S.I. No. 24/2012 - Exchange of Information Relating to Tax Matters (Republic of Vanuatu) Order 2012.

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

2. Such termination shall become effective on the first day 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.

3. Following termination of the Agreement the Contracting Parties shall remain bound by the provisions of Article 8 with respect to any information obtained under the Agreement.

In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto, have signed the Agreement.

Done this 31st day of May 2011, in duplicate, in the English language.

For Ireland:Eamon Gilmore

For the Republic of Vanuatu:Moana Kalosil Carcasses

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Government,

24 January 2012.

ENDA KENNY,

Taoiseach.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

This Order gives the force of law to the Tax Information Exchange Agreement between Ireland and the Republic of Vanuatu, which is set out in the Schedule to the Order.

This Agreement was signed on the 31st May 2011.

The provisions of the Agreement are summarised below.

The Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) is based on a model agreement that was developed by the OECD. The Agreement allows the tax authorities of Ireland and the Republic of Vanuatu to request information from each other in relation to tax matters under investigation, in particular, for bank account information and for information concerning the beneficial ownership of companies, trusts and partnerships. The taxes covered are all taxes imposed or administered by either Contracting Party.

There are also provisions in the Agreement that allow each Party to carry out tax investigations in the territory of the other Party, that allow for the possibility of declining a request, that cover confidentiality and that deal with which Party should bear the costs incurred in relation to exchanging information under the Agreement. There are also provisions that allow the Competent Authorities of both Parties to resolve difficulties concerning the interpretation or application of the Agreement.

The Agreement will enter into force when each country notifies the other of the completion of its procedures for bringing the Agreement into force. The Agreement will be effective for criminal tax matters from that date and for all other matters covered by the Agreement from that date also but only in respect of taxable periods beginning on or after that date.

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

Article 11

Entry into Force

This Agreement shall enter into force when each Party has notified the other of the completion of its necessary internal procedures for entry into force. 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 in respect of taxable periods beginning on or after that date, or where there is no taxable period, all charges to tax arising on or after that date.

Article 12

Termination

5. A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that the 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 enforce a provision of the tax law of the applicant Party, or any requirement connected therewith, which discriminates against a national of the requested Party as compared with a national of the applicant Party in the same circumstances.

Article 8

Confidentiality

Any information received by a Contracting Party under this Agreement shall be treated as confidential and may be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) in the jurisdiction of the Contracting Party concerned with the assessment or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by this Agreement. Such persons or authorities shall use such information only for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions. The information may not be disclosed to any other person or entity or authority or any other jurisdiction without the express written consent of the competent authority of the requested Party.

Article 9

Costs

Incidence of costs incurred in providing assistance shall be agreed by the Contracting Parties.

Article 10

Mutual Agreement Procedure

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

27

th January

, 2012.

WHEREAS it is enacted by section 826(1B) (inserted by

section 35

of the

Finance Act 2007

(No. 11 of 2007)) of the

Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

(No. 39 of 1997) that if the Government by order declare that arrangements specified in the order have been made with the government of any territory outside the State in relation to exchanging information for the purposes of the prevention and detection of tax evasion in the case of taxes of any kind or description imposed by the laws of the State or by the laws of that territory, and that it is expedient that those arrangements should have the force of law, and that the order so made is specified in Part 3 of Schedule 24A of the

Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

, then subject to section 826 of that Act, the arrangements shall, notwithstanding any enactment, have the force of law as if such order were an Act of the Oireachtas on and from the date of the insertion of a reference to the order into Part 3 of Schedule 24A;

AND WHEREAS it is further enacted by

section 826

(6) of the

Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

that where such an order is proposed to be made, a draft of the order shall be laid before Dáil Éireann and the order shall not be made until a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by Dáil Éireann;

AND WHEREAS a draft of the following Order has been laid before Dáil Éireann and a resolution approving of the draft has been passed by Dáil Éireann;

NOW, the Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by

section 826

(1B) of the

Taxes Consolidation Act 1997

, hereby order as follows