tiea agreement between grenada and netherlands

8/2/2019 TIEA agreement between Grenada and Netherlands

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7 (2010) Nr. 1

T R A C T A T E N B L A D

VAN HET

K O N I N K R I J K D E R N E D E R L A N D E N

2010 97

A. TITEL

Verdrag tussen het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden en Grenada inzake deuitwisseling van informatie betreffende belastingzaken;

Saint Georges, 18 februari 2010

B. TEKST

Agreement between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Grenadafor the exchange of information relating to tax matters

The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

and

the Government of Grenada,

Desiring to facilitate the exchange of information with respect totaxes;

Have agreed as follows:

Article 1

Object and scope of the Agreement

The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall provideassistance through exchange of information that is foreseeably relevantto the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Con-tracting Parties concerning taxes covered by this Agreement.

Such information shall include information that is foreseeably rel-evant to the determination, assessment and collection of such taxes, therecovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the investigation or prosecu-tion of tax matters.

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Information shall be exchanged in accordance with the provisions ofthis Agreement and shall be treated as confidential in the manner provid-ed in Article 8.

The rights and safeguards secured to persons by the laws or adminis-

trative practice of the requested Party remain applicable to the extentthat they do not unduly prevent or delay effective exchange ofinformation.

Article 2

Jurisdiction

A requested Party is not obligated to provide information which is nei-ther held by its authorities nor in the possession or control of personswho are within its territorial jurisdiction.

Article 3

Taxes covered

The taxes which are the subject of this Agreement are all taxesimposed or administered by either Contracting Party including any iden-tical or substantially similar taxes imposed after the date of signature ofthe Agreement.

Article 4

Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise defined:a) the term Contracting Party means Grenada or the Netherlands as

the context requires;b) the term Grenada means the State of Grenada;c) the term the Netherlands means the part of the Kingdom of the

Netherlands that is situated in Europe, including its territorial seas, andany area beyond the territorial sea within which the Netherlands, inaccordance with international law, exercises jurisdiction or sovereign

rights with respect to the sea bed, its subsoil and its superjacent waters,and their natural resources;

d) the term competent authority means(i) in the case of Grenada, the Minister of Finance or his author-

ised representative;(ii) in the case of the Netherlands, the Minister of Finance or his

authorised representative;e) the term person includes an individual, a company and any other

body of persons;

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f) the term company means anybody corporate or any entity that istreated as a body corporate for tax purposes;

g) the term publicly traded company means any company whoseprincipal class of shares is listed on a recognised stock exchange provid-

ed its listed shares can be readily purchased or sold by the public. Sharescan be purchased or sold by the public if the purchase or sale of sharesis not implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors;

h) the term principal class of shares means the class or classes ofshares representing a majority of the voting power and value of the com-pany;

i) the term recognised stock exchange means any stock exchangeagreed upon by the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties;

j) the term collective investment fund or scheme means any pooledinvestment vehicle, irrespective of legal form. The term public collec-tive investment fund or scheme means any collective investment fund

or scheme provided the units, shares or other interests in the fund orscheme can be readily purchased, sold or redeemed by the public. Units,shares or other interests in the fund or scheme can be readily purchased,sold or redeemed by the public if the purchase, sale or redemption isnot implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors;

k) the term tax means any tax to which the Agreement applies;l) the term applicant Party means the Contracting Party requesting

information;m) the term requested Party means the Contracting Party requested

to provide information;n) the term information gathering measures means laws and admin-

istrative or judicial procedures that enable a Contracting Party to obtainand provide the requested information;

o) the term information means any fact, statement or record in anyform whatever;

p) the term criminal tax matters means tax matters involving inten-tional conduct which is liable to prosecution under the criminal laws ofthe applicant Party;

q) the term criminal laws means all criminal laws designated assuch under domestic law irrespective of whether contained in the taxlaws, the criminal code or other statutes.

2. As regards the application of this Agreement at any time by a Con-tracting Party, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context oth-erwise requires, have the meaning that it has at that time under the lawof that Party, any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that Partyprevailing over a meaning given to the term under other laws of thatParty.

3. The Commentary to the OECD Model Agreement on Exchange ofInformation on Tax Matters shall apply to the interpretation of this

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Agreement where this Agreement is in conformity with the OECDModel Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters.

Article 5

Exchange of information upon request

1. The competent authority of the requested Party shall provide uponrequest information for the purposes referred to in Article 1. Such infor-mation shall be exchanged without regard to whether the conduct beinginvestigated would constitute a crime under the laws of the requestedParty if such conduct occurred in the jurisdiction of the requested Party.

2. If the information in the possession of the competent authority ofthe requested Party is not sufficient to enable it to comply with the

request for information, that Party shall use all relevant informationgathering measures to provide the applicant Party with the informationrequested, notwithstanding that the requested Party may not need suchinformation for its own tax purposes.

3. If specifically requested by the competent authority of an applicantParty, the competent authority of the requested Party shall provide infor-mation under this Article, to the extent allowable under its domesticlaws, in the form of depositions of witnesses and authenticated copies oforiginal records.

4. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its competent authority forthe purposes specified in Article 1 of the Agreement, have the authorityto obtain and provide upon request:

a) information held by banks, other financial institutions, and any per-son acting in an agency or fiduciary capacity including nominees andtrustees;

b) information regarding the ownership of companies, partnerships,trusts, foundations, Anstalten and other persons, including, within theconstraints of Article 2, ownership information on all such persons in anownership chain; in the case of trusts, information on settlors, trusteesand beneficiaries; and in the case of foundations, information on found-

ers, members of the foundation council and beneficiaries; further, thisAgreement does not create an obligation on the Contracting Parties toobtain or provide ownership information with respect to publicly tradedcompanies or public collective investment funds or schemes unless suchinformation can be obtained without giving rise to disproportionate dif-ficulties.

5. The competent authority of the applicant Party shall provide thefollowing information to the competent authority of the requested Party

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when making a request for information under the Agreement to demon-strate the foreseeable relevance of the information to the request:

a) the identity of the person under examination or investigation;b) a statement of the information sought including its nature and the

form in which the applicant Party wishes to receive the information fromthe requested Party;

c) the tax purpose for which the information is sought;d) grounds for believing that the information requested is held in the

requested Party or is in the possession or control of a person within thejurisdiction of the requested Party;

e) to the extent known, the name and address of any person believedto be in possession of the requested information;

f) a statement that the request is in conformity with the law andadministrative practices of the applicant Party, that if the requested infor-mation was within the jurisdiction of the applicant Party then the com-

petent authority of the applicant Party would be able to obtain the infor-mation under the laws of the applicant Party or in the normal course ofadministrative practice and that it is in conformity with this Agreement;

g) a statement that the applicant Party has pursued all means avail-able in its own territory to obtain the information, except those thatwould give rise to disproportionate difficulties.

6. The competent authority of the requested Party shall forward therequested information as promptly as possible to the applicant Party. Toensure a prompt response, the competent authority of the requested Partyshall confirm receipt of a request in writing to the competent authority

of the applicant Party and shall notify the competent authority of theapplicant Party of deficiencies in the request, if any, within sixty days ofthe receipt of the request.

If the competent authority of the requested Party has been unable toobtain and provide the information within ninety days of receipt of therequest, including if it encounters obstacles in furnishing the informa-tion or it refuses to furnish the information, it shall immediately informthe applicant Party, explaining the reason for its inability, the nature ofthe obstacles or the reasons for its refusal.

Article 6

Tax examinations abroad

1. A Contracting Party may allow representatives of the competentauthority of the other Contracting Party to enter the territory of the first-mentioned Party to interview individuals and examine records with thewritten consent of the persons concerned. The competent authority of thesecond-mentioned Party shall notify the competent authority of the first-mentioned Party of the time and place of the meeting with the individu-als concerned.

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2. At the request of the competent authority of one Contracting Party,the competent authority of the other Contracting Party may allowrepresentatives of the competent authority of the first-mentioned Partyto be present at the appropriate part of a tax examination in the second-

mentioned Party.

3. If the request referred to in paragraph 2 is acceded to, the compe-tent authority of the Contracting Party conducting the examination shall,as soon as possible, notify the competent authority of the other Partyabout the time and place of the examination, the authority or officialdesignated to carry out the examination and the procedures and condi-tions required by the first-mentioned Party for the conduct of the exami-nation. All decisions with respect to the conduct of the tax examinationshall be made by the Party conducting the examination.

Article 7

Possibility of declining a request

1. The requested Party shall not be required to obtain or provideinformation that the applicant Party would not be able to obtain underits own laws for purposes of the administration or enforcement of itsown tax laws. The competent authority of the requested Party maydecline to assist where the request is not made in conformity with thisAgreement.

2. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a Contract-ing Party the obligation to supply information which would disclose anytrade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or tradeprocess. Notwithstanding the foregoing, information of the type referredto in Article 5, paragraph 4 shall not be treated as such a secret or tradeprocess merely because it meets the criteria in that paragraph.

3. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a Contract-ing Party the obligation to obtain or provide information, which wouldreveal confidential communications between a client and an attorney,solicitor or other admitted legal representative where such communica-

tions are:a) produced for the purposes of seeking or providing legal advice, orb) produced for the purposes of use in existing or contemplated legal

proceedings.

4. The requested Party may decline a request for information if thedisclosure of the information would be contrary to public policy (ordrepublic).

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5. A request for information shall not be refused on the ground thatthe tax claim giving rise to the request is disputed.

6. The requested Party may decline a request for information if the

information is requested by the applicant Party to administer or enforcea provision of the tax law of the applicant Party, or any requirement con-nected therewith, which discriminates against a national of the requestedParty as compared with a national of the applicant Party in the same cir-cumstances.

Article 8

Confidentiality

1. Any information received by a Contracting Party under this Agree-

ment shall be treated as confidential and may be disclosed only to per-sons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) in the

jurisdiction of the Contracting Party concerned with the assessment orcollection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the deter-mination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by this Agreement.Such persons or authorities shall use such information only for such pur-poses. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings orin judicial decisions. The information may not be disclosed to any otherperson or entity or authority or any other jurisdiction without the expresswritten consent of the competent authority of the requested Party.

2. In case of exchange of information in respect of an identified oridentifiable individual, the provisions of Chapter 6, in particular the Arti-cle 199, of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the CariforumStates and the European Community and its Member States of 15 Oco-tober 2008 shall be applied accordingly.

Article 9

Costs

Incidence of costs incurred in providing assistance shall be agreed by

the Contracting Parties.

Article 10

Implementation legislation

The Contracting Parties shall enact any legislation necessary to com-ply with, and give effect to, the terms of the Agreement.

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Article 11

Other international agreements or arrangements

The possibilities of assistance provided by this Agreement do notlimit, nor are they limited by, those contained in existing internationalagreements or other arrangements between the Contracting Parties whichrelate to co-operation in tax matters.

Article 12

Mutual agreement procedure

1. Where difficulties or doubts arise between the Contracting Partiesregarding the implementation or interpretation of the Agreement, the

competent authorities shall endeavour to resolve the matter by mutualagreement.

2. In addition to the agreements referred to in paragraph 1, the com-petent authorities of the Contracting Parties may mutually agree on theprocedures to be used under Articles 5 and 6.

3. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties may commu-nicate with each other directly for purposes of reaching agreement underthis Article.

4. The Contracting Parties may also agree on other forms of disputeresolution.

Article 13

Entry into force

This Agreement shall enter into force when each Party has notified theother of the completion of its necessary internal procedures for entry intoforce. Upon entry into force, it shall have effect:

a) for criminal tax matters on that date; and

b) for all other matters covered in Article 1 on that date, but only inrespect of taxable periods beginning on or after that date, or where thereis no taxable period, all charges to tax arising on or after that date.

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Article 14

Termination

1. Either Contracting Party may terminate the Agreement by servinga notice of termination either through diplomatic channels or by letter tothe competent authority of the other Contracting Party.

2. Such termination shall become effective on the first day of themonth following the expiration of a period of six months after the dateof receipt of notice of termination by the other Contracting Party.

3. Following termination of the Agreement the Contracting Partiesshall remain bound by the provisions of Article 8 with respect to anyinformation obtained under the Agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorisedthereto, have signed the Agreement.

DONE at Saint Georges this 18th day of February 2010, in duplicate,in the English language.

For the Kingdom of the Netherlands:

H. P. P. M. HORBACH

For Grenada:

NAZIM V. BURKE

D. PARLEMENT

Het Verdrag behoeft ingevolge artikel 91 van de Grondwet de goed-keuring van de Staten-Generaal, alvorens het Koninkrijk aan het Verdragkan worden gebonden.

G. INWERKINGTREDING

De bepalingen van het Verdrag zullen ingevolge zijn artikel 13 in wer-king treden nadat beide partijen elkaar ervan in kennis hebben gestelddat is voldaan aan de vereiste interne procedures voor de inwerkingtre-ding ervan.

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J. VERWIJZINGEN

Titel : Verdrag nopens de Organisatie voor Economische Sa-menwerking en Ontwikkeling;

Parijs, 14 december 1960Tekst : Trb. 1961, 42 (Frans en Engels)

Trb. 1961, 60 (vertaling)Laatste Trb. : Trb. 1994, 193

Titel : Economische Partnerschapsovereenkomst tussen deCARIFORUM-staten, enerzijds, en de Europese Ge-meenschap en haar lidstaten, anderzijds;Bridgetown, 15 oktober 2008

Tekst : Trb. 2009, 18 (Nederlands)

Uitgegeven de vierentwintigste maart 2010.

De Minister van Buitenlandse Zaken,

M. J. M. VERHAGEN

1097

TRB5249ISSN 0920 - 2218s-Gravenhage 2010

tiea agreement between grenada and netherlands

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