Bilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the CRS between the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man

Summary

This is a bilateral Competent Authority Agreement (CAA) between the Cayman Islands (represented by the Tax Information Authority) and the Isle of Man (represented by the Assessor of Income Tax) implementing automatic exchange of financial account information under the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS). It builds on the existing Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) between the two jurisdictions and sets out the scope, information content, timing, confidentiality safeguards, and enforcement/termination mechanics for annual, non-reciprocal automatic exchange of CRS data from the Cayman Islands to the Isle of Man.

The agreement itself binds the two Competent Authorities rather than directly regulating private entities, but it operates on the premise that Cayman Islands Financial Institutions (as defined under Cayman's CRS regulations) already collect and report the specified account holder and financial account data to the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority, which in turn transmits it to the Isle of Man.

• Data elements: Account holder identity/TIN, account balances, income, gross proceeds, etc.
• Exchange cycle: Annual exchange of information.
• Format: The XML schema to be used for the exchange.
• Confidentiality: Confidentiality/data-protection safeguards consistent with the TIEA.
• Consultation and amendment: Mechanisms for consultation and amendment of the agreement.
• Suspension: Suspension for significant non-compliance.
• Termination: Termination with a 12-month notice period, and confirmation that information already exchanged remains confidential even after termination.

The agreement came into effect once each Competent Authority notified the other that its jurisdiction had the necessary implementing laws in place, and information was to be exchanged in respect of 2016 and all subsequent years.

Key obligations

• The Cayman Islands Competent Authority must annually exchange with the Isle of Man Competent Authority the CRS information specified in Section 2 regarding Isle of Man Reportable Accounts.
• Information exchanged must be transmitted within nine months after the end of the calendar year to which it relates, using the CRS XML schema.
• The Cayman Islands Competent Authority must notify the Isle of Man Competent Authority that it has the necessary laws in place to implement the CRS, specifying effective dates for Preexisting and New Accounts and specifying data transmission/encryption methods.
• The Isle of Man Competent Authority must notify the Cayman Islands Competent Authority of its data protection safeguards and provide a completed confidentiality and data safeguard questionnaire before exchange begins.
• The Cayman Islands Competent Authority must take all appropriate measures under domestic law to address errors or non-compliance by a Reporting Financial Institution notified by the Isle of Man Competent Authority.
• Either Competent Authority must notify the other immediately of any breach of confidentiality or failure of data safeguards, along with any sanctions or remedial action taken.
• A Competent Authority may suspend exchange by written notice upon determining significant non-compliance by the other, with immediate effect.
• Either Competent Authority may terminate the Agreement by written notice, effective 12 months after the notice date, with previously exchanged information remaining confidential thereafter.

Applies to

Cayman Islands Financial Institutions, Reporting Financial Institutions

Deadlines

• within nine months after the end of the calendar year: Deadline for the Cayman Islands Competent Authority to exchange CRS information with the Isle of Man Competent Authority for the relevant reporting year.
• 2016 and all subsequent years: Scope of years for which CRS information must be exchanged under the Agreement.
• 12 months after the date of a notice of termination: Termination of the Agreement becomes effective on the first day of the month following expiry of this 12-month period.
• one month after the date of the later signature or notification: Amendments to the Agreement become effective on the first day of the month following expiry of this one-month period, unless otherwise agreed.