Reminder to all Virgin Islands Financial Institutions (VIFI) (2022-09-08)

Summary

This is a reminder notice from the BVI International Tax Authority (ITA) to all Virgin Islands Financial Institutions (VIFI) about the roles of Primary User and Secondary User within the BVIFARS reporting portal, as established under the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act (MLA). It clarifies who may hold each role and requires VIFIs with non-compliant Primary User designations to correct this by a set deadline.

• Primary User: Under Section 28(2)(c) of the MLA, each VIFI must designate a principal point of contact as the Primary User in BVIFARS, who is expected to hold a permanent position within the VIFI and generally not change.
• Secondary User: Under Section 31 of the MLA, a VIFI may appoint an agent to carry out its MLA duties, but this agent cannot be the Primary User and must instead be given Secondary User access, which the Primary User can grant directly in the portal without notifying the ITA.
• Corrective action required: Any registered VIFI whose current Primary User does not hold a permanent position within the institution must update the Primary User information in BVIFARS by no later than December 31, 2022.
• Consequence of non-compliance: Failure to update the Primary User information by the deadline is an offense under the CRS Legislation.

Key obligations

• VIFIs whose appointed Primary User does not hold a permanent position within the institution must update the Primary User information in BVIFARS by December 31, 2022.
• VIFIs must ensure any agent appointed under Section 31 of the MLA to carry out MLA duties is given Secondary User access rather than being designated as Primary User.

Applies to

Virgin Islands Financial Institutions (VIFI)

Deadlines

• December 31, 2022: Deadline for VIFIs to update Primary User information in BVIFARS if the current Primary User does not hold a permanent position within the institution.