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TMI BlogGovt. notifies Brunei Darussalam for the Exchange of Information and Assistance in Collection with Respect of Taxes.X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ereto, shall have effect in the Union of India. ANNEXURE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF HIS MAJESTY THE SULTAN AND YANG DI-PERTUAN OF BRUNEI DARUSSALAM FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE IN COLLECTION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES The Government of the Republic of India and the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, desiring to facilitate the exchange of information and assistance in collection with respect to taxes, have agreed as follows: Article 1 Object and Scope of the Agreement The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall provide assistance through exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting Parties concerning taxes covered by this Agreement. Such information shall include information that is foreseeably relevant to the determination, assessment and collection of such taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the investigation or prosecution of tax matters. Information shall be exchanged in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and shall be treated as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ights and jurisdiction, according to the Indian law and in accordance with international law, including the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea; (c) the term "Contracting Party" means Brunei Darussalam or India as the context requires; (d) the term "competent authority" means (i) in the case of Brunei Darussalam, the Minister of Finance or his authorized representative; (ii) in the case of India, the Finance Minister, Government of India, or his authorized representative; (e) the term "person" includes an individual, a company, a body of persons and any other entity which is treated as a taxable unit under the taxation laws in force in the respective Contracting Parties; (f) the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity that is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; (g) the term "publicly traded company" means any company whose principal class of shares is listed on a recognised stock exchange provided its listed shares can be readily purchased or sold by the public. Shares can be purchased or sold "by the public" if the purchase or sale of shares is not implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors; (h) the term "principal ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n Request 1. The competent authority of the requested Party shall provide upon request information for the purposes referred to in Article 1. Such information shall be exchanged without regard to whether the requested Party needs such information for its own tax purposes or whether the conduct being investigated would constitute a crime under the laws of the requested Party if such conduct occurred in the requested Party. 2. If the information in the possession of the competent authority of the requested Party is not sufficient to enable it to comply with the request for information, that Party shall use all relevant information gathering measures to provide the requesting Party with the information requested, notwithstanding that the requested Party may not need such information for its own tax purposes. 3. If specifically requested by the competent authority of the requesting Party, the competent authority of the requested Party shall provide information under this Article, to the extent allowable under its domestic laws, in the form of depositions of witnesses and authenticated copies of original records. 4. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its competent authority, f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the competent authority of the requesting Party would be able to obtain the information under the laws of the requesting Party or in the normal course of administrative practice and that it is in conformity with this Agreement; (h) a statement that the requesting Party has pursued all means available in its own territory to obtain the information, except those that would give rise to disproportionate difficulties. 7. The competent authority of the requested Party shall forward the requested information as promptly as possible to the requesting Party. To ensure a prompt response, the competent authority of the requested Party shall: (a) Confirm receipt of a request in writing to the competent authority of the requesting Party and shall notify the competent authority of the requesting Party of deficiencies in the request, if any, within 60 days of the receipt of the request. (b) If the competent authority of the requested Party has been unable to obtain and provide the information within 90 days of receipt of the request, including if it encounters obstacles in furnishing the information or it refuses to furnish the information, it shall immediately inform the requesting Par ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rofessional secret or trade process. Notwithstanding the foregoing, information of the type referred to in Article 5, paragraph 4 shall not be treated as such a secret or trade process merely because it meets the criteria in that paragraph. 3. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a Contracting Party the obligation to obtain or provide information, which would reveal confidential communications between a client and an attorney, solicitor or other admitted legal representative where such communications are: (a) produced for the purposes of seeking or providing legal advice; or (b) produced for the purposes of use in existing or contemplated legal proceedings. 4. A Contracting Party may decline a request for information if the disclosure of the information would be contrary to public policy (ordre public). 5. A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that the tax claim giving rise to the request is disputed. 6. A Contracting Party may decline a request for information if the information is requested by the other Contracting Party to administer or enforce a provision of the tax law of that other Contracting Party, or any requirement connected ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ance with the provisions of its laws applicable to the enforcement and collection of its own taxes as if the tax claim were a tax claim of that other Party. 4. When a tax claim of a Contracting Party is a claim in respect of which that Party may, under its law, take measures of conservancy with a view to ensure its collection, that tax claim shall, at the request of the competent authority of that Party, be accepted for purposes of taking measures of conservancy by the competent authority of the other Contracting Party. That other Party shall take measures of conservancy in respect of that tax claim in accordance with the provisions of its laws as if the tax claim were a tax claim of that other Party even if, at the time when such measures are applied, the tax claim is not enforceable in the first-mentioned Party or is owed by a person who has a right to prevent its collection. 5. When a Contracting Party, under its law, takes interim measures of conservancy by freezing of assets before a tax claim is raised against a person, the competent authority of the other Contracting Party if requested by the competent authority of the first-mentioned Contracting Party shall take measures ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or conservancy, as the case may be, available under its laws or administrative practice; (d) to provide assistance in those cases where the administrative burden for that Party is clearly disproportionate to the benefit to be derived by the other Contracting Party. Article 9 Costs 1. Unless the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties otherwise agree, ordinary costs incurred in providing assistance shall be borne by the requested Party, and subject to the provisions of this Article, extraordinary costs incurred in providing assistance shall, if they exceed 500 US dollars, be borne by the requesting Party. 2. The competent authorities will consult each other, in advance, in any particular case where extraordinary costs are likely to exceed 500 US dollars to determine whether the requesting Party will continue to pursue the request and bear the cost. 3. The competent authorities shall consult from time to time with regard to this Article. 4. Ordinary costs include internal administration costs, any minor external costs and overhead expenses incurred by the requested Party in reviewing and responding to requests submitted by the requesting Party. Examples of extraordi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the month following the expiration of a period of six months after the date of receipt of notice of termination by the other Contracting Party. All requests received up to the effective date of termination shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
3. Notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement, the Contracting Parties shall remain bound by the provisions of Article 8 with respect to any information obtained under this Agreement.
In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed this Agreement.
DONE in duplicate at New Delhi this 28th day of February 2019, each in the Malay, Hindi and English languages, all texts being equally authentic. In case of divergence of interpretation, the English text shall prevail.
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDIA
MR. PRAMOD CHANDRA MODY
CHAIRMAN
CENTERAL BOARD OF DIRECT TAXES
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF HIS MAJESTRY THE SULTAN AND YANG
DI-PERTUAN OF BRUNEI DARUSSLAM
DATO PADUKA HAJI SIDEK BIN ALI
AMBASSADOR EXTRAORDINARY AND
PLENIPOTENTIARY BRUNEI DARUSSALAM
[Notification No. 14/2020 F.No.503/02/2012-FTD-II]
RASMI RANJAN DAS, Jt. Secy. X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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