FAQs

General

Is the Tax Information Authority a tax administration or revenue agency?

No, the Tax Information Authority (TIA) is not a tax administration or revenue agency because the Cayman Islands does not have direct taxes. The TIA’s function is to collect information on tax matters and exchange that information with other Competent Authorities pursuant to relevant international agreements.

For information on imports/exports and tariffs, visit Cayman Islands Customs & Border Control.

For information on Tourist Accommodation Taxes (TAT), visit Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.

Is the Department for International Tax Cooperation part of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”)?

No, CIMA is the Cayman Islands financial services regulator and is also responsible for the Cayman Islands Currency Board. For more information about CIMA, please visit their website at www.cima.ky.

Can the Department for International Tax Cooperation provide a Company Tax Exemption Certificate?

No, these are issued by the Cabinet Office. Tel: (345) 244-2208 or (345) 244-2210.

Are there any boards or committees within the Department for International Tax Cooperation?

No.

CRS 

The TIN and date of birth elements are labelled “(Optional) Mandatory” in the schema user guide – does this mean I don’t have to provide it?

No, if the FI holds the TIN and date of birth within its records they must be included within the XML.

As per the Tax Information Authority (International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) Regulations (2021 Revision) the TIN and date of birth are required to be reported for all individuals who are Reportable Persons, i.e. both for Account Holders and Controlling Persons.

Note: FIs must include a valid date of birth in the CRS Return for each individual account holder and controlling person who is a Reportable Person.  This is the correct interpretation / application of the CRS XML schema DoB element being labelled as “(Optional) Mandatory” because FIs are always expected to keep a record of such information. The XML submission will not validate if the TIN or date of birth element is present but contains no data, is ‘empty’ e.g. <BirthDate></BirthDate>

How do I submit Reporting to the TIA?

Reporting is submitted via the DITC Portal. If you are a new user, you will need to submit a Notification to register the Financial Institution.

How do I submit a Notification to the TIA?

Notifications are submitted via the DITC Portal.

Do I have to submit a Notification each year?

No, this is a one-off process.

When can I submit my Reporting?

When the DITC Portal is open you can submit reporting for all available years listed on the XML Upload page.

When can I deactivate an FI?

At this time we are not accepting deactivation requests via the DITC Portal. The deactivation functionality will be made available in Q4 of 2021.

How do I edit my Notification?

The Principal Point of Contact (PPoC) can do this via the DITC Portal.

Can I submit test returns?

Testing is not permitted within the DITC Portal.

I submitted a Notification but did not receive a confirmation.

If you are a current user, log in to the DITC Portal to determine whether you have been granted access. If not, contact the DITC at CaymanAEOIPortal@gov.ky

I have received an error from a partner jurisdiction – what do I do?

Review the error issued by the partner jurisdiction on the DITC Portal. You can also contact the DITC regarding a specific error once you are logged in.

I want to resign as a PPoC/AP but I don’t know who the new users should be – what do I do?

You should first ascertain who the new users should be by:

  1. contacting the Directors; and/or
  2. contacting the registered office.

If no response is received, email the DITC at CaymanAEOIPortal@gov.ky and include the following information:

  • your reason for resigning;
  • the steps you have taken to find the new users, and;
  • contact details for the Directors you hold

CRS Compliance Form

Does the calculation of the total value of an FIs Financial Accounts in question 2.1 include the value of Excluded Accounts?

No, an Excluded Account is not a Financial Account under the CRS and should not be calculated in determining the total value of the FIs Financial Accounts.

Does the calculation of the total value of an FIs Financial Accounts in question 2.1 include amounts with a negative balance?

Yes, this question requires the total value and as such, negative balances should be included when calculating the aggregate total of the FIs Financial Accounts.  For all other questions on the CRS Compliance Form, a negative balance should be reported as zero in line with the CRS Regulations.

Does the question at 2.1 on total value of the FI’s Financial Accounts mean the value of all the assets which are held by the Cayman Islands Financial Institution?

No, this question is asking about the total value of the FI’s financial accounts, Financial Account is as defined in the CRS Regulations. The answer should be the total value of the reportable (under CRS) and non-reportable financial accounts. Where the FI is an investment fund, this will typically be the net asset value however, where the FI is not an investment fund it is unlikely the answer to this question is the net asset value.

When reporting the value of Non-Reportable accounts, should redeemed accounts be included?

No, the balance as at the end of the relevant reporting period should be reported.

Where an investor is not a Reportable Person and is not in a Reportable Jurisdiction (for example an FI resident in Cayman Islands), which box in question 2.3 should it be disclosed in?

This should be disclosed as a Financial Account where the Account Holder and all controlling persons are not Reportable Jurisdiction Persons.

If an account holder is reportable for both CRS and FATCA (US entity with Brazilian CPs) would you expect them to be included in both “reportable” and “non-reportable U.S.” categories? Or would you expect this to be considered “reportable”?

This is a reportable account for CRS (i.e. do not include in Non-Reportable).

For Question 3.1, does the FI have audited financial statements, can the FI select yes if they are part of consolidated audited financial statements?

Yes.

How should an FI, which is correctly classified as an Investment Entity, but does not carry on Relevant Financial Business (as defined under the Proceeds of Crimes Act) complete Section 3.

The DITC expects only a small number of FI’s to meet this requirement. In such circumstances, the FI should answer section 3 as follows:

  1.    3.2 select “other”
  2.    3.3 Free Text Box provide an explanation as confirmation of the fact that the FI does not conduct RFB
  3.    3.4 select ‘Cayman Islands’
  4.    3.5 select ‘Yes’

Where an FI has multiple service providers for AML/KYC and the CRS Process, what should be reported in Section 3 and Section 4?

The service provider who is primarily responsible for determining whether a Financial Account is reportable or non-reportable for CRS should be reported in Section 3.

What is the deadline to submit the CRS Compliance Form?

The annual deadline for the CRS Compliance Form is 15 September.

What happens if the FI fails to submit the CRS Compliance Form by the deadline?

The FI would be in breach of Part 2 of the CRS Regulations if it fails to submit the CRS Compliance Form by the deadline and an administrative penalty will be automatically issued by the Authority.

Who can submit the CRS Compliance Form?

The PPoC or any Secondary Users assigned to the FI will be the only persons able to submit the CRS Compliance Form via the DITC Portal.

Do all FIs need to complete the CRS Compliance Form?

All FIs with reporting obligations are required to complete the CRS Compliance Form on an annual basis.

Do Trustee Documented Trusts need to complete the CRS Compliance Form?

Yes, TDT’s are required to complete the CRS Compliance Form.

How do I submit the CRS Compliance Form?

The CRS Compliance Form is submitted via the DITC Portal by the PPoC or a Secondary User of the FI.

What is the legal basis that permits the DITC to collect this information?

The Tax Information Authority (International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 amendment of Regulation 9(1) provides the legal basis for the Authority to collect the CRS Compliance Form annually.

Is there a way to upload the CRS Compliance Form in bulk?

Yes, the CRS Compliance Form can be submitted using a bulk upload CSV file. For an overview of all sections and data points refer to the CRS Guidelines, for technical assistance please refer to our User Guide.

I’ve tried to submit my CRS Compliance Form in bulk, but I get the error “Form contains invalid data. Please correct first.”

Please ensure you have read and agreed with the declaration first before clicking Submit.

When trying to submit the CRS Compliance Form in bulk I get an error saying I don’t have permission to file, but I’m the PPoC/Secondary User.

Please troubleshoot the following: Check that the FI has CRS reporting obligations and/or if you have copied and pasted the FI numbers into the CSV, instead type them into the cell.

When trying to submit the CRS Compliance Form in bulk it says my submission failed: “CRS – Compliance Form (bulk upload by CSV) submission Failed”, but I cannot see any error information.

Scroll to the bottom of the screen. Where there is an error click the red exclamation mark and the error will be shown for each FI.

I have received a lot of errors on my CRS Compliance Form bulk upload and I don’t know how to fix them all.

Fix the first error listed for each FI and then re-upload the file – this may automatically resolve some/all of the other errors listed.

Is there guidance on the CRS Compliance Form?

Refer to section 5.F. of the CRS Guidelines for guidance on the form, refer to the DITC Portal User Guide for technical assistance with submitting the Form via the Portal.

How should I report a joint account?

A joint account should be treated as one Financial Account for the purpose of answering question 2.1. Only if the joint account is a Non-Reportable account in relation to all joint Account Holders, it should be treated as a Non-Reportable Account. If the joint account is a Non-Reportable account for more than one reason, it should be reported once for each reason in the Compliance Form. For example, where a joint account has two Account Holders, one resident in the British Virgin Islands and one being a US Person (both not qualifying as Reportable Jurisdiction Persons), the response to question 2.5 in the Compliance Form must be “Both”, and the joint account must be reported both under question 2.5.1 and 2.5.2.

How should I report details of a Financial Account where the Account Holder and all Controlling Persons are not Reportable Jurisdiction Persons and are in different jurisdictions, for example US and The Bahamas?

This account should be treated as one Financial Account for the purpose of answering question 2.1. Where an account is a Non-Reportable account for more than one reason, it should be reported once for each reason in the Compliance Form. For example, where the Account Holder and all Controlling Persons are either resident in The Bahamas or a US Person (i.e. not qualifying as Reportable Jurisdiction Persons), the response to question 2.5 in the Compliance Form must be “Both”, and the account must be reported once under both question 2.5.1 and 2.5.2.

How do I report a Pre-existing Entity Account that is below the threshold for reporting?

Such accounts would not be considered Non-Reportable accounts for the purposes of the CRS Compliance Form. Please note that these accounts should be included in the total value of the FI’s Financial Accounts for the reporting period (question 2.1).

Is the reference to non-reportable accounts in section 2 a reference to activity of any account over the year or just the year end?

When completing section 2, the same rules as outlined in the CRS Regulations apply. The balance as at the end of the relevant reporting period should be reported.

How do you answer question 3.1, if the FI does not have a calendar year end?

Where the FI does not have a calendar year end, the question on audited financial statements applies to the financial year ending in the calendar year on which you are reporting (i.e. Financial Year end is July, when completing the CRS Compliance Form for 2019, the question is – have the Financial Statements for the year ending July 2019 been subject to an audit).

Are you required to report undocumented accounts in Question 4.6?

Question 4.6 does not apply to undocumented accounts.

What happens if the FI is not able to obtain the required information to complete section 2 of the CRS Compliance Form?

Section 2 of the CRS Compliance Form provides an option to confirm that the existence, number or value of Non-Reportable Accounts is unknown. Please note where this option is selected, it is likely the FI will be subject to follow up from the Authority.

Can you submit account information in any currency?

Section 2 provides the option to choose any currency. The Authority recommends that the currency used to complete the CRS Compliance Form is the same as that used in the CRS Report. Where multiple currencies are used in the CRS Report, FIs should use the currency most frequently used. It is not currently anticipated that the CRS Compliance Form will accommodate multiple currencies.

FATCA

When can I deactivate an FI?

At this time we are not accepting deactivation requests via the DITC Portal. The deactivation functionality will be made available in Q4 of 2021.

How do I submit Reporting to the TIA?

Reporting is submitted via the DITC Portal. If you are a new user, you will need to submit a Notification to register the Financial Institution.

How do I submit a Notification to the TIA?

Notifications are submitted via the DITC Portal.

Do I have to submit a Notification each year?

No, this is a one-off process.

When can I submit my Reporting?

When the DITC Portal is open you can submit reporting for all available years listed on the XML Upload page.

How do I edit my Notification?

The Principal Point of Contact (PPoC) can do this via the DITC Portal.

Can I submit test returns?

Testing is not permitted within the DITC Portal.

I submitted a Notification but did not receive a confirmation.

If you are a current user, log in to the DITC Portal to determine whether you have been granted access. If not, contact the DITC at CaymanAEOIPortal@gov.ky

I have received an error from the IRS – what do I do?

Review the error issued by the IRS on the DITC Portal. You can also contact the DITC regarding a specific error once you are logged in.

I want to resign as a PPoC/AP but I don’t know who the new users should be – what do I do?

You should first ascertain who the new users should be by:

  1. contacting the Directors; and/or
  2. contacting the registered office.

If no response is received, email the DITC at CaymanAEOIPortal@gov.ky and include the following information:

  • your reason for resigning;
  • the steps you have taken to find the new users, and;
  • contact details for the Directors you hold

CbCR

What is a Reporting Entity?

A Reporting Entity is the MNE Groups’ reporting member, typically the Ultimate Parent Entity (UPE) or the Surrogate Parent Entity (SPE).

How do I update my Primary Contact details?

The Primary Contact should amend the Authorisation Letter, login to the DITC Portal and upload the Letter accordingly. The Primary Contact should also email the DITC Portal Team a copy of the Authorisation Letter advising of the change. The DITC Portal Team will review the Letter, update the DITC Portal and issue new login credentials.

Who is required to submit a CbCR Report?

A Reporting Entity (UPE or SPE) must be resident in the Islands in order to make a CbC Report for its MNE Group via the DITC Portal.

What Multinational Enterprises are in scope for CbCR?

CbCR only applies to MNE Groups with annual consolidated group revenue of not less than a specified threshold amount in the preceding fiscal year. The Cayman Islands has specified the threshold as US$850 million, but other jurisdictions may specify the threshold in Euros (€750 million). Further information can be found in the CbCR Guidance Notes.

What is the Reporting deadline for CbCR?

The deadline for Reporting in respect of any subsequent Fiscal Year is within 12 months of the end of that relevant Fiscal Year.

When can I submit my CbC Report?

When the DITC Portal is open you may submit your report.

What is the Notification deadline for CbCR?

The deadline for Notification, or to update an existing Notification in respect of any subsequent Fiscal Year, is before the end of that relevant Fiscal Year.

Do I have to submit a Notification each year?

No, this is a one-off process.

Can I submit test returns?

Testing is not permitted within the DITC Portal.

What information should be included in my CbC Report?

The CbC Report provides a breakdown of the amount of revenue, profits, taxes and other indicators of economic activities for each tax jurisdiction in which the MNE Group does business. See the CbC XML Schema – User Guide for further details.

How do I update my Notification to show the correct UPE / SPE details?

The Primary Contact should email the DITC Portal Team and provide details of the new UPE / SPE.

How do I update my Constituent Entity list?

The Primary Contact should login to the DITC Portal and upload an amended Authorisation Letter and CE CSV file.

Do you offer templates that may assist in completing my Notification and Reporting obligations?

The DITC offers a template for the Authorisation Letter and Constituent Entity CSV file. At this time the DITC does not offer a sample XML file for reporting. Users should refer to the CbC XML Schema – User Guide for guidance on creating their XML.

How do I change my password?

The Primary Contact can request to reset their password on the homepage of the DITC Portal.