OVERVIEW
Welcome to our AEOI Microsite which includes important resources, links and contact information to assist you with keeping informed of important changes.
LATEST UPDATES
02 September 2020
Martin Byers
BVI Financial Account Reporting System (BVIFARs) Online and Updated for CbCR Reporting
The BVI International Tax Authority ("ITA") has announced that the BVI Financial Account Reporting System ("BVIFARs") is back online (effective as of 1 September rel="noopener noreferrer" 2020)....
06 July 2020
Martin Byers
Anti-Money Laundering Guidelines for BVI Banking Sector
The BVI Financial Services Commission (the "FSC") has issued Anti-Money Laundering and Combatting Terrorist Financing Guidelines for the BVI banking sector (the "Guidelines")...
30 June 2020
Tim Frawley
Beneficial Owners
A reminder that the competent authority in the Cayman Islands now has the power to levy administrative fines against companies that are...
04 June 2020
Martin Byers
BVI ITA Notifications Requesting CRS Policies And Procedures
As part of its risk-based CRS compliance regime, the British Virgin Islands International Tax Authority (the "ITA") has recently issued a number of notices...
The Maples Group is uniquely placed to provide legal advice and administrative solutions to clients on all aspects of the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information ("AEOI") due diligence and reporting regimes such as FATCA and the OECD Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information – Common Reporting Standard ("CRS") with respect to British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Irish, Jersey and Luxembourg financial institutions.
The British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Ireland, Jersey and Luxembourg have entered into inter-governmental agreements with the United States (the "US IGAs") to give effect to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ("FATCA") and a multilateral competent authority agreement (the "MCAA") to implement CRS. The British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands and Jersey have also entered into inter-governmental agreements with the United Kingdom (the "UK IGAs") in broadly similar terms to the US IGAs to improve international tax compliance ("UK CDOT"). The UK is a Participating Jurisdiction for CRS therefore there are no separate registration or reporting obligations regarding UK CDOT and all UK reporting has been pursuant to CRS from 2017 onwards.
AEOI is the collective term used to refer to FATCA and CRS.
Each of the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Ireland, Jersey and Luxembourg has, where appropriate, passed laws (the "AEOI Laws") to give effect to their AEOI commitments. Under the AEOI Laws, all "Financial Institutions" will be required to comply with the relevant registration, due diligence and reporting requirements, unless they can rely on an exemption that allows them to become a "Non-Reporting Financial Institution" (as defined in the relevant AEOI laws) with respect to one or more of the AEOI regimes, in which case only the registration requirement would apply under CRS. The AEOI Laws require each Reporting Financial Institution to, amongst other things (i) register with the United States Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") to obtain a Global Intermediary Identification Number (in the context of the US IGA only), (ii) register with its local fiscal authority to notify such authority of its status as a "Reporting Financial Institution" or a "Non-Reporting Financial Institution" (in the case of CRS only); (iii) adopt and implement written policies and procedures setting out how it will address its obligations under CRS (iv) conduct due diligence on its accounts to identify whether any such accounts are considered "Reportable Accounts", and / or (v) report information on such Reportable Accounts to the local fiscal authority.
Account holders in such Reporting Financial Institutions will be required to provide certain personal financial information, including certifications as to such account holder's global tax residencies and tax identification numbers, to the Financial Institution. The Reporting Financial Institution's compliance with the AEOI Laws may result in the disclosure of the account holder's financial information to the local fiscal authority which will transmit such information to the overseas fiscal authority relevant to a reportable account (e.g. the IRS in the case of a US Reportable Account) annually on an automatic basis.
The term "Financial Institution" catches entities that are depository institutions, custodial institutions, investment entities and specified insurance companies. Depository institutions and custodial institutions are largely self-explanatory terms, and specified insurance companies will mostly be long-term insurers. Investment entities is a term defined very broadly and catches most types of investment fund, investment managers and advisors, and other entities that might be service providers in fund management world. An entity that is not a Financial Institution will be a non-financial entity and out of scope of the AEOI Laws although if that entity is an account holder of a Financial Institution it may in certain circumstances be required to confirm to such Financial Institution its AEOI status and, where applicable, details of its controlling persons. If in doubt, please take appropriate legal advice as to whether an entity is in scope and any related compliance obligations.
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EXPERTS
The Maples Group provides constructive and insightful advice to a range of clients, including investment managers, collateral managers, fund administrators, trustees and investment banks, offering flexible and cost effective solutions that can be tailored to ensure clients meet the necessary requirements.
We can assist clients on all aspects of AEOI, with services including:
- providing British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Irish, Jersey and / or Luxembourg legal advice or assistance in relation to the potential application of FATCA and CRS, including entity classification, local and foreign tax authority registration and notification requirements, availability of reporting exemptions, self-certification and due diligence requirements.
- drafting or reviewing language for incorporation into offering materials, constitutional and other documents, where relevant.
- drafting or reviewing self-certification forms, sponsored entity agreements and delegation agreements.
- drafting or reviewing written policies and procedures to comply with AEOI.
- registering a client with the IRS and obtaining a Global Intermediary Identification Number ("GIIN"), and/or registration, notification and liaison with local authorities, as applicable.
- classification, validation and remediation of pre-existing accounts (where applicable).
- onboarding new accounts to ensure required data is captured, and obtaining self-certification forms (or equivalent) and due diligence documentation for validation up front to facilitate compliance.
- preparation and filing of reports that are compliant with applicable legal requirements.
- sponsoring entity services - taking responsibility for FATCA compliance on behalf of the client, including performing all initial and ongoing due diligence to identify any reportable accounts, GIIN registration and reporting where applicable.
CONTACTS
Cayman Islands
Christopher
Capewell
Partner
Christopher is head of the Maples and Calder's Regulatory & Financial Services team in the Maples Group's Cayman Islands office. He advises on all aspects of Cayman Islands investment funds and his practice focuses on regulatory matters impacting a wide variety of offshore vehicles, including partnerships, unit trusts, LLCs and companies. Christopher has extensive knowledge of FATCA, the OECD Common Reporting Standard, the Securities Investment Business Law, DAC6/MDR, Economic Substance and the OECD Country-by-Country Reporting regime (CbCR).
Cayman Islands
Tim
Dawson
Partner
Tim is a partner of Maples and Calder's Regulatory & Financial Services team in the Maples Group's Cayman Islands office. He provides all aspects of regulatory and financial services advice, including in respect of Cayman Islands licensing, prudential and conduct of business requirements, reporting and information exchange obligations (including those deriving from FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard), and advice on duties of data protection and confidentiality, anti-money laundering and combating of terrorist finance. Tim is a member of both industry and Cayman Islands Government legal and regulatory working groups
Cayman Islands
Tim
Frawley
Partner
Tim is a partner of Maples and Calder's Funds & Investment Management team in the Maples Group's Cayman Islands office. He has extensive experience in the use of offshore finance vehicles. While most of his practice is focused on funds (principally alternative investment funds, but also structured products, such as CLOs), his work also includes general corporate issues, as well as insurance and other alternative risk transfer work, such as captives, insurance linked securities and fund sponsored reinsurance vehicles. Since its rollout in 2013, Tim has also been a leading member of the global team advising clients on the impact of FATCA and CRS.
Cayman Islands
Patrick
Head
Partner
Cayman Islands
Martin
Livingston
Consultant
Martin is an industry-recognised specialist in all aspects of regulatory, licensing, risk management, information disclosure and anti-money laundering matters. He regularly assists clients in their relationship with the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, Tax Information Authority and other government agencies. Martin also advises on a range of regulatory aspects, including licence applications and cross border conduct of business advice, financial services terms and conditions, mandatory reporting and information exchange (including FATCA, the Common Reporting Standard and other tax or regulatory information exchange mechanisms), duties of confidentiality, sanctions, anti-corruption and bribery, as well as anti-money laundering and combating of terrorist financing advice.
British Virgin Islands
Richard
May
Managing Partner
Richard is Managing Partner of Maples and Calder, in the Maples Group's British Virgin Islands office where he is also head of Maples and Calder's Corporate and Finance teams at the Maples Group. He advises on a variety of corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, stock exchange listings and corporate reorganisations. Richard also advises investment managers and private equity houses on the structuring, formation and financing of investment funds and private equity funds.
Cayman Islands
Anna
Whaley
Associate
Anna is an associate of Maples and Calder's Regulatory & Financial Services team in the Maples Group's Cayman Islands office and works on a wide variety of regulatory issues, including licensing, risk management, information disclosure and anti-money laundering matters. She has a broad range of regulatory experience in prudential, corporate, funds management and payment services regulation.
Anna has recently completed her Masters of Law at the London School of Economics and Political Science with a thesis on the regulation of cryptocurrencies and has co-authored articles on 'Reg Tech', cryptocurrencies and mobile payments.
Cayman Islands
Sarah
Farquhar
Associate
Jersey
Chris
Byrne
Managing Partner
Chris is Managing Partner of Maples and Calder, in the Maples Group's Jersey office. He advises banks (and other specialist lenders) and corporates on commercial law issues and also has significant expertise in advising family office and philanthropic entities. Chris is also highly experienced in offshore listings, both on The International Stock Exchange ("TISE") and elsewhere.
Luxembourg
James
O'Neal
Principal
James is a principal in Maples and Calder (Luxembourg) at the Maples Group, where he is head of the Luxembourg Tax group. He advises Fortune 500 companies, private equity, real estate funds and start-ups on many aspects of Luxembourg taxation, including holding activities, cross border financing, IP planning, mergers and acquisitions, and restructuring. James also focuses on updating tax structures to robustly comply with BEPS, economic substance and transfer pricing.
RESOURCE HUB
The Maples Group regularly produces client updates in relation to AEOI, serving to notify clients and professional contacts of the latest developments and to outline the impacts on various sectors. These updates are available below and through our news feed, however you may also subscribe to our mailings if you would like to receive these updates as they happen.
