1.   The requesting authority and the requested authority shall communicate in relation to a consultation notice and the response using the most expedient means from among those set out in Article 3(3) and Article 5(1), taking due account of confidentiality considerations, correspondence times, the volume of material to be communicated and the ease of access to the information by the requesting authority.

2.   The information provided by the requested authority shall, to the best of its knowledge, be complete, accurate and up to date.

3.   Upon receipt of a consultation notice, the requested authority shall communicate with the requesting authority in a timely manner where it needs any clarification in relation to the information requested.

The requesting authority shall in turn respond promptly to any clarifications requested by the requested authority.

4.   If the information requested is held by another authority of the same Member State as the requested authority but which does not constitute a competent authority for the purposes of Article 24 of Directive 2013/36/EU, the requested authority shall undertake best efforts to collect the information promptly and transmit it to the requesting authority in accordance with Article 5.

If the information requested is held by another authority of a different Member State or by another authority of the same Member State which constitutes a competent authority for the purposes of Article 24 of Directive 2013/36/EU, the requested authority shall promptly inform the requesting authority thereof.

5.   The requested authority and the requesting authority shall cooperate to resolve any difficulties that may arise in responding to a request.

6.   The requested authority and the requesting authority shall provide feedback to each other on the outcome of the assessment in relation to which the consultation process occurred and, where appropriate, on the usefulness of the information or other assistance received and on any problems encountered in providing such assistance or information.

7.   Where new information or a need for further information comes to light during the assessment period, the requesting authority and the requested authority shall ensure that all essential and relevant information is exchanged. The templates set out in Annexes I and II shall, where appropriate, be used for this purpose.

8.   During the consultation process, competent authorities shall use an official language of a Member State of the Union which is a language commonly used for international supervisory cooperation, and shall publish the choice of such language or languages on their websites. The competent authorities of Member States that have a common official language, or mutually agree to use another official language of a Member State of the Union, may use that language.