Income Tax (International Tax Compliance Agreements) (United States of America) Regulations 2020

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 and the Government of the United States of America to improve international tax compliance and to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) done at Singapore on 13 November 2018, as corrected by agreement between the Government of the Republic of Singapore and the Government of the United States of America on 27 November 2019 (called in these Regulations the Agreement).

The Agreement 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 meanings 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(x) of Article 1 of the Agreementcash value insurance contract Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(y) 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(s) of Article 1 of the Agreement, and regulation 13NFFE 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(r) of Article 1 of the Agreementnon‑reporting Singaporean financial institution Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(q) of Article 1 of the Agreement, and regulation 12U.S. reportable account Regulation 3(2) with paragraph 1(cc) of Article 1 of, and paragraph B(4) of Section I of Annex I to, the Agreement, and regulation 13

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, 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 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 —

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.

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.

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

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.

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 2021 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.

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.

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 31 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 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.

The investment entity mentioned in paragraph (6) is considered as not maintaining the account mentioned in that paragraph for the purposes of paragraph (3), 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 requirement under any of the following:

A reporting Singaporean financial institution that comes within the terms of sub‑paragraph (d) of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the Agreement must make a disclosure of information in respect of any payment mentioned in that sub‑paragraph that is made on or after 1 January 2021 in accordance with the requirements of that sub‑paragraph.

The requirement under paragraph (1) 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.

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 public 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(q) 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”:

In paragraph (1) —

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 read with paragraph 5 of the First Schedule to that Act), 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 mentioned in paragraph A of Section I of Annex II to the Agreement read with the definition of that term in regulation 12(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.