ARTICLE 26 · Mutual Agreement Procedure

ARTICLE 26

Mutual Agreement Procedure

1. Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States and the time limits prescribed in such laws for presenting claims for refund, present his case to the competent authority of either Contracting State.

2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the objection appears to it to be justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with the Convention. Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits or other procedural limitations in the domestic law of the Contracting States.

3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of the Convention. In particular the competent authorities of the Contracting States may agree, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with the Convention:

( a ) to the same attribution of income, deductions, credits, or allowances of an enterprise of a Contracting State to its permanent establishment situated in the other Contracting State;

( b ) to the same allocation of income, deductions, credits, or allowances between persons;

( c ) to the same characterization of particular items of income;

( d ) to the same characterization of persons;

( e ) to the same application of source rules with respect to particular items of income;

( f ) to a common meaning of a term;

( g ) to increases in any specific dollar amounts referred to in the Convention to reflect economic or monetary developments;

( h ) to advance pricing arrangements; and

( i ) to the application of the provisions of domestic law regarding penalties, fines, and interest in a manner consistent with the purposes of the Convention.

They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Convention.

Any principle of general application established by an agreement or agreements shall be published by the competent authorities of both Contracting States in accordance with their laws and administrative practices.

4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs.

5. If an agreement cannot be reached by the competent authorities pursuant to the previous paragraphs of this Article, the case may, if both competent authorities and the taxpayer agree, be submitted for arbitration, provided that the taxpayer agrees in writing to be bound by the decision of the arbitration board. The competent authorities may release to the arbitration board such information as is necessary for carrying out the arbitration procedure. The decision of the arbitration board shall be binding on the taxpayer and on both States with regard to that case. The procedures, including the composition of the board, shall be established between the Contracting States by notes to be exchanged through diplomatic channels after consultation between the competent authorities. The provisions of this paragraph shall not have effect until the date specified in the exchange of diplomatic notes.