Stephanie Paiva Sanderson of BeesMont Law in Hamilton discusses the country's new reporting regulations

The Government of Bermuda has recently issued:

The Regulations govern the implementation and enforcement of the CRS and the CbCR regimes, respectively.

The Ministry of Finance has also issued CRS Guidance which is intended to assist Industry with complying with their obligations under the regime and the Ministry of Finance has indicated that it will be issuing CbCR Guidance in the near future.

Additional guidance will also be issued once Bermuda's Electronic Reporting Portal (Portal) is in place later this year to assist users of the Portal.

CRS

The recent amendments to Bermuda’s International Cooperation (Tax Information Exchange Agreements) Act 2005 and the issuance of the CRS Regulations together introduce some key new provisions including the following:

  • Obligation to notify/register
  • Requirement for written CRS policies and procedures
  • Obligation to keep records
  • Definition of 'Dormant Accounts'
  • Offences and penalties

Bermuda Reporting Financial Institutions should ensure that they:

  • Become familiar with Regulations and Guidance
  • Ensure written policies and procedures are in place
  • Review third party contracts
  • Notify/Register on the Electronic Reporting Portal
  • File CRS reports or nil returns (if applicable)
  • Complete due diligence on pre-existing entity and low value individual accounts

BeesMont has prepared a bulletin containing important information for Bermuda Reporting Financial Institutions including key changes, reminders and next steps. Read more

The CRS Reportable Jurisdictions List has also been published by the Bermuda Government and is reproduced as an annex to this article.

CbCR

Bermuda's CbCR Regulations largely follow the OECD's CbCR Model Legislation. It is important to note that the CbCR regime only applies to multinational enterprises located in two or more jurisdictions that meet the €750 million threshold. It is expected that this threshold exempts approximately 85-90% of multinational enterprise groups who, as a result, would not be caught under the regime.

Useful Links

Bermuda Ministry of Finance OECD CRS and FATCA

OECD Exchange of Tax Information

OECD The Common Reporting Standard

OECD Country-by-Country Reporting

Annex: Common reporting standard list of reportable jurisidictions 2016 reporting period:

Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Seychelles, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.

Stephanie Paiva Sanderson

Corporate attorney

BeesMont Law

Hamilton