Australian Tax Treaties

Swiss Convention  

CONVENTION BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND THE SWISS CONFEDERATION FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME, WITH PROTOCOL  

SECTION 14  

14    
Ad Article 25

a) It is understood that an exchange of information will only be requested once the requesting Contracting State has pursued all reasonable means available under its internal taxation procedure to obtain the information.

b) It is understood that the tax authorities of the requesting State shall provide the following information to the tax authorities of the requested State when making a request for information under Article 25 :

(i) the identity of the person under examination or investigation;

(ii) the period of time for which the information is requested;

(iii) a statement of the information sought including its nature and the form in which the requesting State wishes to receive the information from the requested State;

(iv) the tax purpose for which the information is sought;

(v) to the extent known, the name and address of any person believed to be in possession of the requested information.

The purpose of referring to information that may be foreseeably relevant is intended to provide for exchange of information in tax matters to the widest possible extent without allowing the Contracting States to engage in " fishing expeditions " or to request information that is unlikely to be relevant to the tax affairs of a given taxpayer. While this subparagraph contains important procedural requirements that are intended to ensure that fishing expeditions do not occur, clauses (i) through (v) nevertheless need to be interpreted with a view not to frustrate effective exchange of information.

c) Although Article 25 does not restrict the possible methods for exchanging information, it is understood that the Article does not require the Contracting States to exchange information on an automatic or a spontaneous basis.

d) It is understood that in case of an exchange of information, the administrative procedural rules regarding taxpayers ' rights provided for in the requested Contracting State remain applicable before the information is transmitted to the requesting Contracting State. It is further understood that these provisions aim at guaranteeing the taxpayer a fair procedure and not at preventing or unduly delaying the exchange of information process.