The Commercial Bank (P.S.Q.C) is required to collect and report certain information about an account holder’s tax residence to the General Tax Authority - GTA in order to comply with OECD Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) regulations.
This guidance is provided to assist you with the completion of the CRS tax residency section. But this is not constituted nor considered by any means a tax or legal advice. Please note, that Commercial Bank is not in a position to provide customers with tax advice on the determination of their countries of the tax residence or completing the CRS self-certification. Customer needs to provide true, correct and complete information in the self-certification to the best of their knowledge. If you have any queries regarding CRS and your tax status, please contact your tax advisor.
1. “How to Determine your Tax Residence Country”
Tax residence is determined under the domestic tax laws of each country. There might be situations where a person qualifies as a tax resident under the tax residence rules of more than one country, and therefore is a tax resident in more than one country. For the purpose of CRS, the Account Holder must disclose all his/her tax residences in the required self-certification section using CBQ Mobile App or Internet banking or certification form including the TIN or the functional equivalent. Kindly note that the mere right to reside in a given jurisdiction (on permanent or temporary basis) or the fact of holding citizenship of a given country does not automatically mean that a person shall be considered a tax resident in such a country or that, upon obtaining residency or citizenship, the tax residency is extinguished in the former jurisdiction(s) of tax residence."
If you live in a country that does not charge taxes you may still be a deemed tax resident of that country.
For more information on tax residence, please consult your professional tax advisor or review the OECD CRS regulations
in this link.
2. “What is TIN” (including “functional equivalent”)
The term “TIN” means Taxpayer Identification Number or a functional equivalent in the absence of a TIN.
Examples of a functional equivalent in the absence of a TIN are: a social security number /insurance number, citizen number /personal identification number /service code number / resident registration number, etc.
3. What is the impact of CRS on Commercial Bank customers?
Customers that are identified as reportable persons, i.e., tax residents of reportable jurisdictions, will be subject to reporting.
If the customer (or for certain types of entities, the Controlling Persons) is a tax resident of reportable jurisdictions, then Commercial Bank shall report him/her (and Controlling Persons). Information exchanges shall include account information, i.e., including the name, address, date of birth, jurisdiction of residence, tax identification number (TIN), account number, account balances and certain income, etc., to the local Tax Authorities who in turn will then exchange the data with the tax authorities of the relevant reportable jurisdictions that have signed AEOI agreements.
4. How and where can I complete the CRS / Tax information?
You can easily update your CRS / Tax Residence Information using CBQ Mobile App or Internet Banking. If you’re using the CBQ Mobile App, please go to the “Services” tab and click on the “Profile Update” icon, and if you’re using Internet Banking, please look for the link “Edit Profile” found towards the top right of your screen. You may then navigate to the CRS section, to update the details. In case you are unable to access the CBQ Mobile App or Internet Banking, you may visit any of our branches or meet your RM to fill the relevant CRS self-certification form.