The Common Reporting Standard (CRS), developed in response to the G20 request and approved by the OECD Council on 15 July 2014, calls on jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and automatically exchange that information with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. It sets out the financial account information to be exchanged, the financial institutions required to report, the different types of accounts and taxpayers covered, as well as common due diligence procedures to be followed by financial institutions.

Following the signature by Mauritius of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), Mauritian financial institutions, including banks, are required to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Common Reporting Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (CRS) as from 1 January 2017, which is applicable to tax residents of countries other than Mauritius.

As such, banks and other financial institutions are required to collect and report to the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA), personal and financial data of account holders, including an account holder’s tax residence. Each jurisdiction has its own rules for defining tax residence. Special circumstances may cause an account holder to be resident for tax purposes in more than one country/jurisdiction at the same time (dual residency or multiple residencies). In case of doubt, it is advisable for account holders to seek advice from tax specialists about their tax residence. Under the CRS, banks and other financial institutions will be required to collect information on account holders.

Clients of financial institutions will be asked to fill in and return required forms including Self-Certification forms for this purpose. I

In the case of individuals, the request for information will include the following:

• name;
• date of birth;
• place of birth;
• residential address;
• jurisdiction(s) of residence for tax purposes; and
• tax identification number in each jurisdiction of residence for tax purposes.

In the case of entities, information on controlling persons/beneficial owners will be requested.