The Department for International Tax Cooperation ("DITC") has released Version 2.0 of the Common Reporting Standard ("CRS") Guidance Notes and clarified certain areas:

FATCA/CRS – Notification and Reporting Deadlines

The Cayman Islands Automatic Exchange of Information ("AEOI") Portal will still remain offline until the beginning of May 2017 due to software upgrades.

  • CRS notification function on the AEOI Portal is scheduled to go live in the week of 10 May 2017
  • CRS reporting function on the AEOI Portal is scheduled to go live in the week of 12 June 2017

In order to provide sufficient time to all Cayman Financial Institution to file notification and reports, the authorities aligned the deadlines for U.S. FATCA and CRS for this year:

  • The notification deadline for FATCA and CRS is now 30 June 2017
  • The reporting deadline for FATCA and CRS is now 31 July 2017

IRS Notifications – 2014 and 2015 U.S. FATCA Reporting

The deadline for correcting any errors in respect of FATCA reports for 2014 and/or 2015 is also 31 July 2017. The DITC's will provide further guidance on corrections required for certain types of FATCA reporting errors.

CRS – Reportable Jurisdictions

The list of Reportable Jurisdictions has been updated to include Jersey for 2017 and also the 2018 provisional list of Reportable Jurisdictions has been published.

CRS – Guidance Notes

The DITC clarified a number of topics including the following:

  • Liquidating Entities that were in existence in 2016 still need to comply with their obligations for the year 2016 and file the respective reports with respect to 2017 Reportable Jurisdictions. Similarly, Liquidating Entities that were in existence in 2017 need to comply with their obligations for the year 2017 and file the respective reports with respect to 2018 Reportable Jurisdictions.
  • Each Cayman Reporting Financial Institution is required to establish and maintain written policies and procedures on how to comply with the Cayman Islands CRS Regulations as well as how to implement and comply with these policies and procedures. The policies and procedures should include:
    1. address any delegation of CRS obligations;
    2. application of the CRS due diligence procedures; and
    3. ensure that any information obtained in accordance with the CRS Regulations or a record of the steps taken to comply with the CRS Regulations in respect of a Financial Account is kept for six years from the end of the year to which the information relates or during which the steps were taken.

DMS International Tax Compliance Group can help

As a leading provider of International Tax Compliance ("ITC") services, DMS has been at the forefront of discussions with managers across the U.S., Europe and Asia on how best to comply with the increased volume and responsibility of CRS and FATCA reporting. With CRS filings due for the first time across fifty four countries, we have specifically seen strong interest from our global client base in delegating the AEOI function to a third party that has the resources and expertise to ensure full compliance. As the filing deadlines approach, the DMS ITC team would welcome the opportunity to further discuss with you, your new requirements and our ITC solutions.

Services include:

  • Entity classification of your entities and structures to determine the ITC Obligations and analyzing the availability of reporting exemptions.
  • Registering and obtaining Global Intermediary Identification Number ("GIIN") from the IRS and completing any other registration or notification with local authorities.
  • Reviewing governing documents and subscription documents to determine the adequacy of disclosures provisions.
  • Preparing and reviewing IRS Forms and Self-Certifications.
  • Acting as Principal Point of Contact/AEOI Delegate/ Responsible Officer to oversee and ensure compliance with all aspects of the regulations in the respective jurisdiction.
  • Reviewing and approving third party investor classification, including relevant agreements with these third parties.
    Classification and remediation of your investor base.
  • Preparing and filing the reports in the respective jurisdictions.
  • Consulting on technical and operational aspects of these international tax information regulations.
  • Preparing and reviewing the policies and procedures as set forth in the Regulations.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.