Tag Archives: TIN

Information exchange reporting FAQs

Emily Deane TEPWith reporting now underway in the UK for both FATCA and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), STEP has been liaising with HMRC on some of the finer points of reporting.

Can I still submit CRS amendments?

There is some time available following the 31 May 2017 deadline for submission of amendments or corrections. If you need to submit an amendment within the first few weeks of filing then HMRC should be able to include the amendments in the first exchange scheduled for 30 September and the information will be sent to the relevant jurisdiction.

What are the penalties for late CRS reporting?

HMRC has confirmed that they will take a soft approach towards penalties in the early stages of CRS (like FATCA, the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act ) – particularly if there are CRS system errors that incur late filing. However, a harder approach may be taken towards people who are deliberately negligent with their filing.

FATCA: what do I do if a US TIN is unavailable?

It has previously been identified that in some cases a nine-zero approach will be accepted when a TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) is unavailable. Some accounts are being filed with missing TINs which causes difficulties because the system will respond that it has been submitted in an incorrect format. The ‘missing TIN’ cases are inevitably causing issues for users and HMRC and HMRC is waiting for feedback from the IRS later this year on how to resolve it. It may be deemed acceptable that the nine-zero approach continues in the short term.

I have received a FATCA renewal message, what do I do?

If you have received a FATCA renewal message for an FI (Financial Institution) from the IRS then you will need to login, check that renewal is not required and confirm that. For further information see p 84 of FATCA Online Registration, which says ‘FIs notified of the potential need to renew their agreement should login to the FATCA Online Registration System and view the ‘Renewal of FFI Agreement’ page … FIs must determine if they need to renew their agreement and then must submit their determination … All FIs should follow steps 1 through 4 below to determine if they must renew their agreement’.

What is the deadline for client notification?

The UK Client Notification Regulations came into force on 30 September 2016. The obligation for practitioners to notify any clients with offshore accounts and assets that HMRC will soon begin to automatically receive data from over 100 jurisdictions relating to UK tax residents and their offshore accounts, in accordance with the UK’s automatic exchange of information agreements, must be met by 31 August 2017. See this STEP blog for more information.

STEP will continue to consult with HMRC on ongoing technical issues.

Resources:

Emily Deane TEP is STEP Technical Counsel

CRS reporting update, June 2017

Emily Deane TEPSTEP attended the most recent CRS Business Advisory Group hosted by HMRC and discussed the following issues:

FAQs

HMRC advised that new documents on the OECD portal have been published along with some additional FAQs.

Anti-avoidance

Members were interested to know when the OECD will publish its loophole paper which will review loophole reporting strategies.

HMRC advised it does not expect imminent changes to the OECD’s anti-avoidance strategy but does expect a review prior to that planned in 2019.

In the meantime, the OECD has launched a facility for parties to disclose CRS schemes which are potentially used to circumvent CRS reporting.

US TINs – invalid format

The number of the US Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to be submitted has to be in a certain format, otherwise the return will be rejected.

In some cases a nine-zero approach will be accepted but some accounts with missing TINs are causing difficulties having been submitted in an incorrect format. The ‘missing TIN’ cases are inevitably causing issues for users and HMRC. Members agreed that there will be problems next year when the nine-zero approach will no longer be accepted.

HMRC recognises these difficulties and has been liaising with the IRS regarding the TIN issues. A member also mentioned that the issue was being raised by industry groups in EU circles.

Invalid self-certifications

Members agreed that HMRC’s guidance is ambiguous if a self-certification is returned to the financial institution but contains errors. For example, would HMRC accept a self cert that had been returned, but not signed, in a time sensitive case?

HMRC declined to generalise on self-certification issues, stating that each example has to be judged on its own specific issues. It confirmed that it is up to the financial institution to decide whether it is satisfied that a person is non reportable. The financial institution should apply due diligence procedures based on guidance and common sense.

The mediation period and the cut off timing were also discussed. HMRC stated that it is up to the individual financial institution’s procedures as to the cut off. It was agreed that it can be a grey area with some contradictions, and in some cases the financial institution may need to decide whether a person is reportable, whilst the validation is undertaken. More clarity on this issue was requested from HMRC.

HMRC customer support

HMRC has been receiving increasing numbers of calls from clients of financial institutions, rather than the financial institutions themselves. This is causing problems, particularly when close to filing dates. As a result, HMRC has asked financial institutions to omit its contact details from notes that accompany the self-certifications, stating these are not relevant to clients and it does not have the resources to deal with additional queries.

STEP will continue to attend the periodic working group to discuss ongoing technical issues with HMRC.

Resources:

• STEP Guidance Note: CRS and trusts
• Live STEP webinar on ‘CRS and Trustees’ with John Riches TEP and Samantha Morgan TEP, 13 June

 

Emily Deane TEP is STEP Technical Counsel