China - Bahamas Tax Treaty

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION RELATING TO TAXES

The Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government
of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas (“the Contracting Parties”):

Acknowledging that the Contracting Parties are competent to negotiate and conclude a tax information exchange agreement;

Desiring to provide a framework for cooperation and exchange of
information in tax matters;

Agree to conclude the Agreement between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas for the Exchange of Information Relating to Taxes (hereinafter referred to as “this Agreement”) as follows:

ARTICLE 1 SCOPE OF 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, verification and collection of such taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, and 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.

ARTICLE 2 JURISDICTION

To enable the appropriate implementation of this Agreement, information shall be provided in accordance with this Agreement by the competent authority of the requested party:

(a) without regard to whether the person to whom the information
relates is a resident, national or citizen of a party, or whether the person by whom the information is held is a resident, national or citizen of a party; and

(b) provided that the information is present within the territory, or in the possession or control of a person subject to the jurisdiction, of the requested party.

ARTICLE 3 TAXES COVERED

          The taxes covered by this Agreement are:

(a) in the case of the People’s Republic of China, all taxes except customs tariffs;

(b) in the case of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, taxes of every kind and description.

        This Agreement shall also apply to any identical or

substantially similar taxes imposed by either Contracting Party after the date of signature of
this Agreement in addition to, or in place of, any of the taxes listed in paragraph 1.

        The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall

notify each other of any relevant changes to the taxation and related information gathering measures covered by this Agreement.

       The taxes covered by this Agreement may be expanded or modified

by mutual agreement of the Contracting Parties in the form agreed upon by both Contracting Parties.

ARTICLE 4 DEFINITIONS

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    In this Agreement:
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(a) “the People’s Republic of China”, when used in a geographical sense, means all the territory of the People’s Republic of China, including its
territorial

sea, in which the Chinese laws relating to taxation apply, and any
area beyond its territorial sea, within which the People’s Republic of China has in accordance with international law sovereign rights of exploration for and exploitation of resources of the seabed and its sub-soil and superjacent water resources;

(b) “the Commonwealth of The Bahamas” when used in a geographical sense means the territory of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, encompassing the land, the territorial waters, and in accordance with international law and Bahamian laws any area outside the territorial waters inclusive of the exclusive economic zone and the seabed and sub-soil over which The Bahamas exercises jurisdiction and sovereign rights for the purpose of exploration, exploitation and conservation of natural resources;

(d) “company” means any body corporate or any entity that is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;

(e) “competent authority” means,

(i) in the case of the People’s Republic of China, the State Administration of Taxation or its authorized representative; and

(ii) in the case of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Minister of Finance or the Minister’s authorized representative;

(f) “information” means any fact, statement, document or record in whatever form;

(g) “information gathering measures” means judicial, regulatory or administrative laws and procedures enabling a Contracting Party to obtain and provide the information requested;

(h) “national” means,

(i) in relation to the People’s Republic of China, any individual
possessing the nationality of the People’s Republic of China;

(ii) in relation to the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, any individual possessing the nationality or citizenship of, or who is a permanent resident of, the Commonwealth of The Bahamas;

(iii) any legal person, partnership or association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in a Contracting Party;

(i) “person” means a natural person, a company or any entity that is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes, or any other body or group of persons;

(j) “public collective investment fund or scheme” means any
collective investment fund or scheme, in which the purchase, sale or redemption
of shares or other interests is not implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors;

(k) “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; and for this purpose,
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. For the purposes of this paragraph the term “recognised stock exchange” means:

(i) in the People’s Republic of China:

the Shanghai Stock Exchange or the Shenzhen Stock Exchange;

(ii) in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas:

the Bahamas International Securities Exchange;

(iii) any other stock exchange which the competent authorities agree
to recognize for the purposes of the paragraph;

(l) “requested party” means the party to this Agreement which is requested to provide or has provided information in response to a request;

(m) “requesting party” means the party to this Agreement submitting a request for or having received information from the requested party;

(n) “tax” means any tax covered by this Agreement.

      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 Contracting
Party, any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that Contracting Party prevailing over a meaning given to the term under other laws of that Contracting Party.

ARTICLE 5

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION UPON REQUEST

     The  competent  authority  of  a  requested  party  shall  provide

upon request in writing 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 it occurred in the territory of the requested party. If the information received by the competent authority of the requested party is not sufficient to enable it to comply with the request for information,
it shall advise the competent authority of the requesting party of that fact and request
such additional information as may be required to enable the effective processing of the request.

    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 the information, the requested party shall use all relevant information gathering measures
to provide the requesting party with the information requested, notwithstanding that the requested party may not need such information for its own tax purposes.

    If  specifically  requested by  the  competent  authority  of  the

requesting 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 authority,

for the purposes of this Agreement, has the authority to obtain and provide upon request:

(a) information held by banks, other financial institutions, and
any person, including nominees and trustees, acting in an agency or fiduciary capacity;

(b) information regarding the legal and beneficial ownership of
companies, partnerships, trusts, foundations 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, beneficiaries and protectors; and in the case of foundations,
information on founders, members, beneficiaries and directors or other senior officers of the foundation.

    Notwithstanding  the  preceding  paragraphs,  this  Agreement  does

not create an obligation on the parties to obtain or provide:

(a) 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;

(b) information relating to a period more than six years prior to the tax period under consideration;

    The  competent  authority  of  the  requesting  party  shall

provide the following information to the competent authority of the requested party when making a request for information under this Agreement in order to demonstrate the forseeable relevance of the information to the request:

(a) the identity of the person under examination or investigation;

(b) the period for which the information is requested;

(c) the nature and type of the information requested, including a description of the information and/or specific evidence sought, and the form in which the requesting party would prefer to receive the information;

(d) the tax purposes for which the information is sought;

(e) reasonable grounds for believing that the information requested is present in the territory of the requested party or is in the possession or control of a person subject to the jurisdiction of the requested party;

(f) to the extent known, the name and address of any person believed to be in possession or control of the information requested;

(g) a statement that the request is in conformity with this Agreement and the laws and administrative practices of the requesting party, and that
if the requested information were within the jurisdiction of the requesting party then the competent authority of the requesting party would be able to obtain the information under the laws of the requesting party or in
the normal course of administrative practice;

(h) a statement that the requesting 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 competent authority of the requesting party. To ensure a prompt response, the competent authority of the requested party shall:

(a) confirm the receipt of a request in writing to the competent authority of the requesting party and shall notify the competent authority of the requesting party of any deficiencies in the request within 60 days of receipt of the request; and

(b) if the competent authority of the requested party has been unable to obtain and provide the information requested within 90 days of receipt of
the request, including if obstacles are encountered in furnishing
the information, or if the competent authority of the requested party refuses to provide the information, it shall immediately inform the
competent authority of the requesting party to explain the reasons for its inability or the obstacles or its refusal.

ARTICLE 6

TAX EXAMINATIONS OR INVESTIGATIONS ABROAD

    The requested party may, in accordance with its domestic laws,

following receipt of notice of a reasonable time from the requesting party, allow
representatives of the competent authority of the requesting party to enter the territory of the requested party in connection with a request to interview persons and examine records with the prior written consent of the persons concerned. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall agree on the time and place of the intended meeting with the persons concerned.

    At  the  request  of  the  competent  authority  of  the  requesting

party, and in accordance with its domestic laws, the competent authority of the requested party may permit representatives of the competent authority of the requesting party to be present at the tax examination in the territory of the requested party.

    If the request referred to in paragraph 2 is granted, the competent

authority of the requested party conducting the examination shall, as soon as possible, notify the competent authority of the requesting party of the time and place of the examination, the authority or person authorised to carry out the examination and the
procedures and conditions required by the requested party for the conduct of the
examination. All decisions regarding the conduct of the examination shall be made by the requested party conducting the examination in accordance with its domestic laws.

ARTICLE 7

POSSIBILITY OF DECLINING A REQUEST

    The competent authority of the requested party may decline to

assist:

(a) where the request is not made in conformity with this Agreement;

(b) where the requesting party has not pursued all means available in its own territory to obtain the information, except where recourse to such means would give rise to disproportionate difficulty; or

(c) where the disclosure of the information requested would be contrary to the public policy (ordre public) of the requested party.

    This  Agreement  shall  not  impose  upon  a  Contracting  Party

any obligation to provide information which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process. Information described in paragraph 4 of Article 5 shall not by reason of that fact alone constitute such a secret or process.

   (a)    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 (or his admitted legal representative) and a professional legal advisor where such communications are

(i) produced for the purposes of seeking or providing legal advice; or

(ii) produced for the purposes of use in existing or contemplated
legal proceedings;

(b) Information held with the intention of furthering a criminal
purpose is not subject to legal privilege, and nothing in this Article shall prevent a professional legal advisor from providing the name and address of a
client where doing so would not constitute a breach of legal privilege.

    A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that

the tax liability giving rise to the request is disputed by the taxpayer.

    The  requested  party  shall  not  be  required  to  obtain  and

provide information which, if the requested information was within the jurisdiction of the requesting party, the competent authority of the requesting party would not be able to obtain under its laws or in the normal course of administrative practice.

    The  requested party may decline a  request for information  if  the

information is requested by the requesting party to administer or enforce a provision of the tax law of the requesting party, or any requirement connected therewith, which discriminates against a national of the requested party as compared with a national of the requesting party in the same circumstances.

ARTICLE 8 CONFIDENTIALITY

    All  information  provided  and  received  by  the  competent

authorities of the Contracting Parties shall be kept confidential and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) in the
jurisdiction of the Contracting Parties officially concerned with the purposes specified in Article 1 and used by such persons or authorities only for such purposes, including the determination of any appeal. For these purposes, information may be disclosed in public court proceedings or in judicial proceedings.

    The  information  may  not  be  used  for  any  purpose  other  than

for the purposes stated in Article 1 and 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 SAFEGUARDS

The rights and safeguards secured to persons by the laws or administrative practices of the requested party remain applicable. The rights and safeguards shall not be applied by the requested party in a manner that unduly prevents or delays
effective exchange of information.

ARTICLE 10 ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS

    Costs that would be incurred in the ordinary course of administering

the domestic tax laws of the requested party will be borne by the requested party when such costs are incurred for the purpose of responding to a request for information. Such ordinary costs would normally cover internal administration costs and any minor external costs.

    All other costs that are not ordinary costs are considered

extraordinary costs and will be borne by the requesting party. Examples of extraordinary costs include, but are not limited to, the following:

(a) reasonable fees charged by third parties for carrying out research;

(b) reasonable fees charged by third parties for copying documents;

(d) reasonable costs of conveying documents to the requesting party;

(e) reasonable litigation costs of the requested party in relation to a specific request for information; and

(f) reasonable costs for obtaining depositions or testimony.

    The  Contracting  Parties  will  consult  each  other  in  any

particular case where extraordinary costs are likely to exceed $US1000 to determine whether
the requesting party will continue to pursue the request and bear the cost.

ARTICLE 11 LANGUAGE

Requests for assistance and responses thereto shall be in English.

ARTICLE 12

MUTUAL AGREEMENT PROCEDURE

    Where difficulties or doubts arise between the Contracting Parties

regarding the implementation or interpretation of this Agreement, the respective competent authorities shall use their best efforts to resolve the matter by mutual agreement.

    In addition to the endeavours referred to in paragraph 1, the

competent authorities of the Contracting Parties may mutually determine the procedures to
be used under Articles 5 and 6.

    The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties may communicate

with each other directly for the purposes of this Agreement.

    The  Contracting  Parties  may  also  agree  in  writing  on  other

forms of dispute resolution.

ARTICLE 13 ENTRY INTO FORCE

The Contracting Parties shall notify each other in writing that they have completed the internal legal procedures necessary for the entry into force of this
Agreement. This Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day upon the
receipt of the latter notification. This Agreement shall have effect in respect of taxable years beginning on or after the date of entry into force.

ARTICLE 14 TERMINATION

    This Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by either

Contracting Party.

    Either  Contracting  Party  may  terminate  this  Agreement  by

giving notice of termination in writing. 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.

    If this Agreement is terminated, the Contracting Parties shall

remain bound by the provisions of Article 8 with respect to any information obtained under this Agreement. All requests received up to the effective date of termination shall
be dealt with in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorised by the
respective Contracting Parties, have signed this Agreement.

DONE at Nassau in duplicate this 1st day of December 2009 , in the Chinese and English languages, both texts being equally authentic.

For the Government of the For the Government of the

People’s Republic of China Commonwealth of The Bahamas

HU Dingxian T. Brent Symonette

Ambassador to The Bahamas Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs

China - Bahamas Tax Treaty

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