No. 12 of 2014 – Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) (Amendment) Act, 2014

Summary

This is an amendment act that updates the Virgin Islands Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003. It gives the Minister power to make Orders (on the advice of the International Tax Authority) specifying what information must be provided under a tax information exchange Agreement, and tightens or restates the criminal penalties for non-compliance across several sections of the principal Act.

• New Ministerial Order power: Inserts new section 3A allowing the Minister, on the Authority's advice, to make an Order published in the Gazette specifying the information required, the manner of provision, and the deadlines for providing it in relation to each Agreement. Failure to comply with an Order is a criminal offence.
• Section 3 amendment: Removes the words 'a request made under' from section 3(4)(a), altering the scope of the Authority's existing power referenced there.
• Offence provisions restated: Replaces the penalty subsections in sections 5, 9, 18 and 21 of the principal Act so that non compliance (e.g. with a notice under section 5(1), a request under section 3(4), or contraventions of sections 9(1), 18(1) or 21(1)) carries a fine of up to 5,000 dollars and/or up to 2 years imprisonment on summary conviction, or up to 100,000 dollars and/or up to 5 years imprisonment on conviction on indictment.
• Definition of records and underlying documentation: Replaces section 5A(5)(c) so that 'records and underlying documentation' for a company expressly includes accounts of money received and expended, sales and purchases of goods, and the company's assets and liabilities.

The amendments do not themselves impose new routine filing obligations on regulated entities; instead they strengthen the Authority's information-gathering powers and the enforcement regime under the principal Act, and empower future Ministerial Orders to set specific information, format and deadline requirements per Agreement.

Key obligations

• Persons must comply with any notice issued to them under section 5(1) of the principal Act or any request made by the Authority under section 3(4), or they commit an offence punishable by fine and/or imprisonment.
• Persons must comply with obligations imposed under any Order made by the Minister pursuant to new section 3A (including information, manner, and deadline requirements specified in that Order), or they commit an offence punishable by a fine of up to 5,000 dollars and/or up to 2 years imprisonment (summary conviction) or up to 100,000 dollars and/or up to 5 years imprisonment (indictment).
• Companies must maintain records and underlying documentation that include accounts of money received and expended, sales and purchases of goods, and assets and liabilities, as required under section 5A of the principal Act.

Applies to

persons subject to information requests or notices under the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, companies

Related documents

• This document amends Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003 (No. 18 of 2003)