Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (United States of America) Regulations 2015

These Regulations have effect for and in connection with the implementation of obligations arising under the agreement reached between the Government of the Republic of Singapore (called the Government) and the Government of the United States of America to improve international tax compliance and to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (referred to in these Regulations as FATCA), signed on 9 December 2014 (referred to in these Regulations as the Agreement).

The Agreement as signed on 9 December 2014 is set out in the Schedule.

In these Regulations —

In these Regulations, expressions defined in the Agreement but not in the Act or these Regulations have the same meaning as in the Agreement.

The following table lists the places where expressions in these Regulations are defined or otherwise explained:First column Second columnExpression Referenceannuity contract Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(v) of Article 1 of the Agreementcash value insurance contract Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(w) of Article 1 of the Agreementexempt beneficial owner Regulation 3(2) with Sections I and II of Annex II to the Agreementfinancial account Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(q) of Article 1 of the Agreement, and regulation 14NFFE Regulation 3(2) with paragraph B(2) of Section VI of Annex I to the Agreementnon‑participating financial institution Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(p) of Article 1 of the Agreement, and regulation 11(5)non‑reporting Singaporean financial institution Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(o) of Article 1 of the Agreement, and regulation 13U.S. reportable account Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(y) of Article 1 of, and paragraph B(4) of Section I of Annex I to, the Agreement, and regulation 14

In these Regulations, “financial institution” means —

In these Regulations, “reporting Singaporean financial institution” means —

In these Regulations, “custodial institution” means —

A person is not a custodial institution for the purposes of paragraph (1) if it is an NFFE that meets the criteria in paragraph B(4)(e) of Section VI of Annex I to the Agreement.

In these Regulations, “investment entity” means —

In paragraph (1), “dealing in capital markets products”, “fund management” and “real estate investment trust management” have the meanings given to those expressions in Part 2 of the Second Schedule to the Securities and Futures Act 2001.

Paragraph (1)(e) does not apply to a qualifying collective investment scheme whose only assets are immovable properties legally or beneficially owned, or legally and beneficially owned, by the qualifying collective investment scheme or by its distributor, manager or trustee (as the case may be).

Paragraph (1)(f) does not apply to a person whose only business assets are immovable properties legally or beneficially owned, or legally and beneficially owned, by the person.

A person is not an investment entity for the purposes of paragraph (1) if —

In relation to all financial accounts which a reporting Singaporean financial institution maintains, the institution must establish and maintain arrangements that are designed to identify U.S. reportable accounts.

Paragraph (1) does not apply on or after 1 January 2021.

The institution is treated as having complied with paragraph (1) only if —

The institution must ensure that all evidence obtained in accordance with the Agreement together with any information referred to 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 —

A breach of paragraph (1) or (3) is an offence for the purposes of section 105M of the Act.

An investment entity referred to 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.

For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a) —

A reporting Singaporean financial institution may rely on a third party to carry out its obligations referred to 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 9657, 79 FR 12812, issued on 6 March 2014 and corrected on 1 July 2014 and 18 November 2014.

To avoid doubt, when a reporting Singaporean financial institution relies on a third party to carry out its obligations under paragraph (7) —

A reporting Singaporean financial institution must, in respect of 2014 and every following calendar year, prepare and provide to the Comptroller, or a person authorised by the Comptroller under section 105L of the Act, a return setting out the required information in relation to every U.S. reportable account that is maintained by the institution at any time during the calendar year in question.

Paragraph (1) does not apply in respect of any calendar year after 2020.

The required information is all the information in relation to the U.S. reportable account that the Government is required to obtain to fulfil its obligations under the Agreement with respect to that calendar year, as described in Articles 2 and 3 of the Agreement.

To avoid doubt, the required information in respect of 2017 and every following calendar year includes the information described in paragraph 2(a) of Article 2 of the Agreement in relation to every U.S. reportable account maintained by the reporting Singaporean financial institution as at 30 June 2014.

If, during the calendar year in question, the reporting Singaporean financial institution maintains no U.S. reportable accounts, the return must state that fact.

The reporting Singaporean financial institution must send a return under this regulation to the Comptroller or a person authorised by the Comptroller under section 105L of the Act, on or before 31st May of the year following the calendar year to which the return relates, or such further time as the Comptroller may permit.

The return must be furnished in the format described on the Internet website at https://www.iras.gov.sg.

An investment entity referred to 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.

The investment entity referred to in paragraph (7) is considered as not maintaining the account referred to in that paragraph for the purposes of paragraph (4), and must accordingly, if it maintains no other U.S. reportable account, state in its return that it maintains no U.S. reportable account.

A reporting Singaporean financial institution must establish and maintain arrangements that are designed to identify payments which are made —

Paragraph (1) applies only where the payment is made to a non‑participating financial institution as an account holder.

In this regulation, “payment” includes amounts credited to a financial account of a non‑participating financial institution.

A reporting Singaporean financial institution is entitled to regard a payment made by the institution to a financial institution as made to someone who is not a non‑participating financial institution only if it has, in respect of the payment, taken the steps referred to in paragraph D(3) of Section IV of Annex I to the Agreement.

In paragraphs (1) to (4), “non‑participating financial institution” includes anyone who is required to be treated as a non‑participating financial institution as a result of paragraph 5(a) of Article 4 of the Agreement.

A reporting Singaporean financial institution that comes within the terms of sub‑paragraph (e) of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Agreement must make a disclosure of information in accordance with the requirements of that sub‑paragraph.

Paragraph (6) does not apply to information concerning any payment mentioned in sub‑paragraph (e) of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Agreement that is made on or after 1 January 2021.

A breach of paragraph (1) or (6) is an offence for the purposes of section 105M of the Act.

A reporting Singaporean financial institution must, in respect of each of the calendar years 2015 and 2016, prepare and provide to the Comptroller, or a person authorised by the Comptroller under section 105L of the Act, a return setting out —

In determining the total amount of those payments, the special rules and definitions in paragraph B(1) of Section I and paragraph C of Section VI of Annex I to the Agreement must be applied.

If for a calendar year no payments are identified as referred to in paragraph (1), the reporting Singaporean financial institution must prepare and provide a return for the calendar year stating that fact.

The reporting Singaporean financial institution must send a return under this regulation to the Comptroller, or a person authorised by the Comptroller under section 105L of the Act, on or before 31st May of the year following the calendar year to which the return relates, or such further time as the Comptroller may permit.

The return must be furnished in the format described on the Internet website at https://www.iras.gov.sg.

Sections I to IV of Annex II to the Agreement (which define “non‑reporting Singaporean financial institution” and “exempt beneficial owners”) are to be read subject to paragraph (2).

In Sections I to IV of Annex II to the Agreement —

In paragraph (2), “statutory body” means any authority established by or under any Act whose income is exempt from tax by reason of section 13(1)(e) of the Act, and includes a Town Council established under the Town Councils Act 1988.

For the purposes of these Regulations, the reference in paragraph 1(o) of Article 1 of the Agreement (definition of “non‑reporting Singaporean financial institution”) to an exempt beneficial owner under relevant U.S. Treasury Regulations in effect on the date of signature of the Agreement includes Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd and special purpose vehicles wholly owned (whether directly or indirectly) by it.

Without limiting the generality of paragraph A of Section V of Annex II to the Agreement, the following are excluded from the definition of “financial accounts” and are accordingly not “U.S. reportable accounts”:

(fa)any account maintained by a bank approved by the Board for the purposes of section 15 of the CPF Act, in which is deposited moneys under section 15(6C)(a) of that Act, or section 15(6C)(b)(i) of that Act in force immediately before 1 January 2017, and any interest on those moneys;

In paragraphs (1) and (2A) —

In sub‑paragraph 4(b) of paragraph A of section V of Annex II to the Agreement, “CPF Minimum Sum Schemes Regulations” means any regulations made under section 77(1) of the CPF Act to establish and regulate the Retirement Sum Schemes.

In paragraph B of Section V of Annex II to the Agreement, “certain term life insurance contracts” means life policies (as defined in section 2 of the Insurance Act 1966) each of which has a coverage period that will end before the insured individual attains the age of 90, and which satisfies all of the requirements in paragraph B(1) to (4) of Section V of Annex II to the Agreement.

Any account maintained by a financial institution for an exempt beneficial owner is not a U.S. reportable account.

The reference in paragraph (4) to an account maintained for an exempt beneficial owner, in a case where the exempt beneficial owner is a governmental entity referred to in Section I of Annex II to the Agreement read with the definition of that term in regulation 13(2), includes an account maintained for any Government fund, statutory fund, or other fund administered by a governmental entity, and includes (to avoid doubt) the Financial Sector Development Fund established under section 127 of the Monetary Authority of Singapore Act 1970.