ARTICLE 1 DEFINITIONS In this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), unless the context otherwise requires, a word defined in the Treaty bears the same meaning, and: "Committee of Ministers for Finance and Investment" means the Committee of Ministers responsible for policy development and policy making for finance and investment matters or any such similar body that Council may establish; "Committee of Senior Treasury Officials" means the technical advisory body to the Committee of Ministers for Finance and Investment, consisting of Heads of Treasuries; "customs duty" means a tax normally applied to imported goods; "direct tax" means a tax levied under its domestic laws, by a country on persons including legal persons, in respect of income, capital gains, net worth, property and gifts and includes death duties; "double taxation" means an imposition of similar taxes by two or more tax jurisdictions on the same taxpayer in respect of the same income or capital; "E-Commerce, E-Billing, or E-Customs clearance" means the conduct of financial transactions or customs clearance by electronic means; "exceptional cases" means, in relation to tax incentives, agreed exceptions to the guidelines envisaged in Article 4 (4) of this MOU, on the use of tax incentives within the Community, especially following natural disasters or wars; "excise duty" means a duty, imposed by a country under its domestic law on certain goods manufactured or produced in the country or imported into that country, being a tax levied on a specific basis, either on the basis of the weight or volume of the goods, or on an ad valorem basis, or on a profit basis; "harmful tax competition" means a situation where the tax systems of a jurisdiction are designed in such a way that they erode the tax bases of other jurisdictions and attract investments or savings originating elsewhere, facilitating the avoidance of taxes in other jurisdictions; "indirect tax" means any tax, other than a direct tax that a country imposes on consumption or transactions under its domestic law, and includes value added tax, sales tax, excise duties, stamp duties, services taxes, registration duties, and financial transaction taxes; "levy" means a tax normally applied to specific items, transactions, or events and is charged at a fixed or flat rate; 3