Chris Humphries
Jonathan McLean
Clients are reminded of the following important filing dates for Financial Institutions (FIs) under the CRS and FATCA Regime and Economic Substance regime filings with the Tax Information Authority in the Cayman Islands. Additionally, clients are...
Industry Advisory by the Department for International Tax Cooperation regarding CRS, FATCA, Economic Substance and Country by Country Reporting.
The Department for International Tax Cooperation of the Cayman Islands (the “DITC”) has issued an advisory that the new online portal is open for CRS, FATCA, Economic Substance and Country-by-Country reporting.
All users that had a user account in the previous portal will receive an email from donotreply@ditc.ky with steps to activate and access the new portal. In order to receive the emails, make sure that donotreply@ditc.ky isn’t blocked by spam filters.
CRS & FATCA
Click on “CRS & FATCA Registration” for notifications on CRS and FATCA on the DITC Portal Registration and Login Page (DITC website). Follow the revised reporting deadlines listed below. A CRS Guidelines, DITC Portal user guide and information on differences between the AEOI Portal and the new DITC Portal will be available on the New and Updates page upon the opening of the portal.
Reporting Deadlines
CRS & FATCA reporting deadlines are as follows:
New Entity Registration | 16 December 2020 |
CRS Reporting & CRS Filing Declaration | 16 December 2020 |
FATCA Reporting | 16 December 2020 |
CRS Compliance Form | 31 March 2021 |
Economic Substance (“ES”)
ES Returns Deadlines
The DITC has advised that the deadlines for submitting ES Returns have been extended as follows:
| Period End Date (for purposes of the ES Return) | ES Obligation | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 31 December 2019 - 30 April 2020 | ES return (all except IP Business) | 30 April 2021 |
| 1 May 2020 - onwards | ES returns | 12 months after the period end date |
| 31 December 2019 - 29 February 2020 | ES Return with Type Income: Relevant Activity - IP Business and TRO | 28 February 2021 |
| 1 March 2020 - onwards | ES Return with Type Income: Relevant Activity - IP Business and TRO | 12 months after the period end date |
The DITC portal is being designed to conform to the OECD standard and to provide the DITC with the necessary tools for data collection, analysis and effective implementation of the ES requirements. A user guide and content templates will be published. Content of ES Return Forms will be bespoke to each relevant entity conducting a relevant activity. The Relevant Forms are expected to be released shortly.
Country-by-Country Reporting (“CbCR”)
Amendment of Guidance
The Amendment dated 16 December 2020 amends the Tax Information Authority’s CbCR Guidance v1.1 dated 4 May 2018 and also replaces its CbC XML Schema – User Guide dated 4 May 2018. The Amendment is available here
Cayman Islands CbCR Portal
The Amendment provides the web address for the CbCR Portal, which can also be found in the CbCR section of the DITC website.
Update to key dates under CbCR in the Cayman Islands
As the CbCR Portal has been offline since 25 March 2020, it has not been possible for MNE Groups to submit notifications and reports to the DITC. The Portal reopened on 5 January 2021, and the new deadline for submitting notifications and reports for all entities defined below is 28 February 2021.
Key dates and obligations:
5 January 2021 | Cayman Islands CbCR Portal is reopened to permit Reporting Entities to make a CbCR Notification in respect of their Constituent Entities and to permit Reporting Entities resident in the Islands to make a CbC Report. |
28 February 2021 | Deadline for Constituent Entities, where their Reporting Entities are resident in the Islands, to make the CbCR Notification for all Constituent Entities resident in the Islands for those MNE Groups with a Fiscal Year which ends on or before 28 February 2020. Deadline for Reporting Entities resident in the Islands to make the CbC Report for their MNE Groups for any Fiscal Year that ended on or before 28 February 2020 (otherwise, the deadline for reporting in respect of any subsequent Fiscal Year is within 12 months of the end of that relevant Fiscal Year). |
Reporting to the Authority
The Amendment provides important information regarding the following:
- CbCR XML Schema update to v2.0;
- key changes between versions 2.0 and 1.0.1 of the XML Schema; and
- Cayman Islands-specific rules for the CbC XML Schema v2.0.
Questions relating to CbCR may be emailed to CaymanCbCRPortal@gov.ky.
