Exchange of information upon request enables cross-border tax information sharing and compulsory access to financial and ownership records. Article 5 requires competent authorities to exchange information upon request for tax purposes, using all relevant information gathering measures and, where allowable, providing depositions and authenticated originals. Authorities must be empowered to obtain records from banks, financial institutions, agents and fiduciaries and to disclose legal and beneficial ownership information for companies, partnerships, collective investment schemes, trusts, foundations and equivalent entities, subject to proportionality limits for publicly traded entities. Requests must state the person, period, nature and purpose of information sought, grounds for its location, and confirmations of conformity with domestic law and exhausted domestic means; requested authorities must acknowledge receipt within sixty days and report inability to comply within ninety days.