Updated CRS Guidance

On January 28, 2019 the Swiss FTA published a new version of the AEOI Guideline. The most relevant changes to the text are the following:

• Changes to the treatment of professionally-managed investment entities in countries with which Switzerland has not entered into an AEOI Agreement 
  Referring to our newsletter "FATCA Responsible Officer Certification FAQ" we remind you that professionally managed investment companies which are situated in a country with which Switzerland has not entered into an AEOI agreement will not qualify as financial institutions anymore, but have to be treated as passive NFEs instead. Since such change in the treatment constitutes a change in circumstances, FIs will have to obtain a valid self-certification from account holders before March 31, 2019. If such an account is not redocumented by this deadline, the FI will have to set the account holders’ status to passive NFE autonomously and identify controlling persons and tax domiciles based on indicia.

• Clarification of the term “financial assets” 
  It has been specified that directly held real-estate investments do not fall into the definition of financial assets.

• Clarification of the term “non-financial group” 
  The AEOI Guideline specifies the conditions a group of entities must fulfil in order to be considered a “non-financial group” for CRS purposes.

• Guidance on the conversion of amounts from Swiss Francs to U.S. Dollars 
  If the exchange rate CHF/USD differs by more than 10% to the exchange rate of the previous year, the FTA determines a new exchange rate at the end of October as of the beginning of the next relevant calendar year. Currently, the exchange rate is 1:1.

• Registration of trustee-documented trusts. 
  Every trust with the CRS classification “Trustee-documented Trust” must register with the FTA as Reporting FI, even if the trust is considered a non-reporting FI under an applicable legislation. In its registration, the trust must enter the prefix “TDT=” before its name. For trustee-documented trusts that have no UID, the registration can be completed without indication of a UID. For reporting purposes, the element “Reporting FI” must include the name of the trust itself with the prefix “TDT=”.

All explanations and clarifications to the AEOI Guideline formerly available on the FTA’s website were integrated into the text of the AEOI Guideline. The AEOI Qualification Committee continues to maintain its FAQ.