Blog

Monaco Releases List of Reportable and Participating Jurisdictions

Monaco recently published a list of reportable and participating jurisdictions on its CRS Frequently Asked Questions page. These lists are current as of April 2017, and should be considered as current until further notice. Please note that reportable jurisdictions are ones which have established exchange of information agreements with Monaco under CRS, while participating jurisdictions […]

Read More
Turks and Caicos Publishes List of Reportable Jurisdictions for 2017

The Ministry of Finance, Trade, and Investment in Turks & Caicos recently published a list of Reportable Jurisdictions for 2017. These jurisdictions have an existing agreement in place with Turks & Caicos to exchange tax information under CRS. Please note that while this list is currently up to date, it is subject to change by […]

Read More
Financial Institutions Feel Confident About First U.K. CRS Filing, but Concerns Remain

Technology professionals at financial institutions are confident that their first U.K. Common Reporting Standard (CRS) submissions will go fairly well, but anxiety about a few issues persists. A poll conducted by Sovos amongst readers of ‘Banking Technology’ in the run up to the U.K.’s first CRS submission found respondents to be largely optimistic about the […]

Read More
Bangladesh to Implement 2012 VAT Law on July 1, 2017

In his June 1, 2017, budget speech, the Bangladeshi Minister of Finance announced the July 1, 2017, implementation of the Value Added Tax and Supplementary Duty Act, 2012. A full copy of Bangladesh’s 2017-2018 Budget Speech may be found here. While the Act was passed in 2012, its implementation has been deferred in order to […]

Read More
India Revises GST Rates on Certain Goods

On June 11, India’s GST Council revised GST rates applicable to certain goods. The changes include a  rate reduction from 28% to 18% on specified electronic products, such as computer printers, CCTV, and computer monitors not exceeding 17 inches. The schedule of all the revisions is available here. GST will be fully implemented in India on July 1, 2017. 

Read More
Croatian Ministry of Finance Issues Guidance on Place of Supply Rules

The Croatian Tax Administration has recently published its response to a query about place of supply rules and VAT liability on a Dutch taxpayer’s sales. The Dutch taxpayer holds a VAT identification number in Croatia but does not have physical presence within the country. The conclusions made in this guidance by the Tax Administration are as […]

Read More
Croatia Requests Derogation for Small Business Exemption Threshold

On June 8th, the Republic of Croatia submitted a final proposal to the European Commission, requesting a derogation from the EU VAT Directive regarding threshold amounts for tax application on small enterprises. This derogation would allow Croatia to exempt from VAT taxable persons whose annual turnover is EUR 45 000, effective January 1, 2018.  Under Article […]

Read More
Pakistan Signs Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement

Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance has joined the Common Reporting Standard by signing on to the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), bringing the total number of signatories to 90 countries. As such, Pakistan will aim to begin the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) for its reportable accounts in 2018. By signing on to this agreement, Pakistan […]

Read More
UK 2017 General Election Results: Surprise for Prime Minister Theresa May

On Thursday, June 8, 2017, the United Kingdom held its general election for Parliamentary seats, and the election concluded with shocking results, leaving the U.K. with no overall majority in the House of Commons. The report of the results was a disappointment for Prime Minister Theresa May, who was hoping to increase her Conservative Party’s majority, […]

Read More
Panama Releases Further Details about CRS Implementation

The Panamanian Ministry of Economy and Finance has released additional information regarding its implementation of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). A late adopter, Panama has committed to commencing exchanges in 2018. Panama has ratified secondary legislation for the implementation of CRS – the final legislative step in imposing the duty to report on Panamanian financial […]

Read More
Guatemala Ratifies the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters

The Guatemalan government has adopted the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in a move to demonstrate its commitment to tax transparency and remove itself from a “blacklist” of international tax havens. Once it takes the necessary legislative steps to implement the OECD programs, Guatemala will be able to exchange information with any […]

Read More
Is India Less than a Month Away from GST?

With less than a month to go to the 1st July target date for GST adoption in India, the question on everybody’s mind is this: will the launch of the much-awaited Goods & Service Tax (GST) be postponed again or is the 1st July deadline definitive? Our team has been monitoring legal developments in India […]

Read More
India Publishes Final GST Returns and Rules

The Indian Central Board of Excise and Customs has published the final GST return formats and return rules on its website as of June 3rd, 2017. GST return formats maybe found here. GST return rules may be found here. Full implementation of GST in India takes effect on July 1, 2017.   

Read More
Ireland Extends CRS Filing Deadline to August 18th

Irish Revenue has sent correspondence to all interested parties indicating that the deadline for filing CRS returns has been extended from June 30^th^ to August 18, 2017 due to the late delivery of the required business and validation rules – resulting in a delay to the start of filing. Although the submission application is currently […]

Read More
UK Seeks to Eliminate “Use and Enjoyment” Provision for Certain Telecommunication Services

The UK government has introduced draft legislation that would apply VAT to telecommunications services used outside of the European Union by private UK customers. Under current “use and enjoyment” provisions, such services are not subject to VAT when used outside of the EU. The government claims that this change will remove any ambiguity about place […]

Read More
Germany Publishes New CRS Infobrief

The German Tax Office has published a new Infobrief containing information relevant to this year’s CRS filing season. The Infobrief covers a variety of topics, including the following: Opening of CRS production environment: Filers are now able to transmit CRS data as of June 1, 2017. The portal will be open for transmittals through the […]

Read More
OECD Gets First Results from Disclosure Facility

Last month, the OECD launched its public disclosure facility in order for interested parties to submit potential schemes they believe are being used to circumvent the Common Reporting Standard.  The facility’s goal is to understand these schemes or loopholes to further strengthen CRS’s effectiveness in promoting greater transparency.  Within a month, the OECD had received […]

Read More
Bulgaria Will use OECD’s CRS Schema

Bulgaria has recently announced that it will require its Reporting Financial Institutions to use the schema designed by the OECD for this month’s CRS reporting.  On its AEOI website, Bulgaria has provided samples and schema files to assist.  In addition, there is a list of Reportable Jurisdictions published.  As a reminder, CRS reports are due […]

Read More