Article 7 - Possibility of Declining a Request for Information - Guernsey

Article 7 Possibility of Declining a Request for Information 1. The competent authority of the requested Party may decline to assist: ( a ) where the request is not made in conformity with this Agreement; or ( b ) where the requesting Party has not pursued all means available in its own territory to obtain the information, except where recourse to such means would give rise to disproportionate difficulty; or ( c ) where disclosure of the information would be contrary to public policy (ordre public) of the requested Party. 2. This Agreement shall not impose on a requested Party the obligation: ( a ) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, provided that information described in paragraph 4 of Article 5 shall not be treated as such a secret or trade process merely because it meets the criteria in that paragraph; or ( b ) to obtain or provide information subject to legal privilege as provided for under the domestic law of the relevant Contracting Party; or ( c ) to carry out administrative measures at variance with its laws and administrative practices, provided nothing in this sub-paragraph shall affect the obligations of a Contracting Party under paragraph 4 of Article 5. 3. A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that the tax claim giving rise to the request is disputed. 4. The requested Party shall not be required to obtain and provide information which the requesting Party would be unable to obtain in similar circumstances under its own laws for the purpose of the administration or enforcement of its own tax laws or in response to a valid request from the requested Party under this Agreement. 5. The requested Party may decline a request for information if the information is requested by the requesting Party to administer or enforce a provision of the tax law of the requesting Party, or any requirement connected therewith, which discriminates against a national or citizen of the requested party as compared with a national or citizen of the requesting Party in the same circumstances.