Exchange of Information (Tax Matters) (Cayman Islands)

L.N. 56 of 2014

INCOME TAX ACT

(CAP. 123)

Exchange of Information (Tax Matters) (Cayman Islands)

Order, 2014

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 76 of the Income

Tax Act, the Minister for Finance has made the following order:-

The title of this order is the Exchange of Information (Tax Citation.

Matters) (Cayman Islands) Order, 2014.

Article 2

AGREEMENT BETWEEN

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF MALTA

AND

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION RELATING TO TAX MATTERS

The Government of the Republic of Malta and the Government of the

Cayman Islands desiring to facilitate the exchange of information with respect to

taxes have agreed as follows

Article 1

Object and scope of the agreement

The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall provide assistance

through exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration

and enforcement of the domestic laws of the Contracting Parties concerning taxes

covered by this Agreement. Such information shall include information that is

foreseeably relevant to the determination, assessment and collection of such taxes,

the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the investigation or prosecution of

tax matters. 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. The rights and safeguards secured to persons by the laws or

administrative practice of the requested Party remain applicable to the extent that

they do not unduly prevent or delay effective exchange of information.

Article 2

Jurisdiction

A requested Party is not obligated to provide information which is neither

held by its authorities nor in the possession or control of persons who are within its

territorial jurisdiction.

Article 3

Taxes Covered

1. This Agreement shall apply to taxes of every kind and description in the

Contracting Parties.

2. This Agreement shall also apply to any identical taxes imposed after the

date of signature of the Agreement in addition to or in place of the existing taxes.

This Agreement shall also apply to any substantially similar taxes imposed after

the date of signature of the Agreement in addition to or in place of the existing

taxes if the competent authorities so agree. Furthermore, the taxes covered may be

expanded or modified by mutual agreement of the Contracting Parties in the form

of an exchange of letters. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties

shall notify each other of any substantial changes to the taxation and related

information gathering measures covered by the Agreement.

Article 4

Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise defined

(a)

the term "the Cayman Islands" means the territory of the Cayman

Islands and includes the territorial sea, areas within the maritime boundaries

of the Cayman Islands and any area within which in accordance with

international law the rights of the Cayman Islands with respect to the seabed

and sub-soil and their natural resources may be exercised;

(b) the term "Malta" means the Republic of Malta and, when used in

a geographical sense, the Island of Malta, the Island of Gozo and the other

islands of the Maltese archipelago including the territorial waters thereof, as

well as any area of the sea-bed, its sub-soil and the superjacent water column

adjacent to the territorial waters, wherein Malta exercises sovereign rights,

jurisdiction, or control in accordance with international law and its national

law, including its legislation relating to the exploration of the continental

shelf and exploitation of its natural resources;

(c)

the term "applicant Party" means the Contracting Party

requesting information;

(d) the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity that

is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;

(e)

the term "competent authority" means

(i) in the case of the Cayman Islands: the Tax Information

Authority or a person or its authorized representative;

(ii) in the case of Malta: the Minister responsible for finance

or his authorised representative;

(f)

the term "Contracting Party" means the Cayman Islands or Malta

as the context requires;

(g) the term "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 statutes;

(h) the term "criminal tax matters" means tax matters involving

intentional conduct which is liable to prosecution under the criminal laws of

the applicant Party;

(i)

the term "information gathering measures" means laws and

administrative or judicial procedures that enable a Contracting Party to

obtain and provide the information requested;

(j)

the term "information" means any fact, statement or record in any

form whatever;

(k) the term "person" includes an individual, a company and any

other body of persons;

(l)

the term "principal class of shares" means the class or classes of

shares representing a majority of the voting power and value of the company;

(m) the term "publicly traded company" means any company whose

principal class of shares is listed on a recognised stock 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;

(n) the term "collective investment fund or scheme" means any

pooled investment vehicle, irrespective of legal form. The term "public

collective investment fund or scheme" means any collective investment fund

or scheme provided the units, shares or other interests in the fund or scheme

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 is not implicitly

or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors;

(o) the term "recognised stock exchange" means any stock exchange

agreed upon by the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties;

(p) the term "requested Party" means the Contracting Party requested

to provide information;

(q)

the term "tax" means any tax to which this Agreement applies.

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 Party, any

meaning under the applicable tax laws of that Party prevailing over a meaning

given to the term under other laws of that Party.

Article 5

Exchange of Information upon Request

1. The competent authority of the requested Party shall provide upon

request 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 laws of the requested Party if such conduct

occurred in the requested Party.

2. If the information in the possession of the competent authority of the

requested Party is not sufficient to enable it to comply with the request for

information, that Party shall use all relevant information gathering measures to

provide the applicant Party with the information requested, notwithstanding that

the requested Party may not need such information for its own tax purposes.

It is hereby declared

Arrangements to

have effect.

(a)

that the arrangements specified in the Agreement set

out in the Schedule to this Order have been made with the

Government of the Cayman Islands with a view to preventing

fiscal evasion in relation to taxes of every kind and description

imposed by the laws of the Cayman Islands;

(b)

that it is expedient that those arrangements should

have effect following the entry into force of the Agreement and

in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Agreement;

(c)

that the Agreement shall enter into force on such

date as may be announced by notice in the Government Gazette.

If specifically requested by the competent authority of the applicant

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

depositions of witnesses and authenticated copies of original records.

Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its competent authorities for

the purposes specified in Article 1 of the Agreement, have the authority to obtain

and provide upon request

(a)

information held by banks, other financial institutions, and any

person acting in an agency or fiduciary capacity including nominees and

trustees;

(b) information regarding the ownership of companies, partnerships,

trusts, foundations, "Anstalten" and other persons, including, within the

constraints of Article 2, ownership information on all such persons in an

ownership chain; in the case of trusts, information on settlors, trustees and

beneficiaries; and in the case of foundations, information on founders,

members of the foundation council and beneficiaries. Further, this

Agreement does not create an obligation on the Contracting Parties to obtain

or provide 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.

The competent authority of the applicant Party shall provide the

following information to the competent authority of the requested Party when

making a request for information under the Agreement to demonstrate 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 from the

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 the

jurisdiction of the requested Party;

(e)

to the extent known, the name and address of any person believed

to be in possession of the requested information;

(f)

a statement that the request is in conformity with the law and

administrative practices of the applicant Party, that if the requested

information was within the jurisdiction of the applicant Party then the

competent authority of the applicant Party would be able to obtain the

information under the laws of the applicant Party or in the normal course of

administrative practice and that it is in conformity with this Agreement;

(g) a statement that the applicant Party has pursued all means

available in its own territory to obtain the information, except those that

would give rise to disproportionate difficulties.

The competent authority of the requested Party shall forward the

requested information as promptly as possible to the applicant Party. To ensure a

prompt response, the competent authority of the requested Party shall

(a)

confirm receipt of a request in writing to the competent authority

of the applicant Party and shall notify the competent authority of the

applicant Party of deficiencies in the request, if any, within 60 days of the

receipt of the request;

(b) if the competent authority of the requested Party has been unable

to obtain and provide the information within 90 days of receipt of the request,

including if it encounters obstacles in furnishing the information or it refuses

to furnish the information, it shall immediately inform the applicant Party,

explaining the reason for its inability, the nature of the obstacles or the

reasons for its refusal.

Article 6

Tax Examinations Abroad

1. A Contracting Party may allow representatives of the competent

authority of the other Contracting Party to enter the territory of the first-mentioned

Party to interview individuals and examine records with the written consent of the

persons concerned. The competent authority of the second-mentioned Party shall

notify the competent authority of the first-mentioned Party of the time and place of

the meeting with the individuals concerned.

2. At the request of the competent authority of one Contracting Party, the

competent authority of the other Contracting Party may allow representatives of

the competent authority of the first-mentioned Party to 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 competent

authority of the Contracting Party conducting the examination shall, as soon as

possible, notify the competent authority of the other Party about the time and place

of the examination, the authority or official designated to carry out the

examination and the procedures and conditions required by the first-mentioned

Party for the conduct of the examination. All decisions with respect to the conduct

of the tax examination shall 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 provide

information that the applicant Party would not be able to obtain under its own laws

for purposes of the administration or enforcement of its own tax laws. The

competent authority of the requested Party may decline to assist where the request

is not made in conformity with this Agreement.

2. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a Contracting

Party the obligation to supply information which would disclose any trade,

business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, information of the type referred to in Article 5,

paragraph 4 shall not be treated as such a secret or trade process merely because it

meets the criteria in that paragraph.

3. 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 other

admitted legal representative where such communications are

(a)

produced for the purposes of seeking or providing legal advice;

or

(b) produced for the purposes of use in existing or contemplated

legal proceedings.

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

disclosure of the information would be contrary to public policy (ordre public).

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

Implementation of Legislation

The Contracting Parties shall enact any legislation necessary to comply with,

and give effect to, the terms of the Agreement.

Article 11

Mutual Agreement Procedure

1. Where difficulties or doubts arise between the Contracting Parties

regarding the implementation or interpretation of the Agreement, the competent

authorities shall endeavour to resolve the matter by mutual agreement.

2. In addition to the agreements referred to in paragraph 1, the competent

authorities of the Contracting Parties may mutually agree on the procedures to be

used under Articles 5 and 6.

Article 12

Entry into Force

This Agreement shall enter into force when each Party has notified the other

in writing 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, as from that date; and

(b) for all other matters covered in Article 1, as from that date, but

only in respect of taxable periods beginning on or after the first day of

January immediately following the date of entry into force or, where there is

no taxable period, all charges to tax arising on or after that date.

Article 13

Termination

1. This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by either Party.

2. Either Party may terminate this Agreement by giving notice of

termination in writing, through diplomatic channels, to the other Party. 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 Party.

3. If the Agreement is terminated the 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 the Agreement.

DONE in duplicate, this 25 day of November 2013.

Edward Scicluna

Wayne Patton

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF

THE REPUBLIC OF MALTA

THE CAYMAN ISLANDS

€0.90