Singapore legislation
Regulation 9
of Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (United States of America) Regulations 2020
Regulation 9
Identification obligation
Subregulation 1
In relation to all financial accounts which a reporting Singaporean financial institution maintains, the institution must, on or after 1 January 2021 —
establish and maintain arrangements that are designed to identify U.S. reportable accounts in accordance with paragraph (2); or
where the reporting Singaporean financial institution is required to establish arrangements that are designed to identify U.S. reportable accounts in accordance with regulation 9(1) of the Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (United States of America) Regulations 2015 (G.N. No. S 134/2015) — maintain those arrangements in accordance with paragraph (2).
Subregulation 2
The institution is treated as having complied with paragraph (1) only if —
the arrangements meet the due diligence requirements set out in Annex I to the Agreement; and
where those requirements require anything to be obtained of any transaction, the institution also keeps all information that is needed to explain and reconstruct the transaction.
Subregulation 3
The institution must ensure that all evidence obtained in accordance with the Agreement together with any information mentioned in paragraph (2)(b), or a record of the steps taken in accordance with the Agreement, in relation to any financial account is kept for —
in the case of any evidence or record that relates to any information which identifies the account holder, any document establishing a business relation with the account holder or any correspondence with the account holder — a period of 5 years after the termination of the business relation with the customer; or
in the case of any evidence or record that relates to any transaction, or of any information mentioned in paragraph (2)(b) — a period of 5 years after the completion of the transaction.
Subregulation 4
A requirement under paragraph (1) or (3) is a requirement the failure or neglect to comply with which (if such failure or neglect is without reasonable excuse) is an offence under section 105M(1B) of the Act.
Subregulation 5
An investment entity mentioned in regulation 7(1)(e) need not comply with paragraph (1) in relation to a U.S. reportable account that is maintained for units in a collective investment scheme that are listed for quotation on an approved exchange, if the approved exchange itself complies with that paragraph in relation to that account.
Subregulation 6
For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a) —
it may be assumed that the permission mentioned in paragraph G of Section VI of Annex I to the Agreement has been given; and
a reporting Singaporean financial institution may make the election mentioned in each of the following provisions of Annex I to the Agreement:
paragraph A of section II;
paragraph A of section III;
paragraph A of section IV;
paragraph A of section V.
Subregulation 7
A reporting Singaporean financial institution may rely on a third party to carry out its obligations mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (3), to the extent provided in the U.S. Regulations Relating to Information Reporting by Foreign Financial Institutions and Withholding on Certain Payments to Foreign Financial Institutions and Other Foreign Entities, TD 9809, 82 FR 2124, issued on 6 January 2017 and corrected on 30 June 2017.
Subregulation 8
To avoid doubt, when a reporting Singaporean financial institution relies on a third party to carry out its obligations under paragraph (7) —
paragraph (2) remains applicable; and
the reporting Singaporean financial institution remains responsible for compliance with those obligations.