The agreement on Exchange of information concerning taxes
The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden and the British Virgin Islands
Government signed on May 18, 2009 to apply that law here
in the country. The agreement is drawn up in English and is apparent from the
Annex to this law.
Transitional provisions
2009:1114
1. this law shall enter into force on the day the Government determines.
2. this law shall be applied for fiscal years beginning on
1 January of the year following the year in which the law comes into force or
later, or, if the tax year is missing, the tax levied
on 1 January of the year following the year in which the law comes into force or
later. In the cases that make up these matters under the
the agreement will, however, Act apply from the
the entry into force.
Annex
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS FOR THE EXCHANGE
OF INFORMATION RELATING TO TAXES
Whereas the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden and the
The Government of the British Virgin Islands ("the Contracting
Parties ") recognise the need for cooperation and the exchange
of information in criminal and civil tax matters;
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Now, therefore, the Contracting Parties have concluded the
following Agreement which contains the bond on the part of
the Contracting Parties only.
Article 1
Scope of the Agreement
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall
provide assistance through exchange of information that is
foreseeably relevant to the administration or enforcement of
the domestic laws of the Contracting Parties concerning the
taxes and the tax matters covered by this Agreement,
including information that is foreseeably relevant to the
determination, assessment, verification, enforcement,
recovery or collection of tax claims with respect to persons
subject to such taxes, or the investigation or prosecution of
tax matters in relation to such person. Information shall be
exchanged in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement
and shall be treated as confidential in the manner provided
in Article 8.
2. This Agreement shall not affect the application in the
respective Contracting Parties of the rules on mutual legal
assistance in criminal matters.
Article 2
Jurisdiction
To enable the appropriate implementation of this Agreement,
information shall be provided in accordance with this
Agreement by the competent authority of the Requested Party:
(a) without regard to whether the person to whom the
information relates is a resident or national of a
Contracting Party, or whether the person by whom the
information is held is a resident or national of a
Contracting Party; and
(b) provided that the information is present within the
territory, or in the possession or control of a person
subject to the jurisdiction, of the Requested Party.
Article 3
Taxes covered
1. The taxes covered by this Agreement are:
(a) in the case of the British Virgin Islands,
(i) the income tax;
(ii) the payroll tax; and
(iii) the property tax
(b) in the case of Sweden,
(i) the national income tax (State income tax);
(ii) the withholding tax on dividends (withholding tax);
(iii) the income tax on non-residents (the Special
income tax for non-residents);
(iv) the income tax on non-resident artistes and athletes
(the Special income tax for non-resident artists
etc.);
(v) the municipal income tax (municipal income tax);
(vi) the yield tax on pension funds (capital yield tax on
pension funds);
(vii) the value added tax (VAT);
(viii) the tax on paid keywords and advertising (the tax on
ads and advertising);
(ix) the premium tax on group life insurance, etc. (the
Accordingly, special cat for group life insurance, etc.);
(x) the lottery tax (Lottery cat);
(xi) the tobacco excise duty (tobacco taxes);
(xii) the alcohol excise duty (alcohol tax);
(xiii) the premium tax on insurance against civil liability
in respect of the use of motor vehicles (the tax on
motor insurance premium, etc.); and
(xiv) the energy tax (tax on energy).
2. This Agreement shall also apply to any identical or
substantially similar taxes imposed by either Party after the
date of signature of this Agreement in addition to, or in
place of, any of the taxes listed in paragraph 1 of this
Article. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties
shall notify each other of any relevant changes to the
taxation and related information gathering measures covered
by this Agreement.
Article 4
Definition
1. In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires-
(a) "British Virgin Islands" means the territory of the
Virgin Islands as referred to in the Virgin Islands
Constitution Order, 2007;
(b) "United States" means the Kingdom of Sweden and, when used in a
geographical sense, includes the national territory, the
territorial sea of Sweden as well as other maritime areas
over which Sweden in accordance with international law
exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction;
(c) "collective investment fund or scheme" means any pooled
investment vehicle irrespective of legal form;
(d) "company" means any body corporate or any entity that is
treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;
(e) "competent authority" means
(i) in the case of the British Virgin Islands, the Financial
The Secretary or a person or authority designated by him in
writing;
(ii) in the case of Canada, the Minister of Finance, his
authorised representative or the authority which is
designated as a competent authority for the purposes of this
Agreement;
(f) "Contracting Party" means the British Virgin Islands or
Canada as the context requires;
(g) "criminal laws" means all criminal laws designated as
such under domestic law irrespective of whether contained in
the tax laws, the criminal code or other laws;
(h) "criminal tax matters" means tax matters involving
intentional conduct which is liable to prosecution under the
the criminal laws of the Requesting Party;
(i) "information" means any fact, statement, document or
record in whatever form;
(j) "information gathering measures" means laws, regulations
and administrative or judicial procedures that enable a
Requested Party to obtain and provide the requested
information;
(k) "national" means
(i) in relation to the British Virgin Islands, any person who
belongs to the British Virgin Islands by virtue of the Virgin
Islands Constitution Order 2007 (Statutory Instrument 2007
No. 1678) or has a certificate of residence of the British
Virgin Islands by virtue of the Immigration and Passport
Ordinance (Cap. 130); and any legal person, partnership,
Association or other entity deriving its status as such from
the laws in force in the British Virgin Islands;
(ii) in relation to Canada any individual possessing the
nationality of Sweden, and any legal person, partnership or
Association deriving its status as such from the laws in
force in Sweden;
(l) "person" includes an individual, a company and any other
body or group of persons;
(m) "principal class of shares" means the class or classes of
shares representing a majority of the voting power and value
of the company;
(n) "public collective investment fund or scheme" means any
collective investment fund or scheme, in which the purchase,
sale or redemption of shares or other interests is not
implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of
investors;
(o) "publicly traded company" means any company whose
principal class of shares is listed on a recognised stock
the 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;
(p) "recognised stock exchange" means any stock exchange
agreed upon by the competent authorities of the Contracting
Parties;
(q) "Requested Party" means the Contracting Party to this
Agreement which is requested to provide or has provided
information in response to a request;
(r) "Requesting Party" means the Contracting Party to this
Agreement submitting a request for or having received
information from the Requested Party;
(s) "tax" means any tax covered by this Agreement.
2. As regards the application of this Agreement at any time
by a Contracting Party, any term not defined therein shall,
unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning that
It has at that time under the law of that Contracting Party,
any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that Contracting
Party prevailing over a meaning given to the term under other
the laws of that Contracting Party.
Article 5
Exchange of information upon request
1. The competent authority of the Requested Party shall
provide upon request in writing by the Requesting Party
information for the purposes referred to in Article 1. Such
information shall be exchanged without regard to whether the
conduct being investigated would constitute a crime under the
the laws of the Requested Party if it occurred in the territory
of the Requested Party. If the information received by the
competent authority of the Requested Party is not sufficient
to enable it to comply with the request for information, it
shall, in accordance with the terms provided in paragraph 7
(a) advise the competent authority of the Requesting Party
of that fact and request such additional information as may
be required to enable the effective processing of the
request.
2. If the information in possession of the competent
authority of the Requested Party is not sufficient to enable
it to comply with the request for the information, the
Requested 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 deposition of witnesses and authenticated copies of
original records.
4. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its competent
authority, for the purposes of this Agreement, has the
authority to obtain and provide upon request:
(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 beneficial ownership
of companies, partnerships and other persons, including,
within the constraints of Article 2, ownership information on
all such persons in an ownership chain; and in the case of
trusts, information on settlors, trustees, with and
protectors; and in the case of foundations, information on
founders, members of the foundation council and
with, and equivalent information in the case of
entities that are neither trusts nor foundations.
5. Notwithstanding the preceding paragraphs, this Agreement
does not create an obligation on the Contracting Parties to
obtain or provide:
(a) ownership information with respect to publicly traded
companies or public collective investment funds or schemes,
unless such information can be obtained without giving rise
to disproportionate difficulties;
(b) information relating to a period of more than six years
prior to the tax period under consideration;
(c) information in the possession or control of a person
other than the taxpayer that does not directly relate to the
taxpayer.
6. The competent authority of the Requesting Party shall
provide the following information to the competent authority
of the Requested Party when making a request for information
under this Agreement in order to demonstrate the foreseeable
relevance of the information to the request:
(a) the identity of the person under examination or
investigation;
(b) the period for which the information is requested;
(c) the nature and type of the information requested,
including a description of the specific evidence sought and
the form in which the Requesting Party would prefer to
receive the information;
(d) the tax purposes for which the information is sought and
the reasons why the information requested is foreseeably
relevant to the administration or enforcement of the domestic
the laws of the Requesting Party;
(e) grounds for believing that the information requested is
present in the territory of the Requested Party or is in the
possession or control of a person subject to the jurisdiction
of the Requested Party;
(f) to the extent known, the name and address of any person
believed to be in possession or control of the information
requested;
(g) a declaration that the request is in conformity with this
Agreement and the laws and administrative practices of the
Requesting Party, and that if the requested information were
within the jurisdiction of the Requesting Party then 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;
(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 competent authority of the Requesting Party. To ensure a
prompt response:
(a) the competent authority of the Requested Party shall
confirm the 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 any
deficiencies in the request within 60 days of receipt of the
request; and
(b) if the competent authority of the Requested Party has
been unable to obtain and provide the information requested
within 90 days of receipt of the request, or if obstacles are
encountered in furnishing the information, or if the
competent authority of the Requested Party refuses to provide
the information, it shall immediately inform the competent
authority of the Requesting Party in writing, explaining the
reasons for its inability to obtain and provide the
information, or the obstacles encountered, or the reasons for
its refusal.
Article 6
Tax examinations or investigations abroad
1. The Requested Party may, to the extent permitted under its
domestic laws, and following reasonable notice from the
Requesting Party, allow representatives of the competent
authority of the Requesting Party to enter the territory of
the Requested Party in connection with a request to interview
person and examine records with the written consent of the
person concerned. The competent authority of the Requesting
Party shall notify the competent authority of the Requested
Party of the time and place of the meeting with the person's
concerned.
2. At the request of the competent authority of the
Requesting Party, the competent authority of the Requested
Party may, in accordance with its domestic laws, permit
representatives of the competent authority of the Requesting
Party to be present at the appropriate part of a Dachshund
examination in the territory of the Requested Party.
3. If the request referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article
is granted, 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
authorised to carry out the examination and the procedures
and conditions required by the Requested Party for the
conduct of the examination. All decisions regarding the
conduct of the examination shall be made by the Requested
The party conducting the examination in accordance with its
domestic laws.
Article 7
Possibility of declining a request
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 difficulties; or
(c) where the disclosure of the information requested would
be contrary to public policy (ordre public).
2. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose upon a
Contracting Party any obligation to provide information which
would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or
professional secret or trade process. Information described
in paragraph 4 of Article 5 shall not by reason of that fact
alone constitute such a secret or process.
3. (a) 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 barrister
where such communications are:
(i) produced for the purposes of seeking or providing legal
advice, or
(ii) produced for the purposes of use in existing or
contemplated legal proceedings.
(b) Information held with the intention of furthering an
offence is not subject to legal privilege, and nothing in
This Article shall prevent an attorney, solicitor or
barrister from providing the name and address of a client
where doing so would not constitute a breach of legal
privilege.
4. A request for information shall not be refused on the
ground that the tax liability giving rise to the request is
disputed by the taxpayer.
5. The Requested Party shall not be required to obtain and
provide information which, if the requested information was
within the jurisdiction of the Requesting Party, the
competent authority of the Requesting Party would not be able
to obtain under its laws or in the normal course of
administrative practice.
6. 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 resident or national of the
Requested Party as compared with a resident or national of
the Requesting Party in the same circumstances.
Article 8
Confidentiality
1. All the information provided and received by the competent
authorities of the Contracting Parties shall be kept
confidential and shall be disclosed only to persons or
authorities (including courts and administrative bodies)
concerned with the purposes specified in Article 1 and used
by such persons or authorities only for such purposes,
including the determination of any appeal or the oversight of
the above. For these purposes, information may be disclosed
in public court proceedings or in judicial proceedings.
2. The information may not be disclosed to any other person
or entity or authority without the express written consent of
the competent authority of the Requested Party.
3. Information provided to (a) the Requesting Party shall not be
disclosed to any other jurisdiction.
Article 9
Safeguards
Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights and
safeguards secured to persons by the laws or administrative
practice of the Requested Party. However, these rights and
safeguards may not be applied by the Requested Party in a
manner that unduly prevents or delays effective exchange of
information.
Article 10
Administrative costs
1. Incidence of ordinary costs incurred in the course of
responding to a request for information will be borne by the
Requested Party. Such ordinary costs would normally cover
internal administration costs and any minor external costs.
2. All other costs that are not ordinary costs are considered
extraordinary costs and will be borne by the Requesting
Party. Extraordinary costs include, but are not limited to,
the following:
(a) reasonable fees charged by third parties for carrying out
Research;
(b) reasonable fees charged by third parties for copying
documents;
(c) reasonable costs of engaging experts, interpreters, or
translators;
(d) the reasonable costs of conveying documents to the Requesting
Party;
(e) reasonable litigation costs of the Requested Party in
relation to a specific request for information; and
(f) reasonable costs for obtaining deposition or testimony.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties will
consult each other in any particular case where extraordinary
costs are likely to exceed 500 $US to determine whether the
Requesting Party will continue to pursue the request and bear
the cost.
Article 11
No prejudicial or restrictive measures
1. So long as this Agreement is in force and effective, it is
the intention of the Contracting Parties not to apply or
introduce prejudicial or restrictive measures based on
harmful tax practices to residents or nationals of either
Contracting Party. However, in the event that a Contracting
Party has reason to believe that the other Contracting Party
has introduced such restrictive measures, prejudicial or both
Contracting Parties shall immediately initiate proceedings to
resolve the matter.
2. A prejudicial or the restrictive measure based on harmful tax
practices means a measure applied by one Contracting Party to
residents or nationals of the other Contracting Party on the
the basis that the other Contracting Party does not engage in
effective exchange of information or because it lacks
transparency in the operation of its laws, regulations or
administrative practices, or on the basis of no or nominal
taxes and one of the preceding criteria.
3. Without limiting the generality of the term "prejudicial
the or the restrictive measure ", the term includes the denial of a
deduction, credit or exemption, the imposition of a tax,
charge or levy, or special reporting requirements. Such
measures include any measure which relates, directly or
indirectly, to taxation matters. However, they do not include
any generally applicable measure, applied by either
Contracting Party against, amongst others, members of the
The OECD generally.
Article 12
Implementing legislation
The Contracting Parties shall (where they have not already
done so) enact any legislation necessary to comply with, and
give effect to, the terms of this Agreement.
Article 13
Language
Requests for assistance and responses thereto shall be drawn
up in English.
Article 14
Mutual agreement procedure
1. Where difficulties or doubts arise between the Contracting
Parties regarding the implementation or interpretation of
This Agreement, the competent authorities shall use their
best efforts to resolve the matter by mutual agreement.
2. In addition to the efforts referred to in paragraph 1 of
This Article, the competent authorities of the Contracting
Parties may mutually determine the procedures to be used
under Articles 5, 6 and 10.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties may
communicate with each other directly for the purposes of
reaching agreement under this Article.
Article 15
Entry into force
1. Each of the Contracting Parties shall notify to the other
in writing of the completion of the procedures required by
its law for the entry into force of this Agreement.
2. The Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day
After the receipt of the later of these notifications and
shall thereupon have effect:
(a) for criminal tax matters, from the date of entry into
force; and
(b) for all other matters covered in Article 1, on taxable
periods beginning on or after the first day of January of the
year next following the date on which the Agreement enters
into force, or where there is no taxable period, for all
charges to tax arising on or after the first day of January
of the year next following the date on which the Agreement
enters into force.
Article 16
Termination
1. This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a
Contracting Party.
2. Either Contracting Party may terminate the Agreement,
through diplomatic channels, by giving written notice of
termination to the other Contracting Party. In such case, the
The agreement shall cease to have effect on the first day of the
month following the end of the period of six months after the
date of receipt of notice of termination by the other
Contracting Party.
3. If the Agreement is terminated "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 in
that behalf by the respective parties, have signed this
Agreement.
Done at Copenhagen, this 18th day of May 2009, in duplicate
in the English language.
For the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden
Lars Grundberg
For the Government of the British Virgin Islands
Danica Penn
(Translation)
AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF SWEDEN AND THE UK
VIRGIN ISLANDS GOVERNMENT ON THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION RELATING TO
TAXES
When the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden and the British Virgin Islands
Government ("the Contracting Parties") recognise the need for
cooperation and exchange of information in these cases and
other tax matters,
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have the parties entered into the following agreements, which
imposes obligations only for the Contracting Parties.
Article 1
The scope of the agreement
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall
assist each other with assistance through the exchange of
information likely to be relevant for the purposes
or enforcement of the Contracting Parties ' internal
legislation relating to the taxation and the tax matters
covered by this agreement, including information which may
are assumed to be relevant to the determination, assessment, validation
or collection, as well as for the collection or enforcement
with regard to tax claims as regards persons who are
subject to such taxes or for investigation or
prosecutions in cases of tax in respect of such persons. Information
shall be exchanged in accordance with the provisions of this agreement and
to be kept secret in the manner laid down in article 8.
2. this Agreement shall not affect the applicability of the parties of the
the provisions on mutual assistance in criminal matters.
Article 2
Jurisdiction
In order to permit the proper application of this Agreement shall
information is provided in accordance with this agreement by the
competent authority of the requested party:
a) regardless of whether the person information relating to habitual residence
or is a national of a Contracting Party, or if the
person holding the information is resident or is
nationals of a Contracting Party, and
b) provided that the information is available
in the territory, or held or controlled by a
person subject to the jurisdiction of the requested Party.
Article 3
Taxes covered by the agreement
1. Taxes covered by this agreement are:
a) in the case of the British Virgin Islands,
1) income tax
2) tax on wages, and
3) property tax
b) in the case of Sweden,
1) state income tax,
2) withholding tax,
3) the Special income tax for non-residents,
4) the Special income tax for non-residents
artists and others,
5) the municipal income tax,
6) capital yield tax on pension funds,
7) value added tax;
8) tax on advertisements and advertising,
9) accordingly the specific cat for group life insurance, etc.,
10) lottery treasure,
11) tobacco tax,
12) alcohol tax,
13) tax on motor insurance premiums, etc., and
14) tax on energy.
2. This agreement shall also apply to taxes by the same, or in the
mainly similar kind after the signing of the agreement
be charged in any of the parties in addition to or instead of
any of the paragraph 1 of this article listed taxes.
The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall communicate to the
each other about relevant changes regarding the
tax legislation and the measures to secure the
information of the kind covered by this agreement.
Article 4
Definitions
1. Unless the context prompts otherwise in this agreement
the following expression, the following meaning:
a) "British Virgin Islands" means the territory of the Virgin Islands
as specified in the Virgin Islands ' Constitution Order 2007 ",
b) "Sweden" means the Kingdom of Sweden and the includes, when
the expression is used in the geographical sense, Swedish
territory, territorial waters of Sweden and other maritime areas
over which Sweden, in accordance with international law
rules, sovereignty or jurisdiction,
c) "collective investment fund or collective
investment schemes "refer to all undertakings for collective
investments, regardless of the legal form,
d) "company" means any legal person or any other that at
taxation is treated as a legal person,
e) "competent authority" means
1) in the case of the British Virgin Islands, the Minister of finance or
person or authority appointed by him in writing,
2) in the case of Sweden, the Minister of finance, his
authorised representative or the authority which contracted
to be a competent authority for the purposes of this agreement,
f) "Contracting Party" means the British Virgin Islands or
Sweden, depending on the context,
g) "criminal laws" means all criminal law
is referred to as such in internal law, regardless of whether the
can be found in the tax law, criminal law or
administrative provisions,
h) "these matters" means tax matters involving
intentional conduct which, according to the criminal law of the
requesting party may be subject to criminal prosecution;
I) "information" means any fact task, message,
Act or other documentation in any form,
j) "measures with a view to obtaining information" means
legislation, regulations, and administrative measures or
judicial measures which allow for a requested party to
obtain and provide the information requested,
k) "national" means
1) in respect of the British Virgin Islands, a person who belongs to
Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, with the support of
"The Constitution Order 2007 (Statutory Instrument 2007
No. 1678) "or that have a certificate of residence in the UK
Virgin Islands, with the support of "the Immigration and Passport
Ordinance (Cap. 130) "and any legal person, partnership,
Association or other entity that is incorporated under the applicable
legislation in the British Virgin Islands,
2) in the case of Sweden, a natural person who holds Swedish
citizenship or a legal person, partnership or
Association incorporated under the laws of,
l) "person" includes an individual, a company and any other
personal association,
m) "principal class of shares" means the shares that
represents the majority of the votes in, and the value of
the company,
n) "public collective investment fund or public
collective investment scheme "means any collective
Investment Fund or collective investment schemes in the
purchase, sale or redemption of shares or other
rights are not implicitly or explicitly restricted
to a limited circle of investors,
o) "company whose shares are the object of general circulation" means
a company whose principal class of shares is listed on a recognised
Stock Exchange provided its listed shares freely
can be purchased or sold by the public. Shares can be bought or
sold "by the public" about the purchase or sale of shares
do not implicitly or explicitly restricted to a
definite circle of investors,
p) "recognised stock exchange" means such stock as the Contracting
the competent authorities of the parties have agreed,
q) "requested Party" means the Contracting Party under this
agreement on request asked to leave or have left the
information,
r) "requesting party" means the Contracting Party under
This agreement requesting or receiving information from
the requested Contracting Party,
s) "tax" means any tax covered by this agreement.
2. Where a Contracting Party applies this agreement at any
time is deemed, unless the context shall give rise to different,
any expression that is not defined in this agreement have the meanings
that statement has at that time under the
the legislation of the Contracting Party and the importance of
the term has under the applicable tax laws in this
Contracting Party take precedence over the meaning
the term has under other legislation in this
Contracting Party.
Article 5
Exchange of information on request
1. the competent authority of the requested Party shall on
request in writing disclose information for the purposes for which
specified in article 1. Such information shall be exchanged without
regard to whether the conduct which is the subject of an investigation
would have constituted an offence under the law of the
requested party if it took place within the requested Party
territory. If the information received by the
competent authority of the requested Party is not
sufficient to respond to a request for information,
that competent authority shall, in accordance with the provisions of
paragraph 7 (a)), inform the competent authority of the
requesting party accordingly and indicate what further is required
to approve the request.
2. where the information available to the competent
authority of the requested Party is not sufficient to
meeting a request for information, the requested
Party shall take all relevant measures to obtain and
supply the information requested, notwithstanding that the
requested Party may not need the information for
their own tax purposes.
3. If the competent authority of the requesting party
specifically requests it, the competent authority of the
requested party – to the extent permitted
in accordance with its internal laws – provide information according to
This article in the form of written testimonies, stories and
certified copies of documents.
4. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its
competent authority, for the application of this agreement,
the power to collect and submit:
a) information held by banks, other financial
institutions and other persons, including agents and
trust managers, who act as representative or
managers,
b) information on the legal and real ownership of
companies, partnerships and other entities, including – with
the restrictions imposed by article 2-information about
ownership of all such persons in a
the ownership chain; in the case of trusts, information on founders,
trustee, beneficiaries and "protectors", in respect of
foundations, information about founders, members of the Board of Directors
and destinatärer as well as the corresponding information in the field of
entities that are neither trusts or foundations.
5. Notwithstanding the previous paragraphs, this agreement does not
any obligation for the Contracting Parties to seek
or leave:
a) information on the ownership structure of companies whose shares are
subject of general circulation, the crowd collective
Investment Fund or the public collectively
investment schemes, unless such information can
be obtained without incurring disproportionate
difficulties,
b) information relating to time more than six years before the
tax period under review,
c) information which the person other than the taxpayer holds
or control and which are not directly related to the
taxpayer.
6. Upon request for information under this agreement, the
competent authority of the requesting Party shall provide the following
information to the competent authority of the other
party, to show the importance of the requested
information:
a) identity of the person who is the subject of an investigation
or investigation,
b) for what period of time the information is requested,
(c)) the nature of the information requested, including
a description of the evidence specifically requested and in
what form that the requesting party wishes to
the information shall be provided,
(d)) the tax purpose for which the information requested
requested and why they are likely to be relevant for
the application or enforcement of the requesting party
internal law,
e) the reasons for believing that the information requested is available
available within the territory of the requested Party or
held or controlled by the person who is the subject of the
the jurisdiction of the requested Party;
f) as far as it is known, the name and address of the person who can
possession or control of the requested information,
g) indicating that the request is in conformity with this
agreements and legislation and administrative practices in force in the
requesting party to the competent authority of the
requesting party – if the requested information was within the
that party's jurisdiction – would be able to obtain
information under legislation or codes of
administrative practices of the requesting party;
h) stating that the requesting party has taken all the
measures to obtain this information at its
disposal within its own territory, but such measures
that would give rise to disproportionate difficulties.
7. the competent authority of the requested Party shall promptly
possible provide the requested information to the competent
authority of the requesting party. To satisfy a
promptly reply:
(a)), the competent authority of the requested Party
confirm in writing the receipt of the request to the competent
authority of the requesting party, and shall within 60 days after
receipt, inform the competent authority in the
requesting party in writing of any deficiencies in the request, and
b) if the competent authority of the requested Party has not
been able to obtain and provide the information requested within
90 days from receipt of the request, or if the
There is unable to provide the information, or if the
competent authority refuses to provide the information, it shall
immediately notify the competent authority of
the requesting party accordingly and indicate the reasons for the
not been able to obtain and provide the information or
specify the obstacles or the reasons for its
refusal.
Article 6
Abroad-executed tax investigations
1. The requested Party shall, to the extent that this is
permitted by its domestic law and after reasonable
notice from the requesting party allow representatives
for the competent authority of the requesting party to be present
in the requested Party in connection with a request for hearing
people and review documents after written consent
of the persons concerned. The competent authority of the
requesting Party shall notify the competent authority of
the requested Party of the time and place of the meeting with the relevant
the persons.
2. At the request of the competent authority of the requesting
that party, the competent authority of the requested Contracting Party in
accordance with its internal legislation, allow the
representatives of the competent authority of the requesting
the party will be present to the extent deemed appropriate by the
tax investigation in the territory of the requested Party.
3. Awarded a request pursuant to paragraph 2 of this article, the
competent authority of the requested Contracting Party performing
the investigation as soon as possible inform the competent
authority of the requesting Party of the time and place of
the investigation, if the authority or person authorized
to carry out the investigation, as well as on the procedures and conditions
the requested Party for the conduct of the investigation.
All decisions regarding the conduct of the inquiry shall be taken
of the requested Contracting Party performing the investigation in accordance with
its internal legislation.
Article 7
Opportunity to reject a request
1. The competent authority of the requested Party may refuse
a request:
(a)) when the request has not been made in accordance with this
Agreement, or
(b)) when the requesting party has not taken all the
measures to obtain this information at its
disposal within its own territory, unless:
the adoption of such measures would entail
disproportionately great difficulties, or
c) when the provision of the information requested would be contrary to
General considerations (public policy).
2. the provisions of this Agreement shall not entail the obligation
for a Contracting Party to provide information which would
disclose any trade, business, industrial or professional secret or
commercial secret or commercial project.
practice. Information shall not be considered as such
secret or such procedures only due to
they constitute the information provided for by article 5, paragraph 4.
3. a) the provisions of this Agreement shall not result in
the obligation of a Contracting Party to obtain or provide
information that would reveal confidential communications between a
the client and his lawyer or other legal professional, when
such communications are:
1) discussion in order to seek or provide legal
advice, or
2) has taken place in order to be used during or
pending legal proceedings.
b) Information held in order to promote a
offence is not covered by the obligation of professional secrecy in connection with
legal advice, and nothing in this article shall prevent a
lawyer or another legal professional from disclosing a
client's name and address when there is a violation of
professional secrecy.
4. A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that
the
tax claim giving rise to the request is filed by the
taxpayer.
5. the requested Party shall have no obligation to seek and
provide information that the competent authority of the
requesting party – if the requested information was within the
that party's jurisdiction – can't collect under their
law or customary practices.
6. the requested Party may refuse a request for information,
If information is requested by the requesting party for
the application or enforcement of a provision in the
requesting party's tax legislation, or
coherent requirements, under the same conditions
discriminate against
a citizen or resident of the
requested Party in relation to a citizen or person
a resident of the requesting party.
Article 8
Privacy
1. All information submitted and received by the competent
the authorities of the contracting parties must be kept secret
and may only be disclosed to persons or authorities (in that
including courts and administrative bodies) that have
position with the purposes set out in article 1 and shall
use of these persons or authorities only for
such purposes, including the processing of appeals
or to supervise those activities. For
these purposes, the information may be divulged in public
a court hearing or in judicial decisions.
2. The information shall not be disclosed to any other person or
authority without the express written consent of the
competent authority of the requested Party.
3. Information provided to a requesting party may not
disclosed to other
jurisdiction.
Article 9
Rights
Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the rights of
people under the legislation of the requested Contracting Party or
administrative practices. These rights must not, however,
applied by the requested Party in a manner that unduly
prevents or delays the effective exchange of information.
Article 10
Administrative costs
1. Ordinary expenses incurred in connection with
Replying to a request for information shall be borne by the
requested Party. Such customary costs normally covers
internal administrative costs and less external
costs.
2. All the other costs that are not customary costs
be considered as extraordinary charges and shall be borne by the
requesting party. Extraordinary expenses include, but are
not limited to, the following:
(a) reasonable compensation to a third party) for the execution of
investigation work,
(b) reasonable compensation to third parties) for
the copy work,
c) reasonable costs for hiring experts, interpreters or
translator,
d) reasonable expenses for transferring documents to the
requesting party;
e) reasonable procedural costs that the requested Party
in connection with a specific request for information, and
f) reasonable expenses for obtaining written
witness stories and testimonies.
3. the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall
consult with each other in individual cases where it is likely to
the extraordinary costs will exceed 500 US-
dollars, in order to determine whether the requesting party would
complete the request and bear the costs of this.
Article 11
No targeted countermeasures
1. As long as this agreement is in force and applied, it is
the Contracting Parties ' intention not to apply or
targeted counter measures designed to combat malicious
tax competition and affecting the residents
or the nationality of any of the Contracting Parties. If
However, a Contracting Party has reason to assume that
the other Contracting Party included such targeted
countermeasures to the Contracting Parties shall immediately commence
negotiations to resolve the issue.
2. a specific countermeasure designed to prevent malicious
tax competition refers to a measure maintained by a
Contracting Party and targeting people with
residence or nationality of the other Contracting Party
and motivated by that other Contracting Party
do not contribute to an effective exchange of information or
that this party shortcomings in transparency regarding its
laws, regulations or administrative practice.
The same applies if the other party does not charge any taxes
or if only a symbolic tax is imposed and this happens
at the same time as any of the criteria mentioned above.
3. Without limiting the general meaning of the expression
"targeted counter measures" include expression refusing deduction,
deduction, tax reduction or exemption, to take out
tax, fee or other charge, or to set specific
requirements for the documentation obligation. Such measures include
any measure that directly or indirectly affect
taxation. However, they do not include General
measures applied in General by a Contracting Party in
relation to, among other things, member countries of the OECD.
Article 12
Legislation transposing
The Contracting Parties shall (unless the so is not already
been) adopt such legislation as is necessary to
meet and give effect to the terms of this agreement.
Article 13
Language
Requests for assistance and responses to such requests should
be drawn up in English.
Article 14
The procedure for the mutual agreement
1. where difficulties or doubts arise between the
Contracting Parties in respect of the performance or
the interpretation of this agreement, the competent authorities
the effort to settle the matter by mutual
agreement.
2. in addition to what is stated in paragraph 1 of this article,
the competent authorities of the parties mutually agree on
procedures for the application of articles 5, 6 and 10.
3. for the purposes of this article, the parties ' competent
authorities enter into direct relations with each other in order
to reach an agreement.
Article 15
Date of entry into force
1. Each Party shall notify the other party
When the actions were taken in accordance with their respective
legislation required that this agreement should enter into force.
2. this Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after
the date on which the last of these notifications is received and
applied:
(a)) in these cases, from the date of entry into force, and
b) in all other matters covered in article 1, for the
tax year that begins on 1 January of the year immediately
following the date of entry into force of the agreement or
later, or – as some fiscal years do not exist – for
tax claims which arise on 1 January of the year immediately
following the date of entry into force of the agreement or
later.
Article 16
Termination
1. this Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a
Contracting Party.
2. Each Contracting Party may terminate the agreement by
to diplomatically give written notification thereof
to the other Contracting Party. In the event of such
termination agreement ceases to have effect on the first day of the
month after the end of the
six months period following the date of notification
If the termination was received by the other Contracting Party.
3. in the event of termination, the Contracting
the parties remain bound by the provisions of article 8
ask if the information obtained under that contract.
In witness whereof the undersigned, being
duly authorized by the respective parties, have signed
This agreement.
Done at Copenhagen on 18 May 2009 in duplicate in
English language.
For the Government of the Kingdom of Sweden
Lars Grundberg
For the Government of the British Virgin Islands
Danica Penn
