Cayman Islands declaration on effective date for exchanges of information under the CbCR MCAA

Summary

This is a formal declaration made by the Cayman Islands (signed by the then Minister of Financial Services and Home Affairs, Hon. Tara Rivers) and addressed to the OECD Secretary-General, confirming the effective date from which the Cayman Islands will automatically exchange Country-by-Country (CbC) Reports under the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-by-Country Reports (the CbC MCAA), which the Cayman Islands joined on 21 June 2017. It is an intergovernmental instrument between competent authorities rather than a rule directed at private businesses.

The declaration confirms that the Cayman Islands intended to begin automatically exchanging CbC Reports as of 2018, and addresses a technical point under Article 28(6) of the amended Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

• Default rule: Normally a newly-joining jurisdiction can only exchange information for taxable periods beginning after 1 January of the year following entry into force.
• Effect of this declaration: It allows the Cayman Islands to agree with other Parties that have made reciprocal declarations that exchanges under the CbC MCAA will instead take effect according to the terms of the CbC MCAA itself (including its stated reporting periods), regardless of the taxable period rules that would otherwise apply to the receiving jurisdiction.

The document has no direct compliance obligations for private entities such as multinational enterprise groups or their Cayman Islands constituent entities; it operates purely as a government-to-government mechanism enabling and timing the automatic exchange of CbC Reports between tax authorities. It does not itself create filing, notification, or reporting duties.

Deadlines

• 2018: Cayman Islands intended to begin automatically exchanging CbC Reports as of 2018.
• 1 January of the year following entry into force of the amended Convention: Default rule under Article 28(6) of the amended Convention for when administrative assistance/exchange takes effect for a newly joining Party, which this declaration modifies by mutual agreement with other declaring Parties.