From Solomon Harris
The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (‘DITC’) has updated information on its Automatic Exchange of Information Portal (the ‘Portal’) and advised Portal users via email that the Portal will close after 5pm Cayman Islands time on 28th August 2015 (the ‘Deadline’).
Why is it closing?
Notifications and 2014 USA Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (‘FATCA’) Returns should have already been completed and successfully submitted. The Portal will close to help the DITC prepare data to be provided to the USA’s Internal Revenue Service. At present the Portal Guide does not say when the Portal will re-open for 2015 Returns.
End of the ‘soft approach’ to late reporting
As this is the first year of operation, the DITC has taken a soft approach to the reporting of 2014 data this year. The DITC makes it clear that once the Deadline has passed and the Portal is closed the opportunity to remediate late reporting will cease and that the DITC cannot guarantee that it will accept late submissions for 2014 data.
Last minute changes need to finalised by authorised personnel
The DITC has set out reminders of the issues which might remain for users:
– Return entries that are not completed and have the status of ‘No Data’, ‘Ready to Submit’ or ‘In Draft’ should be reviewed and either be finalised and submitted or removed from the Portal.
– Requests relating to Financial Institution name, Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) or Principal Point of Contact (‘PPC’) information changes must be made by a person with authority to do so. The DITC has advised that as a security measure to ensure the confidentiality of data being submitted, its staff will only be able to assist users that are currently shown as PPC or that have provided the authority to such a PPC in a previously submitted letter of authorisation.
– The DITC reminds users that Nil Returns are not a mandatory requirement and arenot required to be submitted as a Return.
– Failure to notify the DITC of entries that have been uploaded with test or incorrect data will result in the information being included in the transmission to the IRS, and may result in sanctions. If a ‘Test’ return entry has been submitted and accepted in the Portal in error then users must advise DITC via [email protected], so that it may be removed. The email must include the reference identification that has been assigned to the return entry (which begins with the letters ‘FR’).
– All queries must be sent to [email protected]
Amended Data Return entry
Where users need to amend a submitted and accepted Return entry in the Portal, the DITC asks that they complete an ‘Amended Data’ Return entry. The DITC advises that to do this, users should log in to the Portal with their credentials and select the Financial Institution for which they wish to enter further information. Then they should Navigate to ‘Manage Returns’, and select ‘Create Return’. Then they should enter a Return Name, select the Return type they wish to complete and enter the period end date. The DITC advises that there are then two options:
o A) If the Return type selected is ‘US FATCA XML Upload’, refer to the FATCA XML v1.1 User Guide, http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/Pub5124UserGuide.pdf .
o B) If the Return type selected is ‘US FATCA Manual Entry’, complete the mandatory fields with the red asterisk (*) and input the correct information in the fields where it was incorrectly entered.
The DITC also advise that the Corresponding Message reference under the General Information section relates to the Message Reference of the original Return(s) being amended.
Solomon Harris
If you require any assistance with your reporting requirements, please contact a member of the corporate team at [email protected] who can advise on the Cayman legal aspects of all regulatory matters which are likely to affect a Financial Institution.
SOURCE: https://www.solomonharris.com/news-updates/cayman-aeoi-portal-to-close-on-28th-august-2015