Updates In Respect Of The Common Reporting Standard ("CRS")

 An amendment to the existing BVI CRS legislation has been published which introduces new requirements to the existing CRS regime. The amendment is in the form of the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) (Amendment) Act, 2018 ("Amendment"), which was published on 4 October 2018.

The CRS regime has been in force in the BVI since 1 January 2016. The Amendment requires all British Virgin Islands Financial Institutions to take additional steps to remain compliant with the CRS regime. This Advisory provides a high-level summary of the key new requirements.

Extended Registration Requirements

The one-off registration requirement which previously only applied to Virgin Islands Reporting Financial Institutions has now been expanded to include all Virgin Islands Financial Institutions, regardless of whether Reporting or Non-Reporting. The annual registration deadline is 30 April. Therefore, all Virgin Islands Financial Institutions must register via the BVI Financial