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Common Reporting Standard & Country-by-Country Reporting

Updated 22 March 2023

The Bermuda Ministry of Finance wishes to remind Bermuda RFIs of the upcoming submission deadline for the 2021 Annual CRS Compliance Certification Form (the “CRS Compliance Form”), which must be submitted by all Bermuda RFIs and Trustee-Documented Trusts (“TDTs”) no later than September 30, 2022. Penalties may apply for failure to submit the form by this date.

Please refer to the CRS Compliance Form Guidelines, the Portal FAQs, and the Portal User Guide for further guidance on preparation and submission of the CRS Compliance Form, which are available in the ‘Resources’ section as well as at the links below:

OTHER CRS REPORTING REMINDERS

The Ministry also wishes to continue to remind Bermuda RFIs of the following key points regarding CRS compliance, which will be monitored and strictly enforced:

  1. Primary Users: every reporting entity must ensure there is an active and contactable Primary User appointed at all times. If the current Primary User can no longer act in this role, reporting entities should promptly submit a Primary User Change Notice following the instructions contained in the portal user guide.

  2. Deactivation Requests: if a reporting entity no longer has reporting obligations, it must promptly request to be deactivated from the portal, following the instructions contained in the portal user guide. A deactivation request cannot be processed until all relevant filings are exchanged with partner jurisdictions.

  3. Undocumented Accounts: the OECD’s CRS requirements only permit accounts to be treated as undocumented in specific circumstances. The criteria for an account to be reported as undocumented can be found in subparagraphs B(5) and C(5) of Section III of the CRS. Accounts should NOT be reported as undocumented in any other circumstances, and RFIs must follow the CRS due diligence rules to determine how to treat accounts that do not meet the criteria outlined.

  4. Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs): the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) field for account holders and controlling persons is shown as optional on the form as there are valid scenarios where the TIN may not be available (e.g. the jurisdiction of tax residence does not issues TINs). However, this does not mean that it is optional to provide this information, and RFIs must ensure that TINs are included in the report in line with the due diligence requirements outlined in the CRS (including the requirement to use reasonable efforts to collect TINs of preexisting accounts that are not already in the RFI’s records). Otherwise, the RFI may receive an error notification from the Ministry or a partner jurisdiction requiring a correction, and the RFI may be subject to additional compliance reviews. As the CRS requirements have been in force for more than 6 years, there are very limited circumstances where it is acceptable not to report this information.  The TIN rules and expected format by jurisdiction can be found at the following link. It is critical that RFIs refer to the published TIN guidance and ensure all TINs submitted align to the formatting requirements outlined by the respective jurisdiction: https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/crs-implementation-and-assistance/tax-identification-numbers/ 

  5. Dates of Birth: similarly, the Date of Birth field for individual account holders and controlling persons is shown as optional on the form, however this does not mean that it is optional to provide this information, and RFIs must ensure that dates of birth are included in the report in line with the due diligence requirements outlined in the CRS (including the requirement to use reasonable efforts to collect date of birth of preexisting accounts that are not already in the RFI’s records). The Ministry expects dates of birth to be submitted for all individuals and controlling persons, and will follow-up to require a correction where this is not the case.

  6. Addresses: while only the City and Country fields are marked mandatory in the OECD’s CRS XML schema, it is expected that full addresses are included for all account holders where available within the RFI’s systems or account holder documentation/self-certifications.

  7. Residence/Citizenship by Investment (RBI/CBI) Schemes: The OECD published a list of over 25 potential high-risk CBI/RBI schemes that can be misused to misrepresent an individual's jurisdiction(s) of tax residence and undermine the effective implementation of the CRS due diligence procedures. All Bermuda RFIs should take the outcome of the OECD's analysis of high-risk CBI/RBI schemes into account when performing their CRS due diligence obligations, such as opening a Financial Account for a new Account Holder. Further detail is available here: https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/crs-implementation-and-assistance/residence-citizenship-by-investment/

 

Historical CRS Reportable Jurisdictions List


Historical CBC Reportable Jurisdictions List


Guidance Notes


Regulations


Renewal of FFI Agreement


Additional reading

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