The OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS): how standard is it?

By: Eugenie Meijer, Director of Support and Training for CRS/FATCA One.

So, what is Common and what is Standard? Well, according to Merriam Webster: 
The definition of common is "belonging to or shared by all members of a group", the definition of reporting is "to give a formal or official account or statement", and the definition of standard is "something set up and established by authority as a rule for the measure of quantity, weight, extent, value, or quality".

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) was developed in response to the G20 request and it was approved by the OECD Council on 15 July 2014. The OECD has published on their webpage the Common Reporting Standard User Guide and XML Schema for all to adhere https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/common-reporting-standard/schema-and-user-guide/. So far so good, as at the end this “Common” and “Standard” is what is being exchanged by the Governments through the Common Transmission System (CTS). 

But… for the Financial Institutions (FI) it might be a nightmare, especially for those in multi jurisdictions, for those that do not count on elaborated IT support or for those FIs that do not get much budget assigned for this annual reporting project. As it has turned out that the domestic reporting from the FI to the local tax authority is not Common nor Standard. 

How come? What are the challenges?

There are local governments that:

  • force fit CRS reporting into existing tax reporting system formats. 
  • want the CRS reporting XML elements in their own language. 
  • created their own XML such as a FATCA and CRS report mashed up into one XML. 
  • want the CRS report in a Flat file.
  • want the CRS report in multiple XMLS files based on ultimate destination.
  • want the CRS report in a single XML file.

Does all this sound standard to you? 

The OECD’s CRS Guide seems to be a minimum baseline.  And these above-mentioned local requirements do not even include many jurisdictions that have created additional requirements for reporting of the MessageRefId, DocRefId, single or multiple CRSbodies, Address Free or Address Fixed, wrappers etc. 

What is the solution?

Trans World Compliance’s CRS/FATCA One is the solution for all the above-mentioned challenges. 
And it is not only the solution for creating the correct XML format, it will also:

  • help determine which client is reportable or not;
  • flag clients with missing data or important indicia;
  • be helpful for all kind of Financial Institutions, as banks, trusts, fund management, corporate providers etc;
  • be affordable, as we tailor the prize to your needs, and
  • come with support from real people that understand your needs and are ready to assist you; no tickets, no talking or chatting with robots, no press #1, 2 or 3.


Let us know how we can help you by writing an email to info@transworldcompliance.com and we will get back to you! 
 

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About text formats
By: Eugenie Meijer, Director of Support and Training for CRS/FATCA One.

So, what is Common and what is Standard? Well, according to Merriam Webster: 
The definition of common is "belonging to or shared by all members of a group", the definition of reporting is "to give a formal or official account or statement", and the definition of standard is "something set up and established by authority as a rule for the measure of quantity, weight, extent, value, or quality".

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) was developed in response to the G20 request and it was approved by the OECD Council on 15 July 2014. The OECD has published on their webpage the Common Reporting Standard User Guide and XML Schema for all to adhere https://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange/common-reporting-standard/schema-and-user-guide/. So far so good, as at the end this “Common” and “Standard” is what is being exchanged by the Governments through the Common Transmission System (CTS). 

But… for the Financial Institutions (FI) it might be a nightmare, especially for those in multi jurisdictions, for those that do not count on elaborated IT support or for those FIs that do not get much budget assigned for this annual reporting project. As it has turned out that the domestic reporting from the FI to the local tax authority is not Common nor Standard. 

How come? What are the challenges?

There are local governments that:

  • force fit CRS reporting into existing tax reporting system formats. 
  • want the CRS reporting XML elements in their own language. 
  • created their own XML such as a FATCA and CRS report mashed up into one XML. 
  • want the CRS report in a Flat file.
  • want the CRS report in multiple XMLS files based on ultimate destination.
  • want the CRS report in a single XML file.

Does all this sound standard to you? 

The OECD’s CRS Guide seems to be a minimum baseline.  And these above-mentioned local requirements do not even include many jurisdictions that have created additional requirements for reporting of the MessageRefId, DocRefId, single or multiple CRSbodies, Address Free or Address Fixed, wrappers etc. 

What is the solution?

Trans World Compliance’s CRS/FATCA One is the solution for all the above-mentioned challenges. 
And it is not only the solution for creating the correct XML format, it will also:

  • help determine which client is reportable or not;
  • flag clients with missing data or important indicia;
  • be helpful for all kind of Financial Institutions, as banks, trusts, fund management, corporate providers etc;
  • be affordable, as we tailor the prize to your needs, and
  • come with support from real people that understand your needs and are ready to assist you; no tickets, no talking or chatting with robots, no press #1, 2 or 3.


Let us know how we can help you by writing an email to info@transworldcompliance.com and we will get back to you! 
 

Add new comment

About text formats