British Virgin Islands (BVI) – CRS & FATCA Reporting Guide
Stay up to date with all CRS and FATCA reporting requirements in the BVI.
Law, tax, and compliance professionals can stay up to date with all of the CRS (Common Reporting Standard) and FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) reporting requirements worldwide thanks to KENDRIS. In this article, we will take into consideration the requirements for the British Virgin Islands (BVI).
Applicable Regulations
The BVI has incorporated CRS on a multilateral basis and subsequently became a signatory to the Multilateral Competent Authorities Agreement. The applicable local CRS legislation came into force in 2015: “ Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) (Amendment) Act, 2015 ”. The Act was updated in 2018 and should be read together with the CRS Guidance Notes which have been released in 2016. Furthermore, an overview of all bilateral exchange relationships of the BVI is provided by the OECD and by the BVI International Tax Authority .
The BVI and the United States of America have signed an agreement (IGA) to improve international tax compliance and to implement FATCA on 30 June 2014. Guidance Notes have been issued with respect to the IGA and are intended to provide practical assistance. The BVI is an IGA Model 1 jurisdiction, financial institutions (FIs) are therefore required to report specified information about US accounts to the local government.
The applicable CRS and FATCA regulations set out the due diligence and reporting requirements for FIs in the BVI but also the penalties for non-compliance and certain exemptions for the exchange of information.
Reporting Portal
A BVI FIs shall register on the BVI FARS portal by 30 April for CRS in the first calendar year following the year in which it became a BVI FI. The annual enrolment deadline for BVI FIs that need to file a FATCA report is 1 April. If a BVI entity does no longer have reporting obligations, deregistration must be requested in writing. Please consult the technical User Guide for the BVI Financial Account Reporting System if you have questions with respect to the enrolment and filing submission procedures.
CRS Nil Returns
Special attention should be paid to the fact that CRS nil returns are mandatory for all BVI FIs. Hence, all FIs are required to submit a report even if they do not have any reportable accounts.
Reporting Period and Deadline
Please also note that reporting on a calendar year basis is required for FATCA and for CRS. The deadline for submitting CRS and FATCA returns is 31 May in the year following the calendar year to which the return relates.
Policies and Procedures
The local CRS law requires all FIs to establish, implement and maintain written policies and procedures which meet the requirements outlined in the BVI CRS law. Penalties up to USD 100’000 may be imposed for failure with this requirement.
Useful KENDRIS links
Other CRS & FATCA Reporting Guides
- Jersey CRS & FATCA Reporting Guide
- Belize CRS & FATCA Reporting Guide
- Liechtenstein CRS & FATCA Reporting Guide
If you would like any help with your CRS and FATCA reporting, then take a look at our CRS and FATCA service , or reach out to our CRS experts .
