Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes

18/09/2024 – The Global Forum Secretariat and the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) organised a practical workshop on verifying financial institutions’ compliance with their obligations under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (AEOI) on 16-18 September 2024 in Mauritius.

The Minister of Financial Services and Good Governance, the Honourable Mr Soomilduth Bholah, and the Director General of the MRA, Mr Sudhamo Lal, delivered keynote speeches on the first day. The opening was also attended by MRA board members and high-level representatives from the Financial Services Unit, the MRA and the Central Bank.

The event brought together 50 participants representing tax administrations and ministries of finance from 23 jurisdictions. Experts from Finland, Mauritius and Switzerland shared their practical experiences in conducting audits to verify compliance of financial institutions with their CRS obligations and related topics.

The three-day workshop aimed at assisting jurisdictions in their efforts to ensure effective compliance of financial institutions with their due diligence, reporting and record-keeping obligations under the CRS. Through practical exercises, participants were trained on how to carry out effective compliance audits, including performing sampling, interviews and reviews on underlying documentations. The workshop also aimed at developing in-depth and sustainable capacities, with dedicated sessions focused on ensuring an effective transfer of knowledge by the participants within their organisations.

As part of its strategy to unleash the potential of AEOI for developing countries, the Global Forum Secretariat has been developing toolkits, e-learning courses, as well as guidance and models to facilitate the implementation of the AEOI standard. This practical workshop is the last one of a series of workshops on CRS compliance audits delivered in 2024.

Background documents

• Unleashing the Potential of Automatic Exchange of Information for Developing Countries - 2021 Strategy
  
• Toolkit for the Implementation of the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information
  
• 2024 Global Forum Capacity Building Report

The Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the exchange of information on request standard and the standard of automatic exchange of information. These objectives are achieved through a robust monitoring and peer review process. The Global Forum also runs an extensive capacity-building programme to support its members in implementing the standards and help tax authorities make the best use of cross-border information sharing channels.

The Global Forum capacity-building programme is supported by the following development partners:

For more information, please contact gftaxcooperation@oecd.org.