Article 26 Exchange of information

The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is necessary for carrying out the provisions of this Convention or of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning taxes covered by the Convention insofar as the taxation thereunder is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by Article 1. Any information received by a Contracting State shall be treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) involved in the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by the Convention. Such persons or authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.

The Contracting States may release to the arbitration board, established under the provisions of paragraph 5 of Article 25, such information as is necessary for carrying out the arbitration procedure. Such release of information shall be subject to the provisions of Article 28. The members of the arbitration board shall be subject to the limitations on disclosure described in paragraph 1 of this Article with respect to any information so released.