ARTICLE 25

Mutual Agreement Procedure

1. Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident or, if his case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 24 (Nondiscrimination), to that of the Contracting State of which he is a national. The case must be presented within four years from the notification of the assessment giving rise to double taxation or to taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention.

2. The competent authority shall endeavor, if the objection appears to it to be justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with this Convention. Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits or other procedural limitations in the domestic law of the Contracting States.

3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavor to resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the interpretation or application of this Convention. In particular the competent authorities of the Contracting States may agree

a) to the same attribution of income, deductions, credits, or allowances of an enterprise of a Contracting State to its permanent establishment situated in the other Contracting State;

b) to the same allocation of income, deductions, credits, or allowances between associated enterprises and other persons in accordance with the principles of Article 9 (Associated Enterprises);

c) to the settlement of conflicting application of this Convention, including conflicts regarding

aa) the characterization of particular items of income; bb) the characterization of persons; cc) the application of source rules with respect to particular items of income, and

dd) to the treatment of income that is assimilated to income from shares by the taxation law of the State of source and that is treated as a different class of income in the other State; d) to a common meaning of a term; e) to the application of the procedural provisions of domestic law including those regarding penalties, fines, and interest, in a manner consistent with the purposes of this Convention; and

f) to increase the amounts referred to in Articles 17 (Artistes and Athletes) and 20 (Visiting Professors and Teachers; Students and Trainees) to reflect economic or monetary developments. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in this Convention.

4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for purposes of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs. Where the procedure relates to a particular case, the persons concerned shall be permitted to present their views to the competent authority of either or both of the Contracting States. When it seems advisable in order to reach agreement to have an oral exchange of opinions, such exchange may take place through a Commission consisting of representatives of the competent authorities of the Contracting States.

5. Disagreements between the Contracting States regarding the interpretation or application of this Convention shall, as far as possible, be settled by the competent authorities. If a disagreement cannot be resolved by the competent authorities it may, if both competent authorities agree, be submitted for arbitration. The procedures shall be agreed upon and shall be established between the Contracting States by notes to be exchanged through diplomatic channels.