On July 11, 2016 the Singaporean Government opened a Public Consultation on Proposed Regulations on the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters. The Singaporean Ministry of Finance (“MOF”), Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) and the Singaporean Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (“IRAS”) have proposed regulations to allow Singapore to implement the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (“AEOI”)1 , also known as the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) with effect from January 1, 2017.
The consultation period runs from July 11, 2016 to July 29, 2016.
In this respect MOF, MAS and IRAS are inviting public feedback on the draft Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (Common Reporting Standard) Regulations 2016. The regulations include the proposed list of financial institutions and accounts that are excluded from the scope of reporting, as well as the due diligence and reporting requirements to implement the CRS.
Scope of the consultation exercise
With respect to the consultation exercise the Singaporean Government has stated the following:
“The Regulations set out the reporting and due diligence requirements which include the following:
a. The FIs that must report;
b. The account holders and financial accounts that are subject to reporting;
c. Non-Reporting FIs and Excluded Accounts;
d. The registration requirements
e. The due diligence procedures required to identify the reportable accounts;
f. The information to be reported; and
g. The timelines for reporting the requisite information to IRAS.
The draft Regulations provide elaboration on how terms used within the CRS apply in the Singapore context, and provide for CRS-permitted modifications on the reporting and due diligence requirements of Singapore-based FIs. A copy of the CRS is attached as a Schedule to the draft Regulations. The CRS is accompanied by the Commentaries on the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS Commentaries”) that provide additional information on how the provisions in CRS should be interpreted to ensure consistency in application across jurisdictions. The CRS Commentaries can also be accessed here.”
More information on the consultation process as well as links to the relevant documents for this public consultation exercise can be found here on the website of the Singaporean Government, which will open in a new window.
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