Tax authorities across Europe are increasingly requiring enhanced FATCA and CRS compliance from financial institutions and are stepping up their FATCA and CRS audits.
In October 2019, many financial institutions received a formal request from the Luxembourg Tax Authorities (LTA) to provide FATCA and CRS information and documentation, including a description of the measures in place to ensure due diligence and reporting obligations.
On 18 June 2020, the Luxembourg legislator took a step further by voting in a FATCA and CRS law (the “Law”) amending both the CRS law of 18 December 2015 and the FATCA law of 24 July 2015. The Law explicitly requires Luxembourg reporting financial institutions to keep records of any action taken and supporting evidence used to fulfill their due diligence and reporting obligations for 10 years.
The Law also extends the LTA’s investigation powers. Upon request, it enables them to access records of any action taken, supporting evidence, policies, controls, procedures, and IT systems for up to 10 years after the end of the calendar year in which the Luxembourg reporting financial institution is required to communicate this information.
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