2.

A competent authority may refuse to act on a request for information or a request to cooperate with an investigation only in any of the following exceptional circumstances: where complying with the request is likely to adversely affect its own investigation, enforcement activities or a criminal investigation; where judicial proceedings have already been initiated in respect of the same actions and against the same natural or legal persons before the authorities of the Member State addressed; where a final judgment has already been delivered in relation to such natural or legal persons for the same actions in the Member State addressed.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.