FATCA and CRS

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Which self-certification form do I need to complete?

We have a number of different forms depending on the type of policyholder and product taken out with us – please select the Utmost company you have taken out your policy with and the relevant form based on your product type.

If you are unsure which of the above forms apply to you or require support in filling out the form or require a form in another language please visit our customer support area for assistance.

Private Wealth Portfolio
PWP self cert form for all policyholders
Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

 

Apex France
Apex France self cert form for individuals/beneficiaries
Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

 

Apex Portugal
Apex Portugal self cert form for individuals/beneficiaries
Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

 

Selection, Delegation, Generation Planning Bond, ex-Athora and ex-Aviva
Self cert form for individuals
Self cert form for entities
Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

 

Target, Future, Vision, Advantage (Corporate), Professional Portfolio and Wealth Portfolio Finland

Self cert form for all policyholders
Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

 

European Executive Investment Bond, Executive Life Portfolio, Spanish Collective Investment Bond, Swedish Executive Portfolio policies (including former Quilter International Ireland products)
Self cert form for individuals
Self cert form for corporate and trustees
Self cert form for trusts
Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

All Utmost Worldwide Limited products (excluding policies signed in Singapore)

Self cert form for individuals
Self cert form for entities

 

Utmost Worldwide Limited policies signed in Singapore

Self cert form for individuals
Self cert form for entities

Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

Evolution, Estate Planning Bond and all former Utmost Limited products

Self cert form for individuals
Self cert form for entities

Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

All other Utmost International Isle of Man Limited products

Self cert form for individuals
Self cert form for corporate and trustees
Self cert form for trusts

Note: Completed forms to be submitted to [email protected]

We’ve listed the most frequently asked questions in this section to help provide you with an answer quickly.

General tax questions

If you don’t provide us with the information, it will remain outstanding in our records and we will request the information again in a future communication. This may eventually lead to restrictions being placed on your policy until such time as the self-certification is received by us.

Even if the full tax details are not received, we will still need to report our customers to our local tax authority, confirming the country we believe they are tax resident in, by using other information we hold; for example, the residential address. For all new accounts, account opening will not be finalised until a fully completed self-certification form is received, checked and deemed reasonable.

Personal and tax details will be used to determine if you fall within the description of a ‘Reportable Person’ under FATCA and/or CRS regulations and, therefore, determine if we are required to send information about you and your policy to the relevant tax authorities.

The details of Utmost International Isle of Man Limited Reportable Persons are sent to the Isle of Man tax authorities. In the same way, details of Utmost PanEurope dac Reportable Persons are sent to the Irish Revenue Commissioners, and the details of Utmost International Isle of Man Limited Singapore Branch are sent to the Singapore tax authorities.

Those tax authorities might, in turn, share the information about a customer and their policies with the relevant tax authorities in other jurisdictions.

If your personal and tax information confirms that you are a Reportable Person under FATCA and/or CRS, we will share the following information about you and your investment to the relevant tax authorities:

  • Full name
  • Residential/Registered address
  • Date of birth
  • Tax information
  • Policy number
  • Role within the policy (e.g. owner)
  • Controlling Persons details where the Account Holder is a Passive Non-Financial Entity
  • Policy value as of 31 December of the relevant reporting year
  • Withdrawal/Surrender amounts if there has been a withdrawal or the policy has been fully surrendered during the reporting year
  • Surrender date if the policy has been fully surrendered during the reporting year

All FATCA and CRS data will be reported on 30 June annually, with the exception of Singapore FATCA and CRS which is reported on 31 May annually.

Full details for CRS regulations can be found here.

Full details for FATCA regulations can be found here.

Yes, Utmost International may request and share personal data with appropriate authorities where there is a lawful basis and legal obligation. Under GDPR, Utmost International must comply with any legal obligation which includes the releasing of personal information to regulators, law enforcement authorities or other bodies where there is a legal requirement to do so, including the sharing of information under regulations relating to FATCA/CRS.

Our records may have indicated that we have some missing information; therefore, we may have requested additional information or an updated self-certification form to ensure we hold all the relevant tax reporting information.

It may be the case that all required information was not received on previously submitted self-certification forms, for example, details for all Controlling Persons for Entity clients. Or on further review of the self-certification information, the TIN (Tax Identification Number) provided was not in the correct format, for example, a digit/letter was missing.  It may also be the case that the customer has changed address since the self-certification form was received and the previous information provided is no longer valid.

This link can be used to check the numbers we can accept and their format depending on the jurisdiction. If you feel that we hold the full up to date details on file already, you should email the details to the relevant address as per the customer support section.

Help completing forms

An original signature is required where possible or if you are unable to provide an original signature, please contact your respective customer support team for alternative options on how to sign this form.

Financial institution

A financial institution (FI) is an entity which carries out activity related to any of the following:

  • Deposit taking
  • Investment activity
  • Insurance services
  • Custody services

This includes Banks, Insurance Companies, Custodial Institutions and investment entities. You would normally expect a FI to be a compliant FI and they would have a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN).  If they do not, the FI would be a non-compliant FI.

Active NFFE

An Active NFFE is generally an actively trading non-financial services business. This includes all actively trading companies and partnerships that are not financial institutions and do not exist to simply hold investments, or to receive income.

Passive NFFE

A Passive NFFE is an entity which does not actively trade. You would expect a Passive NFFE to exist only to hold investments or income on behalf of another, such as:

  • a private company
  • a partnership
  • other legal arrangement, such as a non-professionally managed trust, for example family trusts where individuals are trustees including Utmost International trusts where a life assurance policy or redemption contract are the sole assets of the trust

If you are still unsure of the correct classification, you should seek advice from your tax advisor. The above information is intended for guidance purposes only.

Type of Policy Who do we need information for?
Policies held by Individuals (single/joint policies) ·       Policyholders only
Policies held in Trust (Individual Trusts/Corporate Trusts policies)

(E.g. The John Smith 2004 Trust/Momentum as Trustees of the John Smith 2004 Trust)

 

 

 

·       The Trust itself/Corporate Trustee

If the Entity is not a Passive NFE, we do not need information for any additional parties, only for the Entity (trust/company) itself however, for a Passive NFE we will also need to obtain the details of the following Controlling Persons:

·       Settlor(s)/Donor(s)

·       Trustees

·       Protectors (if any)

·       Named beneficiaries, and;

·       Any other person exercising control over the trust

 

NOTE: Only Natural Persons can be deemed Controlling Persons. If an Entity is acting as one of the above Controlling Persons, we will need to obtain a fully completed Entity Self-Certification form for the Entity, including its Controlling Persons’ information.

Policies held by a Company

(E.g. Diamonds Limited)

 

 

 

NOTE: Only Natural Persons can be deemed Controlling Persons

·       The Company itself

If the Company is classified as a Passive NFE, we will also need to obtain the details of the following Controlling Persons:

·       Shareholders (Natural Persons) with 25% or more of holding rights. If there are no Natural Persons acting as Shareholders with 25% or more of holding rights;

·       Any Natural Person exercising control over the management of the company (e.g. one of the Directors).

 

NOTE: Only Natural Persons can be deemed Controlling Persons. If an Entity is acting as one of the above Controlling Persons, we will need to obtain a fully completed Entity Self-Certification form for the Entity, including its Controlling Persons’ information.

We only require one of the trustees to sign the form for Individual Trust cases and an authorised signatory for Corporate Trust case. If the form has been correctly completed, with all Controlling Persons details and we do not have any questions, we will update the information on our systems.

Yes, we require information on all Controlling Persons.

Yes. We need the details for all named beneficiaries, for both absolute and discretionary trusts. If the named beneficiary is under 18, we still require their details on the self-certification form. However, if they do not have a TIN/NI number then just put ‘n/a’ for that question and put ‘Minor and no TIN issued’ in the reason why box. Beneficiaries are not required to sign the self-certification form.

Each jurisdiction has its own rules for defining tax residence. Normally an individual is tax resident in the country where they live and spend most of their time each year. However, some countries (for example the United States) may also treat an individual as resident for taxation based on their nationality or citizenship. As tax residence is determined by the country or countries in which tax is paid, it is possible to be a tax resident in more than one country at the same time. If you have any doubt with regard to your tax residence position, please speak with your tax advisor.

A policy/account holder can be resident for tax in more than one country. They are reportable in any country in which they are liable for tax and required to submit a tax return. If they are tax resident in multiple reportable countries, we are required to request their Tax Identification Number (TIN) for all applicable countries.

We might be able to accept confirmation of some details over the phone. However, if a Self-Certification form has never been completed in the past, or several data points are outstanding, we might request the relevant Self-Certification form to be completed and returned to us. Our forms have been designed to cover all requirements under FATCA and CRS regulations and, therefore, their completion ensures that no important information is missed to, ultimately, ensure a correct submission.

The FATCA and CRS regulations state that we must receive confirmation of the country of tax and relevant TIN which stands for Tax Identification Number. If no TIN is available, a reasonable explanation must be provided for us to accept it. If no reason has been provided, or the details provided are not reasonable, the TIN or explanation for not having one must be confirmed.

TINs vary for each country, as well as the reasons for not having one. To ensure the correct TIN, or an acceptable reason for not having a TIN has been provided, we must check against the information around TIN available in the OECD website.

This includes disclosures from the governments for most of the countries that have entered into the CRS agreement confirming what numbers can be used as TIN, their format, and any exceptions as to why someone would not have a TIN.

Utmost International’s Tax Declaration and Self-Certification forms cover both FATCA and CRS regulations, and all our customers are required to complete it regardless of their residency and tax status.

The information requested on the form helps us obtain all the information needed to confirm if an individual or entity has any connection to the US and, therefore, determine if they are reportable under FATCA.

Yes, although you have surrendered your policy, if we are still missing information for the relevant reporting period, the details are still required to ensure our reporting is accurate.

Why we require information to be kept up-to-date

There is a continuous requirement under FATCA and CRS for financial institutions to monitor any change of circumstance on an account to ensure that the original assessment of tax status is up to date.

This could occur due to a change of or addition to key information about the account or the policy/account holder which could suggest a change of tax residence. For example, a change of address to a new country would be a relevant change of circumstance whereas a new address in the same country would not.

A Trigger Event tax review is completed when the following processes are actioned:

  • Change of Address
  • Full Surrender
  • Withdrawal (partial, regular or segment surrender)
  • Assignment
  • Change of Trustee

Tax details need to be confirmed every time there is a change of circumstances which might affect tax residency, for example, a change of address, or change of ownership on a policy.

We might also request tax details be provided to us if they have not been received previously, or we have reason to believe the details we currently hold are not accurate.

Under the regulations we are obliged to request, obtain and maintain such information. Therefore, if we are unable to obtain it, we need to act accordingly until such time we received the information needed and, in turn, comply with the regulations.

We might be unable to issue a payment if you requested to fully surrender your policy and there is outstanding tax information.  This will not affect your investment transactions as the sale of assets will still take place as instructed, and the proceeds will be held in the transaction account waiting payment to you.

The ‘restrictions’ will be lifted as soon as the outstanding tax information or a correctly completed ‘Tax Declaration and Self-Certification’ form has been provided.

The individuals we request information for are all deemed Policyholders and/or Controlling Persons of Entities under FATCA and CRS regulations.

We will only request information with regards to individuals who have reportable roles within the policies as confirmed in the regulations.

A reasonableness test is an assessment made by us, as the financial institution, that gives us reasonableness confidence that the information provided is correct.

Here is a definition of reasonable test as per the OECD CRS implementation handbook:

A reasonableness test is an assessment made by the financial Institution (Utmost International) that gives them reasonable confidence that the information provided is correct. Once the reporting financial institution has obtained a self-certification it must confirm its reasonableness based on other information held for the relevant client. If there is reason to believe that the self-certification is incorrect or unreliable the financial institution, we are expected to either obtain a valid self-certification, or a reasonable explanation.