reason to believe 
that the addressee understands only some other language, the documents, or at least 
the most important passages thereof, shall be accompanied by a translation into that 
other language. 

The  authority  of  the  serving  Party  shall  advise  the  addressee  that  no  measure  of 
restraint or punishment may be enforced directly by that authority in the territory of 
the other Party. 

All  procedural  documents  shall  be  accompanied  by  a  report  indicating  that  the 
addressee  may  obtain  information  from  the  authority  identified  in  the  report 
regarding his or her rights and obligations concerning the documents. 

Article 29 

Provisional measures 

Within the limits of its domestic law and its respective powers and at the request of 
the authority of the requesting Party, the competent authority of the requested Party 
shall  order  the  necessary  provisional  measures  for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  an 
existing situation, protecting endangered legal interests or preserving evidence, if the 
request for mutual assistance does not appear manifestly inadmissible. 

Preventive freezing and seizure of instruments, assets and proceeds of offences shall 
be  ordered  in  cases  where  assistance  is  requested.  If  the  proceeds  of  an  offence  no 
longer  exist  in  whole  or  in  part,  the  same  measures  shall  be  ordered  in  relation  to 
assets located within the territory of the requested Party corresponding in value to the 
proceeds in question. 

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1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 30 

Presence of the authorities of the requesting Party 

The  requested  Party  may,  at  the  request  of  the  requesting  Party,  authorise  the 
representatives of the latter Party's authorities to attend the execution of the request 
for mutual legal assistance. Their presence shall not require the consent of the person 
concerned by the measure. 

Requests  for  the  presence  of  such  representatives  shall  not  be  refused  where  that 
presence  is  likely  to  render  the  execution  of  the  request  for  assistance  more 
responsive  to  the  needs  of  the  requesting  Party  and,  therefore,  likely  to  avoid  the 
need for supplementary requests for assistance. 

Conditions may be attached to the authorisation. 

The persons present shall have access to the same premises and the same documents 
as the representatives of the requested Party, through them and for the sole purposes 
of  execution  of  the  request  for  mutual  legal  assistance.  In  particular  they  may  be 
authorised to put or propose questions and suggest measures of investigation. 

Their  presence  shall  not  result  in  facts  being  divulged  to  persons  other  than  those 
authorised by virtue of the preceding paragraphs in breach of judicial confidentiality 
or the rights of the person concerned. The information brought to the knowledge of 
the authority of the requesting Party may not be used as evidence until the decision 
on transmission of the documents relating to execution has acquired the force of res 
judicata. 

Article 31 

Searches and seizures 

1. 

The  Parties  may  not  make  the  admissibility  of  requests  for  search  or  seizure 
dependent on conditions other than the following: 

(a) 

the act giving rise to the requests is punishable under the law of both Parties by 
a  penalty  involving  deprivation  of  liberty  or  a  detention  order  of  a  maximum 
period of at least six months, or is punishable under the law of one of the two 
Parties by an equivalent penalty and under the law of the other Party by virtue 
of being an infringement of the rules of law which is being prosecuted by the 
administrative authorities, and where the decision may give rise to proceedings 
before a court having jurisdiction in particular in criminal matters; 

(b) 

execution of the requests is consistent with the law of the requested Party. 

2. 

3. 

Requests  for  purposes  of  search  or  seizure  regarding  matters  falling  within  Article 
2(1)(a) shall also be executed by Liechtenstein when the act giving rise to the request 
is  punishable  under  Liechtenstein  law  as  evasion  of  tax  and  the  requesting  Party 
equally executes such requests for the same kind of act. 

Requests  for  purposes  of  search  and  seizure  for  laundering  offences  referred  to  in 
Article  2(3)  shall  also  be  admissible  provided  that  the  activities  making  up  the 
predicate  offence  are  punishable  under  the  law  of  the  two  Parties  by  a  penalty 
involving deprivation of liberty or a detention order of a maximum of more than six 
months. 

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Article 32 

Requests for banking and financial information  

1. 

Where  the  conditions  of  Article 31  are  met,  the  requested  Party  shall  execute 
requests  for  assistance  in  obtaining  and  transmitting  banking  and  financial  data, 
including: 

(a) 

(b) 

the identification of and information concerning bank accounts opened at banks 
established  in  its  territory  and  where  persons  under  investigation  are  the 
account holders, authorised signatories or in effective control; 

the  identification  of  and  information  concerning  banking  transactions  and 
operations conducted from, to or via one or more bank accounts or by specified 
persons during a specified period. 

2. 

3. 

To  the  extent  authorised  by  virtue  of  its  law  governing  criminal  proceedings  for 
similar  domestic  cases,  the  requested  Party  may  order  surveillance  of  banking 
operations  conducted  from,  to  or  via  one  or  more  bank  accounts  or  by  specified 
persons  during  a  specified  period,  and  transmission  of  the  results  to  the  requesting 
Party. The decision to monitor transactions and transmit the results shall be taken in 
each individual case by case by the competent authorities of the requested Party and 
shall  comply  with  that  Party's  national  legislation.  The  details  regarding  the 
monitoring  shall  be  determined  by  agreement  between  the  competent  authorities  of 
the requesting and requested Parties. 

Each Party shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the financial institutions 
do not disclose to the customer concerned or to third persons that measures are being 
executed at the request of the requesting Party or that an investigation is under way, 
for such time as is necessary to avoid compromising the results. 

4. 

The authority of the Party issuing the request shall: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

state the reasons why it considers that the information requested is likely to be 
of substantial value for the purpose of the investigation into the offence; 

state  on  what  grounds  it  presumes  that  banks  in  the  requested  Party  hold  the 
relevant  accounts  and,  to  the  extent  available,  indicate  which  banks  might  be 
concerned; 

include  all  information  available  which  may  facilitate  the  execution  of  the 
request. 

5. 

A  Party  shall  not  reject  cooperation  on  a  request  for  mutual  legal  assistance  from 
another  Party  solely  because  the  information  is  held  by  a  bank,  other  financial 
institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or because 
it  relates  to  ownership  interests  in  a  person,  or  because  it  has  no  interest  in  such 
information. 

Article 33 

Controlled deliveries 

1. 

As regards assistance concerning Article 2(1)(a) and Article 2(1)(c) in combination 
with Article 2(1)(a), the competent authority in the requested Party shall undertake to 

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31 

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2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

1. 

2. 

ensure  that,  at  the  request  of  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party,  controlled 
deliveries  may  be  permitted  in  its  territory  within  the  framework  of  criminal 
investigations into extraditable offences. 

The decision to carry out controlled deliveries shall be taken in each individual case 
by the competent authorities of the requested Party, with due regard for its national 
law. 

Controlled deliveries shall take place in accordance with the procedures provided for 
in the law of the requested Party. The right to act and to direct and control operations 
shall lie with the competent authorities of that Party. 

Article 34 

Handing-over for confiscation or return 

At the request of the requesting Party and without prejudice to the rights of bona fide 
third parties, the requested Party may place objects, documents, funds or other items 
of  value  at  the  disposal  of  the  requesting  Party  with  a  view  to  their  return  to  their 
rightful owners. The requested Party may not refuse to hand funds over on the sole 
ground that they correspond to a tax or customs debt. 

The requested Party may waive the return of objects, documents, funds or other items 
of  value  either  before  or  after  handing  them  over  to  the  requesting  Party  if  the 
restitution  of  such  objects,  documents,  funds  or  other  items  of  value  to  the  rightful 
owner  may  be  facilitated  thereby.  The  rights  of  bona  fide  third  parties  shall  not  be 
affected. 

In the event of a waiver before handing over the objects, documents, funds or other 
items of value to the requesting Party, the requested Party shall exercise no security 
right  or  other  right  of  recourse  under  tax  or  customs  legislation  in  respect  of  these 
articles.  A  waiver  as  referred  to  in  paragraph  (2)  shall  be  without  prejudice  to  the 
right of the requested Party to collect taxes or duties from the rightful owner. 

Article 35 

Speeding up assistance 

The  authority  of  the  requested  Party  shall  execute  the  request  for  mutual  legal 
assistance  as  soon  as  possible,  taking  as  full  account  as  possible  of  the  procedural 
deadlines and other deadlines indicated by the authority of the requesting Party. That 
Party shall explain the reasons for the deadline. 

If  the  request  cannot,  or  cannot  fully,  be  executed  in  accordance  with  the 
requirements  set  by  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party,  the  authority  of  the 
requested  Party  shall  promptly  inform  the  authority  of  the  requesting  Party  and 
indicate the conditions under which it might be possible to execute the request. The 
authorities  of  the  requesting  and  the  requested  Parties  may  subsequently  agree  on 
further  action  to  be  taken  concerning  the  request,  where  necessary  by  making  such 
action subject to the fulfilment of those conditions. 

If it is foreseeable that the deadline set by the authority of the requesting Party for 
executing  its  request  cannot  be  met  and  if  the  reasons  referred  to  in  the  second 
sentence  of  paragraph (1)  indicate  explicitly  that  any  delay  will  lead  to  substantial 

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impairment of the proceedings being conducted by that authority, the authority of the 
requested  Party  shall  promptly  indicate  the  estimated  time  needed  for  execution  of 
the request. The authority of the requesting Party shall promptly indicate whether the 
request is to be upheld nonetheless. The authorities of the requesting and requested 
Parties may subsequently agree on further action to be taken concerning the request.  

Article 36 

Use of information and evidence 

Information and evidence transmitted in the course of the assistance procedure may be used 
for the following purposes in addition to the purposes of the assistance procedure for which it 
was supplied: 

(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

in  criminal  proceedings  in  the  requesting  Party  against  other  persons  who 
participated in the commission of the offence for which assistance was given, 
provided  that  the  mutual  assistance  would  have  been  possible  also  regarding 
these  other  persons.  In  such  a  case  the  requesting  Party  shall  inform  the 
requested Party on such a use. 

where  the  facts  on  which  the  request  is  based  constitute  another  offence  for 
which assistance ought also to be given; 

in  proceedings  for  the  confiscation  of  the  instrumentalities  and  proceeds  of 
offences  for  which  assistance  ought  to  be  given  and  in  proceedings  for 
damages in respect of facts for which assistance had been given. 

Article 37 

Spontaneous transmission 

1. 

2. 

Within the limits of their domestic law and their powers, the judicial authorities of a 
Party  may  spontaneously  transmit  information  or  evidence  as  regards  illegal 
activities covered by this Agreement to the judicial authorities of another Party, when 
they  consider  that  such  information  or  evidence  might  assist  the  recipient  Party's 
authority in initiating or carrying out investigations or proceedings, or might lead to a 
request for mutual legal assistance by that authority. 

The authority  of the Party transmitting the information may,  in accordance with its 
domestic law, impose conditions on the use of the information by the authority of the 
recipient Party. 

3. 

All the authorities of the Parties shall be bound by such conditions. 

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TITLE IV 

FINAL PROVISIONS 

Article 38 

Joint Committee 

A  Joint  Committee  shall  be  established  and  shall  be  responsible  for  the  sound 
application of this Agreement. To that end, it shall make recommendations and take 
decisions  provided  for  by  the  Agreement,  or  for  setting  up  practical  modalities  for 
the implementation of the Agreement. It shall also monitor the implementation of the 
Agreement. 

The Joint Committee shall be composed of representatives of all the Parties, i.e. the 
European  Union,  the  Member  States  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein.  It  shall 
adopt its Rules of Procedure, which shall include provisions governing the convening 
of  meetings,  the  designation  of  the  Chair  and  the  determination  of  his  or  her 
functions. It shall make its recommendations and take its decisions by unanimity. 

The  Joint  Committee  shall  meet  as  required  but  no  less  than  once  every  year.  Any 
Party may request that a meeting be convened. 

The  Joint  Committee  may  decide  to  establish  working  parties  or  expert  groups  to 
assist it in the performance of its tasks. 

The  Joint  Committee  may  take  decisions  on  technical  adaptations  reflecting 
developments  of  the  Union  law  on  matters  of  mutual  administrative  assistance.  If 
such  a  decision  can  be  binding  on  a  Party  only  after  the  fulfilment  of  its 
constitutional requirements, the decision shall enter into force on the first day of the 
second month following the last notification on the fulfilment of these constitutional 
requirements, unless otherwise decided by the Joint Committee. 

If a Party wishes the Agreement to be revised, it shall lay a proposal before the Joint 
Committee, which shall make recommendations, notably  for the  commencement of 
negotiations. 

Article 39 

Dispute settlement 

Each Party may submit to the Joint Committee a dispute relating to the interpretation 
or  application  of  this  Agreement,  in  particular  if  it  considers  that  another  Party  is 
failing repeatedly to take action on requests for cooperation made to it. 

The Joint Committee shall endeavour to settle the dispute as quickly as possible. The 
Joint Committee shall be supplied with all relevant items of information to assist its 
detailed  examination  of  the  situation  with  a  view  to  identifying  a  satisfactory 
solution.  To  that  end,  the  Joint  Committee  shall  examine  all  possibilities  of 
preserving the sound operation of this Agreement. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

1. 

2. 

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Article 40 

Territorial scope 

This Agreement shall apply in the Principality of Liechtenstein and in the territories to which 
the Treaties on which the Union is founded are applicable in accordance with the conditions 
provided for by those Treaties. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

Article 41 

Entry into force 

This Agreement is concluded for an indefinite period. 

It  shall  be  ratified  or  approved  by  the  Parties  in  accordance  with  their  respective 
procedures. It shall enter into force on the first day of the second month after the last 
notification of instruments of ratification or approval. 

Notifications shall be sent to the Secretary-General of  the Council  of the European 
Union, who shall be the depository of this Agreement. 

4. 
Until the entry into force of this Agreement, Titles I, II and IV shall be provisionally 
applied  between  the  European  Union  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein  on  a  reciprocal 
basis,  on  the  condition  that  all  Parties  have  signed  the  Agreement,  from  the  first  day  of  the 
month  following  the  notification  by  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein  of  its  instrument  of 
ratification in so far as they regard: 

-  income  covered  by  the  taxation  on  savings,  as  defined  in  the  Agreement  between  the 
European Community and the Principality of Liechtenstein providing for measures equivalent 
to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form 
of interest payments signed on 7 December 2004,  

-  information  exchange  and  mutual  assistance  on  fraud  and  any  other  illegal  activity  in  the 
area of traditional own resources and Community funds. 

5. 

Until  the  entry  into  force  of  this  Agreement,  each  Party  may,  at  the  time  of  the 
notification referred to in paragraph (2) or at any other subsequent time, declare that 
it shall consider itself bound by the Agreement in its relations with any other Party 
having  made  the  same  declaration.  These  declarations  shall  take  effect  ninety  days 
after the date of receipt of the notification.  

Article 42 

Denunciation 

The  European  Union,  acting  on  its  behalf  and  on  behalf  of  all  its  Member  States,  or  the 
Principality of Liechtenstein may denounce this Agreement by notifying the other Party of its 
decision.  The  denunciation  shall  take  effect  six  months  after  the  date  of  receipt  of  the 
notification of the denunciation. 

Article 43 

Temporal Application 

The provisions of this Agreement shall be applicable to requests:  

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(a) 

(b) 

(c) 

in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(a)  and  Article  2(1)(d)  in 
combination with Article 2(1)(a), concerning those illegal activities committed 
at least six months after it was signed; and 

in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(b)  and  Article  2(1)(d)  in 
combination with Article 2(1)(b), concerning those illegal activities committed 
at least one year after it was signed. 

in  respect  of  activities  covered  by  Article  2(1)(c)  for  the  full  taxable  period 
commencing after the Agreement was signed. First requests can be made after 
1 January 2011. 

Article 44 

Extension of the Agreement to the new Member States of the EU 

Any State which becomes a Member State of the European Union shall, by written 
notification to the Secretariat of the Council become a Party to this Agreement. 

The  text  of  the  Agreement  in  the  language  of  the  new  acceding  Member State  as 
established  by  the  Council  of  the  European  Union  shall  be  authenticated  by  an 
the  Principality  of 
exchange  of 
Liechtenstein. It shall be considered to be authentic within the meaning of Article 45. 

the  European  Union  and 

letters  between 

This  Agreement  shall  enter  into  force  in  relation  to  any  new  Member State  of  the 
European Union which accedes to it ninety days after the receipt of its instrument of 
accession,  or  on  the  date  of  entry  into  force  of  this  Agreement  if  it  was  not  yet  in 
force when that ninety-day period expired. 

If  this  Agreement  is  not  yet  in  force  when  the  newly  acceding  State  notifies  its 
instrument of accession, Article 41(4) shall apply. 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

Article 45 

Authentic texts 

This  Agreement  is  drawn  up  in  duplicate  in  the  Bulgarian,  Czech,  Danish,  Dutch,  English, 
Estonian,  Finnish,  French,  German,  Greek,  Hungarian,  Italian,  Irish,  Latvian,  Lithuanian, 
Maltese,  Polish,  Portuguese,  Romanian,  Slovene,  Slovak,  Spanish  and  Swedish  languages, 
each of these texts being equally authentic. 

Signatures 

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Joint declarations of the Parties: 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 17(2) 

The  Parties  hereby  agree  that  in  Article  17(2)  of  the  Agreement  the  term  "investigation 
facilities"  includes  the  questioning  of  persons,  the  searching  of  premises  and  means  of 
transport, the copying of documents, the requesting of information and the seizing of objects, 
documents and items of value. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 18(2) 

The  Parties  hereby  agree  that  the  2nd  subparagraph  in  Article  18(2)  of  the  Agreement  also 
means  that  those  present  may  in  particular  be  authorised  to  put  questions  and  propose 
measures of investigation. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 20a 

The  Parties  agree,  regarding  the  implementation  of  Article  20a  on  form  and  content  of 
requests for assistance in tax matters, that the commentary to the OECD Model Agreement on 
Exchange of Information on Tax Matters should be a source of interpretation. 

In this respect, while Article 20a(a) to (i) contains important procedural requirements that are 
intended to ensure that fishing expeditions do not occur, it needs to be interpreted liberally so 
as not to frustrate effective exchange of information. In particular, where a Party is asking for 
account information but the identity of the accountholder is unknown, Article 20a(a) may be 
satisfied by supplying the account number or equivalent identifying information. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 24 

The  Parties  hereby  agree  that  the  authorities  of  the  requesting  Party  will  confirm  that  their 
request  relates  to  a  claim  falling  within  the  scope  of  this  Agreement.  Rules  on  this 
confirmation and on recovery assistance will be adopted by the Joint Committee, referred to 
in Article 38. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 31(2) 

The  Parties  take  note  that  “evasion  of  tax”  under  Liechtenstein  law  is  to  be  understood  as 
evasion  of  tax  pursuant  to  Article  75  of  the  Liechtenstein  Law  on  Value  Added  Tax  of  16 
June 2000. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 38(5) 

The  Parties  agree  that  a  Party  may  submit  to  the  Joint  Committee  relevant  information  on 
developments  in  their  co-operation  with  third  countries  with  relevance  to  further  combating 
fraud and other illegal activity to the detriment of public financial interests, which the Joint 

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Committee  may  then  consider  in  view  of  improving  the  good  functioning  of  co-operation 
between the Parties. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on Article 11(2) 

Beyond the scope of this Agreement, the Parties declare their readiness to examine requests 
from  another  Party  to  negotiate  comprehensive  bilateral  agreements  for  the  elimination  of 
double taxation. 

Without prejudice to Article 39 of the current Agreement, the Parties shall consider ways to 
resolve conflicts in the field of direct taxation. 

Joint Declaration of the Parties on Article 12(1) 

The  Parties  agree,  regarding  the  implementation  of  Article  12(1)  on  costs,  that  the 
commentary  which  is  part  of  the  OECD  Model  Agreement  on  Exchange  of  Information  on 
Tax Matters should be a source of interpretation. Costs that would be incurred in the ordinary 
course  of  administering  the  domestic  tax  laws  of  the  requested  Party  would  normally  be 
expected  to  be  borne  by  the  requested  Party  when  such  costs  are  incurred  for  purposes  of 
responding to a request for information. Such costs would normally cover routine tasks such 
as obtaining and providing copies of documents. 

Article 12(1) is without prejudice to existing or future bilateral Agreements between Member 
States  and  the  Principality  of  Liechtenstein  if  such  bilateral  Agreements  do  not  address  the 
question of cost sharing or contain different provisions. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on review 

The  Parties  will  review,  as  far  as  opportune,  this  agreement  taking  into  account  the 
cooperation attained in agreements concluded between the European Union and its Member 
States  on  the  one  side  and  the  other  EFTA  countries  as  well  as  Andorra,  Monaco  and  San 
Marino on the other side. 

Joint declaration of the Parties on non-discrimination 

The Parties assert their commitment to the principle of non-discrimination as expressed in the 
Agreement on the European Economic Area, taking into account the extent of cooperation for 
the attainment of the objective defined in Article 1. 

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