Article 28 - Collection Assistance - Botswana

ARTICLE 28 COLLECTION ASSISTANCE 1. The Contracting States undertake to lend assistance to each other in the collection of the taxes to which the Agreement relates, together with interest, costs, and civil penalties relating to such taxes, referred to in this Article as a 'revenue claim'. 2. Request for assistance by the Competent Authority of a Contracting State in the collection of a revenue claim shall include : (i) a certification by such authority that, under the laws of that State, the revenue claim has been finally determined and concerns a tax covered by the Agreement; (ii) an official copy of the notice issued by the authority collecting the tax. 3. For the purposes of this Article, a revenue claim is finally determined when a Contracting State has the right under its internal law to collect the revenue claim and the taxpayer has no further rights to restrain collection. The requesting State shall certify that it has exhausted all means of recovery of the revenue claim. 4. Amount collected by the Competent Authority of a Contracting State pursuant to this Article shall be forwarded to the Competent Authority of the other Contracting State. However, the first-mentioned Contracting State shall be entitled to reimbursement of costs, if any, incurred in the course of rendering such assistance to the extent mutually agreed between the Competent Authorities of the two States. 5. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as imposing on either Contracting State the obligation to carry out administrative measures of a different nature from those used in the collection of its own taxes or those which would be contrary to its public policy.