The International Tax Compliance Regulations 2015

IntroductoryU.K.

Citation, commencement, effect and interpretationU.K.

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the International Tax Compliance Regulations 2015 and come into force on 15th April 2015.

(2) These Regulations have effect for and in connection with the implementation of obligations arising under the agreements and arrangements listed in paragraph (3) and apply separately in relation to each of those agreements or arrangements except where the context otherwise requires.

(3) The agreements and arrangements are—

(a)Council Directive 2011/16/EU M1 (“the DAC”),

[F1(b)the following arrangements relating to the CRS—

(i)the arrangements entered into, [F2at 16th May 2019], by the United Kingdom with another territory for the exchange of tax information for the purposes of the adoption and implementation of the CRS; and

(ii)the arrangements for the exchange of information arising from the agreements entered into by the EU at the date these Regulations come into force, regarding the adoption and implementation of the CRS as between member States and other territories,]

(c)the agreement reached between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America to improve international tax compliance and to implement FATCA, signed on 12th September 2012 M2 (“the FATCA agreement”).

[F3(3A) In these Regulations, “the CRS” means the common reporting standard for automatic exchange of financial account information developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.]

(4) These Regulations have effect from—

(a)1st January 2016 in relation to the DAC and the CRS, and

(b)15th April 2015 in relation to the FATCA agreement.

(5) In these Regulations, a reference to “relevant agreement” means such agreement or arrangement referred to in paragraph (3) as the context requires, as that agreement or arrangement has effect from time to time.

[F4(5A) For the purposes of these Regulations—

(a) “financial institution” has the same meaning in relation to the FATCA agreement as it does in section 1.1471-5(e)(1)(i)-(iv) of the US Treasury Regulations, and

(b)“investment entity” has the same meaning in relation to the FATCA agreement as it does in the US Treasury Regulations.]

(6) Any expression which is defined in a relevant agreement but not in section 222 or 235 of FA 2013 or in these Regulations has the same meaning in these Regulations as in the relevant agreement.

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

M1OJ No L 64, 11.3.2011, p1, relevantly amended by Council Directive 2014/107/EU, OJ No L 359, 16.12.2014, p1.

M2That agreement, as signed on that date, is contained in a Command Paper published by the Stationery Office Ltd with the title “Agreement between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the United States of America to Improve International Tax Compliance and to Implement FATCA” (Cm 8445, 2012); the Command Paper is available on the Official Documents website at http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm84/8445/8445.pdf.

Meaning of “reportable account”U.K.

2.—(1) In these Regulations, a “reportable account” means—

(a)an account which is a reportable account within the meaning of the relevant agreement,

(b)in relation to a reporting financial institution under the DAC or the CRS, an account that is a pre-existing entity account with an account balance or value that does not exceed US$250,000 as of 31st December 2015, F5...

[F6(ba)in relation to a reporting financial institution under the CRS, an account meeting the description at Section III(A) of the CRS, and]

(c)in relation to a reporting financial institution under the FATCA agreement, an account meeting the description at paragraph II.A, III.A or IV.A of Annex I of the agreement.

(2) But—

(a)in relation to a reporting financial institution under the DAC or the CRS, an account listed as an excluded account in Schedule 2 is not a reportable account,

(b)in relation to a reporting financial institution under the FATCA agreement, an account is not a reportable account if—

(i)the account holder is deceased or is a personal representative (within the meaning of section 989 of ITA 2007),

(ii)the account is held to comply with an order or judgment made or given in legal proceedings, or

(iii)the funds held in the account are held solely as security for the performance of a party's obligation under a contract for the disposal of an estate or interest in land or of tangible moveable property, and

[F7(c)in relation to a reporting financial institution—

(i)for the purposes of the DAC or the CRS, a dormant account (other than an annuity contract) with a balance that does not exceed US$1,000, or

(ii)an account within [F8paragraph (1)(b), (ba) or (c)],

is not a reportable account for a calendar year if there is an election by the institution which has effect for that year to treat all such accounts, or a clearly identified group of such accounts, as not being reportable accounts.]

(3) An election under paragraph (2)(c) must be made for each calendar year for which the election is to have effect in the return required by regulation 6 for that year.

(4) The reporting financial institution must apply the account balance aggregation and currency rules in the relevant agreement for the purposes of determining whether an account maintained by the institution is within paragraph (1)(b) or (c).

(5) The account balance aggregation and currency rules are—

(a)in Section VII.C of Annex I to the DAC,

(b)in Section VII.C of the CRS, and

(c)in paragraph VI.C of Annex I to the FATCA agreement.

(6) In applying the account balance aggregation and currency rules for the purposes of a relevant agreement and these Regulations, an account balance that has a negative value is treated as having a nil value.

(7) In determining the balance or value of an account denominated in a currency other than US dollars for the purposes of a relevant agreement and for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b) or (c), the institution must translate the relevant dollar threshold amounts into the other currency by reference to the spot rate of exchange on the date for which the institution is determining the threshold amounts.

(8) For the purposes of a relevant agreement and these Regulations, an account held by an individual as a partner of a partnership is treated as an entity account and is not treated as an individual account.

[F9(9) An account is a dormant account if—

(a)the account holder has not initiated a transaction with regard to the account or any other account held by the account holder with the reporting financial institution in the previous three years,

(b)the account holder has not communicated with the reporting financial institution regarding the account or any other account held by the account holder with the reporting financial institution in the previous six years,

(c)the account is treated as a dormant account under the reporting financial institution’s normal operating procedures, and

(d)in the case of a cash value insurance contract, the reporting financial institution has not communicated with the account holder regarding the account or any other account held by the account holder with the reporting financial institution in the previous six years.]

Textual Amendments