On 12 July 2022, the International Tax Authority (ITA) announced amendments to the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) (Amendment) Act, 2022 that contains significant amendments to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) legislation. Amendments were also announced to the International Tax Authority (Amendment) Act, 2022.

ITA issued a notice advising that all parties involved must note specifically the requirements in the International Tax Authority (Amendment) Act, 2022, section 4(I) which now requires a legal entity to establish and maintain adequate systems and controls for ensuring compliance with the requirements and obligations under the Act.

As currently drafted, this includes the entity establishing and maintaining a compliance procedures manual. All legal entities are expected to have their manuals established and implemented by the end of 2023. To assist with this implementation process, the ITA intends to publish advance guidance on the requirements and mechanisms that would suffice to demonstrate and evidence compliance with the elements of section 4(I).

ITA’s Notice can be found here.

The Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) (Amendment) Act, 2022 can be found here and the International Tax Authority (Amendment) Act, 2022 can be found here.