BVI Laws on CRS AEOI (Act no.

17 of 2015 Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters)

(Amendment) (No.2) Act, 2015 and Act no. 8 of 2018- Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters)
(Amendment) Act, 2018

WHO SHALL REPORT: BVI Financial Institutions shall register with the competent authority by
30th April 2019 or if a BVI Financial Institution became a BVI Financial Institution after the
coming into force of this Act, it shall register with the Competent Authority by the 30th April in
the first calendar year following which the BVI Financial Institution became as such.
WHAT TO REPORT: Reportable Account maintained by the BVI Financial Institution at any time
during the year.
*REPORTABLE ACCOUNT means an entity or individual who is a resident of a CRS signatory
state other than: (i) a corporation the stock of which is regularly traded on one or more
established securities markets; (ii) any corporation that is a Related Entity of a corporation
which is established and operated in its jurisdiction of residence exclusively for religious,
charitable, scientific, artistic, cultural, athletic, or educational purposes; or it is established and
operated in its jurisdiction of residence and it is a professional organization, business league,
chamber of commerce, labor organization, agricultural or horticultural organization, civic league
or an organization operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare; (iii) a Governmental
Entity; (iv) an International Organization; (v) a Central Bank; or (vi) a Financial Institution
EXISTING ACCOUNTS WHICH ARE NOT SUBJECT TO REPORTING:
 A Preexisting Entity Account with an aggregate account balance or value that does not
exceed USD 250,000 as of 31 December 2015, is not required to be reviewed, identified,
or reported as a Reportable Account until the aggregate account balance or value
exceeds USD 250 000 as of the last day of any subsequent calendar year.
EXISTING ACCOUNTS WHICH SHOULD BE REPORTED:
 A Preexisting Entity Account with an aggregate account balance or value that exceed
USD 250, 000 as of the last day of any subsequent calendar year.

 A Preexisting Individual Account with an aggregate balance or value that exceeds

USD 1,000,000 as of 31 December of any subsequent year. (“High Value Account”)
NEW ENTITY/INDIVDUAL ACCOUNTS WHICH SHOULD BE REPORTED:
 Those who are residents of CRS signatory state. (http://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-
exchange/crs-implementation-and-assistance/crs-by-jurisdiction/)
 If any of the Controlling persons of a Passive NFE is a reportable person, then the
account must be treated as reportable account.

Aggregation of Individual Accounts. For purposes of determining the aggregate balance or

value of Financial Accounts held by an individual, a Reporting Financial Institution is required to
aggregate all Financial Accounts maintained by the Reporting Financial Institution, or by a
Related Entity, but only to the extent that the Reporting Financial Institution’s computerized
systems link the Financial Accounts by reference to a data element such as client number or
TIN, and allow account balances or values to be aggregated. Each holder of a jointly held
Financial Account shall be attributed the entire balance or value of the jointly held Financial
Account for purposes of applying the aggregation requirements described herein.
Aggregation of Entity Accounts. For purposes of determining the aggregate balance or value
of Financial Accounts held by an Entity, a Reporting Financial Institution is required to take into
account all Financial Accounts that are maintained by the Reporting Financial Institution, or by a
Related Entity, but only to the extent that the Reporting Financial Institution’s computerized
systems link the Financial Accounts by reference to a data element such as client number or
TIN, and allow account balances or values to be aggregated. Each holder of a jointly held
Financial Account shall be attributed the entire balance or value of the jointly held Financial
Account for purposes of applying the aggregation requirements described in this subparagraph.
DUTIES of BVI Financial Institutions
(1) A BVI Financial Institution shall, in respect of each calendar year following the coming into
force of this Act, file a return:
 setting out the information required to be reported under the Common Reporting
Standard in respect of each Reportable Account maintained by the Virgin Islands
Financial Institution at any time during that year; or
 if no Reportable Account is maintained, a NIL return.”;
(2) A Reporting Financial Institution must retain for six years a book, document or other record,
including any stored by electronic means, that relates to the information required to be reported
to the Competent Authority under this Part.

EXCLUDED ACCOUNT:
1. A retirement or pension account that satisfies the following requirements:
i) the account is subject to regulation as a personal retirement account or is part of
a registered or regulated retirement or pension plan for the provision of
retirement or pension benefits (including disability or death benefits);
ii) ithe account is tax-favoured (i.e. contributions to the account that would
otherwise be subject to tax are deductible or excluded from the gross income of
the account holder or taxed at a reduced rate, or taxation of investment income
from the account is deferred or taxed at a reduced rate);
iii) information reporting is required to the tax authorities with respect to the account;
iv) withdrawals are conditioned on reaching a specified retirement age, disability, or
death, or penalties apply to withdrawals made before such specified events; and
v) either (i) annual contributions are limited to USD 50 000 or less, or (ii) there is a
maximum lifetime contribution limit to the account of USD 1 000 000 or less;

2. An Account that satisfies the following requirements:

i) the account is subject to regulation as an investment vehicle for purposes other
than for retirement and is regularly traded on an established securities market, or
 the account is subject to regulation as a savings vehicle for purposes other than
for retirement;
ii) the account is tax-favored (i.e. contributions to the account that would otherwise
be subject to tax are deductible or excluded from the gross income of the
account holder or taxed at a reduced rate, or taxation of investment income from
the account is deferred or taxed at a reduced rate);
iii) withdrawals are conditioned on meeting specific criteria 30 related to the
purpose of the investment or savings account (for example, the provision of
educational or medical benefits), or penalties apply to withdrawals made before
such criteria are met; and
iv) annual contributions are limited to USD 50 000 or less

3. A life insurance contract with a coverage period that will end before the insured
individual attains age 90, provided that the contract satisfies the following requirements:

i) periodic premiums, which do not decrease over time, are payable at least
annually during the period the contract is in existence or until the insured attains
age 90, whichever is shorter;
ii) the contract has no contract value that any person can access (by withdrawal,
loan, or otherwise) without terminating the contract;
iii) the amount (other than a death benefit) payable upon cancellation or termination
of the contract cannot exceed the aggregate premiums paid for the contract, less
the sum of mortality, morbidity, and expense charges (whether or not actually
imposed) for the period or periods of the contract’s existence and any amounts
paid prior to the cancellation or termination of the contract; and
iv) the contract is not held by a transferee for value.

4. An account that is held solely by an estate if the documentation for such account
includes a copy of the deceased’s will or death certificate.
5. An account established in connection with any of the following:
i) a court order or judgment.
ii) sale, exchange, or lease of real or personal property, provided that the account
satisfies the following requirements:
-the account is funded solely with a down payment, earnest money, deposit in an
amount appropriate to secure an obligation directly related to the transaction, or
31 a similar payment, or is funded with a Financial Asset that is deposited in the
account in connection with the sale, exchange, or lease of the property;
-the account is established and used solely to secure the obligation of the
purchaser to pay the purchase price for the property, the seller to pay any
contingent liability, or the lessor or lessee to pay for any damages relating to the
leased property as agreed under the lease;
-the assets of the account, including the income earned thereon, will be paid or
otherwise distributed for the benefit of the purchaser, seller, lessor, or
lessee(including to satisfy such person’s obligation) when the property is sold,
exchanged, or surrendered, or the lease terminates;
-the account is not a margin or similar account established in connection with a
sale or exchange of a Financial Asset;
 iii) an obligation of a Financial Institution servicing a loan secured by real property to
set aside a portion of a payment solely to facilitate the payment of taxes or
insurance related to the real property at a later time.
iv) an obligation of a Financial Institution solely to facilitate the payment of taxes at a
later time.
6. A Depository Account that satisfies the following requirements:

i) the account exists solely because a customer makes a payment in excess of a

balance due with respect to a credit card or other revolving credit facility and the
overpayment is not immediately returned to the customer; and
ii) beginning on or before 1 January 2016, the Financial Institution implements
policies and procedures either to prevent a customer from making an
overpayment in excess of USD 50 000, or to ensure that any customer
overpayment in excess of USD 50 000 is refunded to the customer within 60
days. For this purpose, a customer overpayment does not refer to credit
balances to the extent of disputed charges but does include credit balances
resulting from merchandise returns.

7. Any other account that presents a low risk of being used to evade tax, has substantially
similar characteristics to any of the accounts described in above paragraphs (1-6).