The General Authority of Zakat and Tax (GAZT) in cooperation with the Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (GF) have organized and delivered a 3-day workshop and training on Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in Riyadh in the period 10-11 October 2017.
The AEOI is executed under the ”the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information” (MCAA), and ”the Common Standard on Reporting and Due Diligence for Financial Account Information” (CRS) which have been ratified by Royal Decree (M/125), dated 1/12/1438 (23 August 2017). The two instruments require Saudi financial institutions to report their clients financial account data (such as name, account no. and balance), whether such clients are individuals or entities and who are residents of jurisdictions other than Saudi Arabia and the USA, (the latter being covered by FATCA), in a set format and by a prescribed date. The AEOI will take place under secure and confidential safeguards that ensure the use of such exchanged data solely for purposes stipulated by the MCAA. GAZT is the Competent Authority mandated to administer the Kingdom's tax treaties including the MCAA and the CRS.
During the first two days of the workshop, the experts from the GF along with GAZT's staffs reviewed the legal requirements to effect the AEOI among jurisdictions and how much of these requirements are already in place in the Kingdom. They also reviewed the draft Implementing Regulations of the (MCAA) and the (CRS) and GAZT's readiness in Information technology (infrastructure and software) for AEOI.
The third day of the workshop was under the auspices of and inaugurated by HE GAZT's Governor, Mr. Suhail M. Abnami. It was directed to the financial institutions and took place at the Finance Institute of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). Financial institutions attended along with representatives from SAMA and the Capital Market Authority (MCS). During this session important AEOI requirements were highlighted and explained, and GAZT's software for AEOI was demonstrated by the service provider.
