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Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and FATCA at Raiffeisen Bank Albania

In 2014 the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has published a Global Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Accounts Information. The so-called Common Reporting Standard (CRS) essentially constitutes a regulatory reporting requirement for Financial Institutions seated in participating jurisdictions (find here) and pursues the aim to avoid tax evasion.

In December 2014 the CRS was implemented in the EU-Directive on Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Due to that European Member States were obligated to implement the provisions into national law. In Albania the standard is implemented through Law nr4 dated 31.01.2020.

According to the provisions set forth in the Law nr 4 dated 31.01.2020 Financial Institutions in Albania are obliged to implement appropriate measures to identify their customer’s tax residence/s (relevant customers are private individuals, entities and under certain circumstances controlling persons) and the Tax Identification Number (TIN) of the respective jurisdiction of tax residence. Financial Institutions are further required to report financial accounts maintained by customers who are resident for tax purposes in a participating jurisdiction to the Albanian Tax Authority (DPT) which may exchange the information with the Tax Authorities of another country or countries in which the customer (or in certain cases the controlling persons) may be tax resident.

The report of financial accounts includes certain data about the account holder (in certain cases also about the controlling person) as well as data about the account. According to the provisions of the Law, the following information has to be reported to the tax authority:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Jurisdiction(s) of Residence
  • Tax identification number(s)
  • Date and place of birth (for natural persons)
  • account number(s) for savings, depository, current and custodial accounts
  • account balances or values as of the end of the calendar year or the closure of the account
  • the total gross amount of income, dividends or other income generated with respect to the assets held in the account, as well as total gross proceeds from the sale or redemption of financial assets, in each case paid or credited to the account during the calendar year or other reporting period

In the case of entities additionally the controlling person(s) of the entity, identified in accordance with the provisions of the GMSG:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Jurisdiction(s) of Residence
  • Tax Identification Number(s)
  • Date and place of birth

In this regard the law has also defined certain exemptions for accounts which are not reportable financial accounts.

Non reportable categories:

Furthermore an exemption exists for specific customers who are not defined as “reportable persons”. These are certain categories of Financial Institutions, Governmental Entities, International Organizations (connected with Government), Central Banks, Corporations the stock of which is regularly traded on one or more established capital markets (or a related entity thereof).

Starting on 11.03.2020 all Financial Institutions seated in Albania are obligated to implement procedures and measures in order to meet the due diligence obligations according to Law nr 4 dated 31.01.2020. Hence all customers who want to open a new account are required to provide a reasonable Self-Certification to determine their tax residence(s) and their respective Tax Identification Number(s).

Under certain circumstances also for Pre-existing Accounts/Pre-existing Customers that do not open a new account are also required to provide a reasonable Self-Certification in order to clearly determine their tax residence(s) and their Tax Identification Number(s). In general, the necessary TIN information to be provided by the customer correlates with the unlimited income tax liability of the tax resident in the country of tax residence.

It should be pointed out that the obligation to provide a reasonable Self-Certification applies for all customers, irrespective of their tax residence, thus, also for customers who are exclusively tax resident in Albania.

If customers are unsure about their tax residence(s), they should consult their tax adviser in order to clarify their residence(s) for tax purposes.

It is important to emphasize that the Bank is prohibited from providing any tax or legal advice. Further information about the OECD Common Reporting Standard can be found on the Automatic Exchange Portal of the OECD

The self-declaration form can be downloaded at the below links. After it is completed and signed, you can send it either by mail or scanned by e-mail, to your bank relationship manager or to the email address: info@raiffeisen.al.

CRS-Forms:

Further documents and links:

Personal Data Protection OECD Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Tax procedures in the Republic of Albania

About FATCA

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a US legislation that was enacted in March 18, 2010 and became effective on July 1, 2014. FATCA is essentially a regulatory reporting requirement for foreign financial institutions on their US account holder base. Raiffeisen Bank Albania as part of Raiffeisen Bank International Group has recognized the importance of FATCA and comply with the FATCA requirements.

Bank fulfills FATCA requirements regarding customer identification and reporting based on the customer Consent.

Raiffeisen Bank Albania sh.a has already registered itself on the U.S. IRS website with the FATCA Status “Participating Financial Institution not covered by an IGA; and has received “28CWN4.00009.ME.008” as Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN).

If you have any further questions, please contact us.

FATCA-Forms: