Article 6

Spontaneous assistance

The Contracting Parties shall provide each other, in accordance with their laws, rules and other legal instruments, with assistance if they consider that to be necessary for the correct application of customs legislation, particularly when they obtain information pertaining to:

(a) operations which have been, are or appear to be, in breach of such legislation and which may be of interest to the other Contracting Party;

(b) new means or methods used in committing such operations; and

Article 7

Delivery/notification

At the request of the applicant customs authority, the requested customs authority shall in accordance with its legislation take all necessary measures in order:

— to deliver all documents,

— to notify all decisions,

falling within the scope of this Agreement to an addressee, residing or established in its territory. In such a case, the provisions of Article 8 (3) shall be applied.

Article 8

Form and substance of requests for assistance

1. Requests pursuant to this Agreement shall be made in writing. Documents necessary for the execution of such requests shall accompany the request. When required because of the urgency of the situation, oral requests may be accepted, but must be confirmed in writing immediately.

2. Requests pursuant to paragraph 1 shall include the following information:

(a) the applicant customs authority making the request;

(b) the measure requested;

(d) the laws, rules and other legal elements involved;

(e) indications as exact and comprehensive as possible on the natural or legal persons being the target of the investigations; and

(f) a summary of the relevant facts and the enquiries already carried out, except in cases provided for in Article 7.

3. Requests shall be submitted in an official language of the requested customs authority or in a language acceptable to such authority.

4. If a request does not meet the formal requirements, its correction or completion may be demanded; the ordering of precautionary measures may, however, take place.

Article 9

Execution of requests

1. In order to comply with a request for assistance, the requested customs authority, in cooperation with other administrative departments when the former cannot act on its own, shall proceed, within the limits of its competence and available resources, by supplying information already possessed, by carrying out appropriate enquiries or by arranging for them to be carried out.

2. Requests for assistance shall be executed in accordance with the laws, rules and other legal instruments of the requested Contracting Party.

3. Duly authorized officials of a Contracting Party may, with the agreement of the other Contracting Party involved and within the conditions laid down by the latter, obtain from the offices of the requested customs authority or other authority for which the requested customs authority is responsible, information relating to the operations in breach of customs legislation which the applicant customs authority needs for the purposes of this Agreement.