In April 2021 and again on June 3, 2021, the Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) warned financial institutions (FIs) to ensure that they have properly classified their entities under FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Classification Consistency Both FATCA and CRS have anti-avoidance / anti-circumvention rules. It is important for FIs to realize that each jurisdiction is cross checking information submitted by the FI across portals wi

The Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) announced the deadline for the first ever CRS Compliance Form is now September 15, 2021. This means that you will submit one form for your Y2019 data on September 15, 2021 and one form for your Y2020 data on the regularly scheduled deadline of September 15, 2021. Portal Adjustments The DITC extended the deadline to give itself more time to finalizeing the bulk upload feature. For those FIs who do not require the bulk upl

The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) issued an Updates Bulletin dated December 10, 2020 with a number of important updates. Problems with the Portal & Flexible Deadline Given the technical problems users are experiencing with the DITC portal, the DITC announced that it will not be automatically issuing penalties to Financial Institutions (FIs) who are unable to complete their Common Reporting Standard (CRS) reporting by the December 16, 2020

The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation’s (DITC) new portal is now open. The DITC has also issued its 43-page DITC Portal – User Guide and 46-page new CRS Guidelines Version 4.0 dated November 6, 2020. CRS Guidelines Version 4.0 replaces the previous Version 3.0 issued March 15, 2018. DITC Portal: https://ditcportal.secure.ky/login DITC Portal – User Guide: https://www.ditc.ky/wp-content/uploads/DITC_Portal_User_Guide.pdf CRS Guidelines Version 4.0: h

The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) announced its new portal will open in early November 2020 and the new deadlines are as follows: New Entity Registration December 16, 2020 CRS Reporting & CRS Filing Declaration December 16, 2020 FATCA Reporting December 16, 2020 CRS Compliance Form March 31, 2021 Account Activation Email For those that had a User Account in the former AEOI Portal, keep an eye out for account activation emails from the addr

Recently the Cayman Islands launched its new website with the promise that the new portal would be launched in Q3 2020. However, the Cayman AEOI Portal Team at the Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) has moved out the launch time frame to Q4 2020. Currently, the FATCA/CRS reporting deadline for the Caymans is November 16, 2020. Given that the portal will open October 1, 2020 at the earliest, the reporting deadline may change. This is especially likely given th

The Caymans has launched its new fresh looking website which covers: CRS, FATCA, Economic Substance, Exchange of Information, and CBCR. Next up in Q3 will be the launch of the new portal: https://www.ditc.ky/. For assistance, please contact me via my contact page or at elizabeth@elizabethmcmorrowlaw.com. #CaymanIslands #FATCA #CRS

FATCA 2014. CRS 2016. Your organization has studied the rules for these regimes and employees know exactly what needs to be done. You’re thrilled that everyone has been doing their jobs well over the past years. But did you document these processes and update them? If not, you may still be subject to penalties. FATCA v CRS FATCA and CRS seek to create transparency in taxation across jurisdictions. The local tax authority collects certain information from Financial Institution

The Cayman Islands previously extended the deadline for Y2019 FATCA reporting to November 16, 2020. Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) has now also extended the deadline for Y2019 CRS reporting to November 16, 2020. Global Forum The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) recognized tax authorities and Financial Institutions (FIs) will have difficulty meeting their respective 2020 CRS deadlines d

The Cayman Islands announced the deadline for Y2019 FATCA reporting has been extended to November 16, 2020. However, the deadline for CRS remains September 18, 2020. IRS Government to Government Extension Earlier this week, the IRS announced that it was granting an extension for the government to government exchange of Model 1 IGA FATCA Y2019 data from September 30, 2020 to December 31, 2020. In light of this extension, the Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Coop

The Cayman Islands announced today that the deadline for Y2019 FATCA/CRS reporting has been extended to September 18, 2020 and the annual FATCA/CRS reporting deadline for future years has been changed to July 31. The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) expects to launch its new portal on June 1, 2020. Until then, it will not be possible to register entities (notification), undertake reporting, amend returns or update any current data. While th

Previously, the Cayman Islands stated that its FATCA/CRS AEOI portal was offline for maintenance. [See my August 31, 2019 blog post: FATCA & CRS: Cayman Portal Closed]. However, the Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) announced this week that it is developing a new AEOI Portal for notification and reporting purposes. The new portal is scheduled to launch in two phases over the first and second quarters of 2020. The portal will include additio

The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) announced Friday that its AEOI portal is offline to facilitate the transmission of CRS and FATCA returns to partner jurisdictions. Users will be able to login and check on previously submitted returns to address errors and submit any outstanding returns when the portal is reopened on October 7, 2019 at 2:00 PM (EST). The DITC notice indicates that the DITC updated the CRS Reportable Jurisdictions list. Ho

The Cayman Islands AEOI Portal is currently online and open for notifications and reporting for all years. The deadline for both CRS and FATCA is July 31, 2019. The new Industry Advisory provides a number of updates regarding the portal user guide, error and status notifications, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). The industry advisory also covers the below topics. Sponsoring Entities & CRS Reporting The industry advisory emphasizes that CRS does not recognize the Spons

Once again, the Cayman Islands has extended the deadline for FATCA and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) reporting from May 31 to July 31. Cayman Islands Portal Open The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (TIA) also announced that its Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) portal is open for FATCA and CRS reporting submissions. Now is the time to submit any 2014 - 2017 reporting that you failed to submit previously while the portal is not bombarded wi

The Bahamas issued revised CRS Guidance Notes on August 3, 2018. Included in the revisions is a change in the definition of Controlling Person. The Bahamas will now use a 10% threshold for CRS reporting commencing in 2019. Controlling Person Defined The Bahamas CRS Guidance provides the following definition for Controlling Person: Any natural person that holds directly or indirectly more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the shares or voting rights of an Entity as a benefic

Certain Cayman Islands entities must provide beneficial ownership information to their Cayman Islands corporate service providers (CSPs) by June 29, 2018. This requirement should not be confused with the obligation to report Controlling Persons under FATCA Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) and CRS. The Cayman Islands created a centralized beneficial ownership register in 2017 that provides United Kingdom (UK) law enforcement and tax authorities with beneficial ownership in

The Cayman Islands changed its deadline for CRS and FATCA reporting: Original deadline May 31 Portal closed June 1 - June 14 Portal reopens June 15 New deadline July 31 Portal remains open until August 31 Please note that submissions made after July 31 will be noted and may be subject to compliance reviews by the Cayman Islands tax authority. For assistance, please contact me via my contact page or at elizabeth@elizabethmcmorrowlaw.com. #CaymanIslands #FATCA #CRS

The Cayman Islands announced in March that it updated its CRS self-certifications to require that Passive Non-Financial Entities (NFEs) disclose individuals with direct or indirect ownership or control of 10% or more of the shares or voting rights of the Passive NFE. Previously, the threshold was 25%. Why the significant change? Quick Review: Controlling Person Controlling Persons are the natural persons who exercise control over the Passive NFE. This includes the natural

It is clear that you must retain records under FATCA and CRS but for how long and when does the clock start ticking? Taking the most conservative approach across FATCA, IGAs and CRS, your record-keeping policy should require a minimum of 6 years of record retention. FATCA Regulations Generally, the FATCA regulations (which non-IGA jurisdictions must follow) require that books and records be retained as long as their contents may become material in the administration of any U