Download Andorra la Vella, 14 January 2010

 THE AGREEMENT FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
BETWEEN SPAIN AND ANDORRA WILL NOT BE RETROACTIVE
The access to customer information by the Taxation authorities will be limited and
restricted in accordance with the international standards established by the OECD

Following the compromise of Andorra before the international community to
fulfil OECD criteria on transparency, Andorra has today signed with Spain the
10th agreement on the exchange of information following a previous request.

The Government of Andorra confirms that all the agreements include the principle
of non-retroactivity. This principle ensures that there will be no exchange of data
for accounting periods prior to the moment that each agreement came into force.
Andorra la Vella, 14th January 2010 – The Association of Andorran Banks (ABA), the body
which brings together the 5 banking groups in the Andorran financial market, has
welcomed the signing of the agreement with Spain for the exchange of fiscal information
following a prior request which, as the Andorran Government has confirmed, will not be
retroactive, as had been foreseen from the beginning within the Principality’s process of
legislative reform, which has allowed the signature of the various agreements. The
agreement, which was signed in Madrid by Jaume Bartumeu Cassany, Head of the
Government of Andorra, and by Elena Salgado Méndez, the Second Deputy Prime
Minister of the Spanish Government and Minister of Economy and Taxation, follows on
those already signed with Austria (17/09), Liechtenstein (18/09), Monaco (18/09), San
Marino (21/09), France (22/09), Belgium (23/10), Argentina (26/10), Netherlands (6/11)
and Portugal (30/11) and it forms part of at least 12 agreements which the Andorra State
must sign to fulfil the criteria of the OECD in order to join the group of countries
cooperating with this body on matters relating to the exchange of fiscal information, as
Switzerland and Luxembourg have already done.
After being approved by the Spanish Parliament and the General Council of Andorra, the
agreement for the exchange of fiscal information between Spain and Andorra will
come into force 1st January 2011.
The agreement with Spain and those signed over the past three months open up a new
framework of legal security in the relations that the Principality maintains with the signatory
States and maintains the confidentiality of the clients. The requests must fulfil the
guarantees which both the law and the agreement establish for persons:

It establishes limitations on the collection or provision of information that the
requesting State would not be able to obtain by virtue of its own legislation

the request must be duly justified with sufficient signs and proof that there is an
account in Andorra

it establishes a procedure for notifying and opposing requests for information and it
will be possible to formulate an appeal of opposition before the competent
authorities when there are reasonable motives for doing so

it includes the concept of non-retroactivity, in other words, it establishes the
principle of not providing customer information which refers to facts prior to the time
that each agreement came into force

it prohibits fishing expeditions ―collective and generalized requests for information―;
and moreover it guarantees confidentiality and a level playing field ―the same rules
of play for all― in relation to the other agreements that have been signed previously.
In this respect, the agreement that has been passed is very similar to the agreements
that Switzerland and Luxemburg have already signed with France and Germany.
This new scenario in international relations maintains a high degree of
confidentiality in customer relations. The solidity, solvency and the excellent
liquidity of the Andorra banking sector will open up good development perspectives
for the Andorran financial market.
The Association of Andorran Banks (ABA)
The Association of Andorran Banks (ABA) was created in 1960 and it brings together all the
banking entities and groups in the Andorran financial market. The Association’s objectives include
representing its member banks, guaranteeing good banking practices and transparency, promoting
the development and the competitiveness of a sector which now represents 16% of GDP, as well as
taking initiatives intended to improve the sector. The ABA is formed by Andbanc, Banc InternacionalBanca Mora (BIBM), Crèdit Andorrà, Banca Privada d’Andorra and BancSabadell d’Andorra.