Grounds for declining assistance: procedural non conformity, exhaustion of domestic remedies, public order and confidentiality limits.

The requested Party may decline assistance where the request fails to conform to the Agreement, the requesting Party has not exhausted domestic means unless disproportionate difficulty would result, or disclosure would contravene public policy. The Agreement does not require disclosure of trade secrets or confidential client lawyer communications produced for legal advice or litigation. A request cannot be refused because the tax claim is disputed, and the requested Party need not obtain information the requesting Party could not secure domestically or refuse solely for incomplete Article 5 particulars if the information can otherwise be provided under its law.

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