Introduction
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. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) applies in the European Union under the Council Directive 2014/107/EU amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation.
Legal framework
The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors approved a specific series of measures for the new global standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information on tax matters in September 2014.
The measures aim at tax compliance to combat unreported and untaxed income at the country it was generated.
Implementation of framework
The financial institutions must:
- Identify and collect relevant information regarding their customers’ tax residency status in countries that participate in the automatic exchange of information.
- Report this information to the Cyprus tax authorities every year.
Information reported to the tax authority
The Cyprus tax authority exchanges the information collected from the financial institutions with the tax authority where the clients are tax residents. This information includes:
- Full name / Corporate name
- Address
- Tax identification number (TIN)
- Account details and balance
- Interest, dividends or other income credited to the relevant account
- Tax residence
To determine the tax residence regarding the CRS and the European Directive of Administrative Cooperation (DAC2), we ask you to fill in special self-certification forms and submit them along with the necessary supporting documents:
- Self-certification form for individuals.
- Self-certification form for entities.
- Self-certification form for controlling persons.
Additional information about the CRS
Given that we cannot offer tax advice, you can get more information on the CRS and the list of jurisdictions / countries that have signed the agreement on automatic exchange of financial account information from:
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - http://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/about-automatic-exchange/
- The Tax Department of the Republic of Cyprus - https://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/tax/taxdep.nsf/page14_en/page14_en?opendocument
- Your accountant.
Implementation of the CRS
The CRS applies in Europe by virtue of the European Directive of Administrative Cooperation (DAC2) and in the OECD member countries that have signed the multilateral agreement on automatic exchange of financial account information.
Financial institutions operating in Cyprus must collect information regarding the tax residency of their customers in compliance with:
- The Administrative Cooperation in the field of Taxation Law of 2012 (as amended, N60(I)2016), which incorporated into the Cyprus law the provisions of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (2014/107/EU).
- The Decree (ΚΔΠ 434/2020) issued in accordance with the Assessment and Collection of Taxes Laws of 1978 (as amended) by virtue of section 6(16) of the Law.
Collection and processing of your personal data under the CRS
Any information we collect based on your self-certification documents is transmitted to the competent tax authorities for the fulfillment of Viva Payments' legal obligation, in accordance with the applicable legal framework on the CRS. For information on the processing of your personal data by Viva Payments in accordance with the EU Regulation 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation) you can refer to Viva Payments’ Privacy Policy.