Background

Governments worldwide are adopting a new Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI) standard between tax authorities. This legislation is known as the Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Under the CRS legislation, all financial institutions are required to:

• Establish the tax residency of all account holders
• Identify any possible connections for tax purposes with other countries
• Report financial account information of customers to the relevant tax authorities on an annual basis

1) How Does the Common Reporting Standard Impact Habib Bank Zurich plc Clients?

New Account Holders

• Individual clients who open a new financial account with Habib Bank Zurich plc will be required to provide a self-certification form
• In the case of entities, under certain circumstances, the requirement is to identify and report details of their Controlling Persons
• An account holder must either provide the TIN associated with their tax residence or give a valid reason why they cannot provide a TIN (e.g., the country does not assign TINs)

Existing Account Holders

• All existing accounts will be subject to due diligence procedures so that Habib Bank Zurich plc can determine their tax residence and reportable status
• Due diligence will take place on an ongoing basis, and clients will be contacted to provide self-certification forms or other documentary evidence as part of this process

2) What Will the Information be Used for?

If the relevant due diligence procedures identify an account holder as a reportable person, or as having one or more Controlling Persons that are reportable persons, Habib Bank Zurich plc is required by law to report account information to HMRC. The reporting is carried out annually for the previous calendar year.

The information exchanged may only be made available to tax authorities of a partner jurisdiction, in which the reportable person is a resident, and may only be used for tax purposes. The receiving partner jurisdiction is prohibited from forwarding the received information to another jurisdiction, and it must treat the information as confidential.

3) What Information Will be Reported?

For Individuals/Controlling Persons

Name, address, date of birth, place of birth, country(ies) of tax residence, tax identification number (or equivalent where applicable), account details, the total account balance or value of accounts as of the end of the calendar year or other appropriate period, gross amount of interest, gross amount of dividends, and the gross amount of other income or proceeds from the sale or redemption of investments paid or credited to the account.

For Entities

Name, address, country(ies) of tax residence, tax identification number (or equivalent where applicable), account details, account balance or value as of the end of the calendar year or other appropriate period, gross amount of interest, gross amount of dividends, and the gross amount of additional income or proceeds from the sale or redemption of investments paid or credited to the account.

For some entities, information on the Controlling Persons (see the individual section above) may also be required.

4) What if the Self-Certification Form is Not Completed and Returned to the Bank?

If the self-certification is not completed and returned to us, we must report the information we hold about your account to HMRC or your local tax authority.

Important Information

Habib Bank Zurich plc cannot provide help or advice to customers on CRS or any other tax-related matters.

If you do not understand your tax obligations, you may need to seek independent tax advice from a tax or financial advisor.