BVIFARS Payment User Guide

Summary

This is a step-by-step user guide published by the BVI International Tax Authority (ITA) explaining how to use the payment functionality within the BVI Financial Account Reporting System (BVIFARS) portal. It walks Financial Institutions (FIs) and their filers through creating a payment filing, validating and submitting it, and completing payment either for a single entity or in bulk for multiple entities.

• Single payment: Create a filing of type Payment, set the period end date, validate and submit the form, then pay online and retain the payment voucher.
• Bulk payment: Create a filing of type Bulk Payment, add the relevant FIs either manually or via an Excel upload using the required format (Company Name and reference number), then validate, submit and pay.
• Filer versus payer: The entity that creates and submits a bulk payment filing is only the filer; fees are charged only to the Reporting Entities listed under Reporting Entity Payment Details, not to the filer itself.
• First payment timing: The guide notes that the first payment under this functionality is due in 2025, with filings expected to be named to reflect 2025 and a period end date of 1 June 2025.

The document is purely procedural and technical in nature, describing portal navigation and screens rather than imposing new legal requirements; any underlying fee obligation derives from separate CRS/FATCA reporting rules, not from this guide itself.

Key obligations

• Reporting entities using BVIFARS must submit a payment filing (single or bulk) through the portal and complete payment for the relevant reporting period
• Filers must ensure FI names and reference numbers are entered in the correct format (Company Name (FI00000)) when using manual entry or Excel upload for bulk payments
• Filers should print or save the payment voucher after completing a transaction for their records

Applies to

Reporting Financial Institutions, BVIFARS filers/portal users

Deadlines

• 1st June, 2025: Period end date for the first BVIFARS payment filing, expected to be labelled as Payment 2025
• 2025: The first payment under the BVIFARS payment functionality is due in 2025