Memorandum of Understanding Between FSC and ITA

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

BEl WEEN THE INTERNATIONAL TAX AUTHORITY

And

THE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION

CONCERNING

COOPERATION AND THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

PREAl'dBLE ...........................................................................................2

ART. I PURPOSE AND SCOPE........................................................... ~
ART. n GOVERNING PRINCIPLES..•........•..•.................•.....•................3

ART. m INFORMATION EXCHANGE AND PROCEDURES......................!

ART. VI POINTS OF CONTACT... ..... ...... ... ... ... ............ ......................... 5

ART. V COSTS ... .................... .......................................................... §

ART. VI MUTUAL SUPPORT AND SERVICES........................................ §

ART. VII COMMENCEMENT. AMENDMENTS AND TERMlNATJON..........6

ANNEX A; REQUEST FORM .................................. ............... §

1

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
BEl wEEN THE INTERNATIONAL TAX AUTHORITY AND THE FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION CONCERNING COOPERATION AND THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION Preamble TIle Int emallOllal True Aut hority wId the Ftnanclal Servlces Commission leach hen:inafler referrt'd to as "the relevant Authority" or collectively as "the Authorltles"" des . In a splril of co-operation and Infonnatloll exchange, and within Ihe framework of th.. AUlhorities' own legislative framework, to faCilitate cooperallon In lhe a~as of compliance which are within the remit of the respective Authorities, the sharing of Intelligent'" and the exchange of InformaUon whert' pc:mlilted by legislation, and the provision of l11ul\lal support and servlt'"s as set out hert'ln_ To thai end . the Authorities ha'C reaehed an u nderstanding as follows:- Arllcle I : Purpose and Scope
I. The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (Ihe "Memorandum"lls
10 establish a fomml basis for co-operation a nd InfonnaUon exchange between lhe Authorities to facilitate cooperation In the areas of compliance whleh are y,.1thln the Il'mll of the respecLl"e Authorilles, the s haring of ,

Intclltgence and the exchange of infonnaUon where pcm lilted by legislation . and t.he provision ormulual suppan and services as set oUI herein.
2. '11e Memorandum Includes requesl.lng and providing information. where
penulHcd or required by legislation. on persons or persons associated with persons who arc authOrised. licensed. registered. recognised or otherwise regulated by the Financia l Services Commission and on persons who a re monitored by the Inlcm aUonaJ Tax Auth ority pursuant 10 Its statu tory powcrs and obllgal.lons.
3. TIIC provisions of Ihe Memorandulll arc not intendcd to create legally
binding obligations or to supercede Ihe laws of lIle Virgin Islands or to create any directly or Indirectly enforeablc rights.
Article II: Goveming Principles
I. Subject to the laws of the Virgin Islands. the AuthOrities will provide each
other with the fullcst assistance possible conSistent wit h their statu tory functions and obliga tions.
2. TIle AuthOrities will conSider requests rerel'ed under the Memor,mdum
seriously and without undue delay.
3 . TIle Infonml1lon acquired In application of the Memorandum is confidential a nd. as a gene ral ru le. any Infonnatlon received under lhe Memorandum shall be treated as confidential exCt:pt where ollierwtse Indicated or where Infonllatlon is p..'\ssed on In SUnlll1:lry or aggregate foml such th at indiViduals or cntltlcs eannOI be identified.
4. '11e Infomlatjon or documcnts obtaIned from the Authorities will 110t be
dlsscmlnated to any third parly. nor be u&:d for admlnl!;trallve. prosecutorlal or Judicial or other legal purposes without the prior wrlllen consent of the relevant Authority. 1\ is agreed and underst.ood that Infonnatloll obtained In accordance with the Memonmdum can only be used in reiailon to the stated ObjCt:ts of th e Memorandum and In accordance with the AuthOrities' statutory functions and obligations.
5. TIle Authorities will not pennI! lhe usc or release of any Infonnatlon or
document obtained from the other Auth Ority for purposes other tllan those stated in the Memorandum wltJloul the prior written consent of the other rele'ant Authority.
6. TIle Authorlljes agree to making requests under the Memorandum only
where they have a legitimate Interest In Infomlalion abou t persons or persons associated with persons authorised. lIcensed. registered. reCOb'l1isc..'<i

or olherwise regulated by the Financial Services CommIssIon or on persons who are monitored by t.he lnternallona l Tax Authority pursua nt to Its sta tu tory powers and obllgaUons.
7. ·111e Memorandum Is nol Intended to (aelllt,atc requests for Information t. hat
has been or is publicly available. Requests s hould be limIted to cases where confinnauon or non-publlc InfonnaUon Is sought or where public tnfonnaUon proves difficult to obtain from other sources when It may be readily delivered by the AuthOrities.
8. TIle Authorities are unde r no obligation to give assistance ifjudiCial o r legal
proceedings ha\·c already been Initiated concerning the same facts as the request relates to.
Article III: InJonnalion Exchange and Procedures
L To the fullest ex1ent pen nlttcd by legislation. and Subject to and respecting any explicit confidenUality obligations which attach to the Infonnation In Ihe possession of a relevant AuthOrity which prevent onward disclosure. th e AuthOrities Will eXCha nge with each other Infonnalion In the ir possession or that they arc privy 10 which may be relevant to a ny ma tler concerned or aSSOCiated wtth the other's area of res ponslbllltyi.
2. InfomlaUon unde r t.hls Arttcle may be exchangcd through a ny of the
followtng processes:
a. Spontane(lusly and proactively. where the relc'aI1t Aulhorlty has Infornmtion which II considers would be usefu l to the other AuthOrity, whether for lhe purposes of an o n-going Im"esligallon. International cooperallon. supen.1slon. c nfofL'ement or compliance with any a reas which are wtthln the remit of the respective Authority, or for other purposes relating .0 Us statutory dutlcs or othcrwiSt:. TIle relevant Authority will lransmlt such Infornl<ltlon as soon as pmcttcable after It receives or becomes awa re of II. wilhout any fonnal request; or b. u pon written request a s set out herelnafier at paragraphs 3-8 of this Article.
3. Any written request fo r Information made under lhe Memor,lndum wtll
nommlly be made through the use of the Requcsl Forn1 at Annex A. ' CfArtk/e 3. J of/he lnrerGoo.:.·,,,,,,,,nral Conunln .... 10 whSdi boIlt the rTA and,he /'''SC an' VWI/t·s ,

4 . Any request made wtllinciude the follo....1ng elemen ts:
a . the purpose for which the InfonnaUon is sou,ltht and the rele ...;:mt l~s atlve pro\1slons pertaining to the request; b. details of the n.:quest oomprlslng Infomlatlon 011 the l>Crson or em ily concem ed such as a description of the faclS underlying t.he request. specific questions t.o be asked a nd an Indication of a ny sensitivity concerning the request; c . a st.at.elUent as to whether det.al!.s pTO\1ded by the relt.....""Unt Authortly s hould be conllnned or 'erlfled and If so what kind of confinnatioll o r 'er1Jlcation Is sought: a nd d. a statement as to whether and to whom confidential Infomlatlon Is likely to be p..ssed on. 5, Upon receipt of 'l written request. under the Memorandum, the Authorities wtll confinll the receipt of the request In wrll.lng. The Authorilles wtll a lso conOm l whether It Is In a posilion 10 process the I"t:quest and the anOclpaled tlme(n une for so doing.
6. '1111.." rclt..''aJll Authority will assess each request on a case-by-casc basis and
In c{.'Cldlng whet.her Rlld to what extent to fu lfil a request. the Authorities may take Int.o m:count:
a. whct.her the request confonns to the Memorandu m:
b. whe ther compllrulce ....1th the request \'"ould be so burdensome as t. o disru pt the proper perfonllance of the functions of the rcl('Vant Aut hority:
c . whethe r It would be otherwise contrary to the eAAellIla l lnterest of the JUrlsdlf:t10n of the rele"iUlt Authority to provide the Infoml.1Uo n l"nJu~ed:
d . any other mailer spa:Uled by the laws of the Virgin Islands (In parllcular those relating 10 confidentiality ruld the rules of nat unkl Justice Including procedural (airness); and e. whet he r complying v.1 th the request may ot herwise be llreJ udlcial Lo the )C rf lru ~ of lhe stat utory fU llcl.lon of the relevant AUlhority. , II 1r.

7. Where th e Authoritle~ cannot enUrely rulfil a request recel-ec! It will co￾operate with a nd assist to the rultest extent possible.
8. In urgent cases In which the use or the prescribed procedure Is nOI
   a l>propriatc. a re<llIcSI can be presented or.lily subJccl to written connnnaUoll within 5 business days.
   Article TV: Points ojContact
   I . To radillate cooperation and InfomJ.3.Uon exchange under the Memorandum. the Authorities hereby designate the rollowlng points of contact a nd a ll communications bet\."een the AuthoriUes s ha ll ta ke place only belwet"1l these points of contact unless agreed otherwise In a particular case:
   J'oVtf
   ,11
   TOrlola.
   VG
   Lega
   F
   18 ina oj
   C r
   I1I asea
   Di n l
   O::wUOCI cial
   OMs rector

O

British
Estate
Se.rvicc-s ion.

Finmt
V
Ro.ad.

ir c/a/ gin
Comm
$eruices
[~Iands ission

Commlss/orl:
Tel: 284 852 4757

'ax: 284 494 SOl6

Poilu ojCOfllQCI/ftlCmallooal Tax Aulhoril![.

TIle Director

Inte rnallonal Tnx AuthOrity

2'-' Floor. Qmar Ilod!,'C Building

Ton ola. British VI~ln Islands

VG 1110

Tel: 284 468 370 I ext 441 5

Fax: 284 494 4416

Article V: Costs
I. Where the costs of fu lfilling a request are likely to be s ubstantial, the
Auth orities may. as a condition of agreeing to provide aSSistance under the Memorandum request a contribution to costs.

Article VI: Mu(ual Support wld Services
I. TIIr~ Aut horities will each use thelT best ende;wours to pl'"O'1de suppon and
coopemtlon to the other relevant Author1ty including. but not limited to. training. the s hanng of know-how. technical aSSistan ce. assista nce w1th colld lln~ complia nce or oth er ins pections including accompnnylng the ot her Author1ty on a n onslte inspection or partlclpallng In a dl!Sk-based Inspect ion to the fuUest extent penniued by legislation and consistent with their stat utory functions a nd obligallons. Art. VII: Commencement AmendmenfS and Tennlnatlon
I. TIl{" Memorandu lll lIIay be llinendcd In wrlUng at llily time.
2. TILe Memorandum Is revocable at any lime llild Its lenntnaUon will become
cffectlve on receipt by and from the rcievant Au thOrity of wrllle n nol.lflcntlon of the tenlltnllllon .
3. '111e Memo ra ndum will become effective upon execution.
".7

IN WITNESS WHEREOF. the parties hereto have caused lhls Memorandum or Understanding to be executed by their duly aulhorised representatIves on the date IndIcated. TIlls Memo randum or Understanding Is signed In duplicate BY the FlNANClAL SERVICES COMMISSION SEAl. T1tle: Ag. Managing Director. Financial Services Commission BY the INTERNATIONAL TAX AUTHORITY TIIIc:: OIrt"Clor. Ill1emallonai Tax Authority

• ,: :;PQ

AnDel[ A

FSC/ ITA Request Form

This est Is Being Made Under the Memorandurn of Understanding Between nu~ Intematioml\ lax Authority and th e Financial Sen 'ices Commission Concenllng Cooperation and the xc ~Ulge of Intelligence and [nfonnal.ion
I. TO: Polnt of Contact
Name:
Telephone and fax numbers:
E-lIk'lll add~ss:
2. FROM: Point of Contact
Name:
Telephone and fax numbers:
E-mail address:
3: Issue Coocemed a . [nfon11a1l011 Is requested concerning HegtSlcrl'<l Comp{lny

Rcgulall'<l entity

Other. please specify:

b. InfonnaHon 15 based on a 'a lld purpose and relates to o Ucens lng

fit and pro~r crtterta

Ongoing supcn'islon. including auditing mallers

Winding up. liquidation or bankruptcy

B
~ Anti money laundering IAMU or- combating th e Onanclng of terrorism (Cm Supervisory practices Ot he r. please SI>eclfy:
c_ Please state your legitimate Intcrcsl In the InfonnaUoil requested and the leglsl11lh-c provision under which the request Is made_ 9

d. Criminal or olherJudicial proceedings have been initiated :
o y~ 0 No

If yes, plt:asc Specify:

<. Priority of the Issue: DNonnaJ o Urgent 4 . Detalk of Requelt a. Nalne of indh'ldual or entlty on which Information Is requested:
Name:
Address:

Any other relevan1 tnfonnallon ______________

h. s peclnc deSCripliOl l of 1 he kind of Information needed or a ssistanCe sought. Inc1udl ~ sources of infonnatlon Ihat could be cxpiort."d :
c .. Should lhe facts provided ~ connnned or "erilled:
OIl Connnnalion : 0 o No b) Verification: o o No If yes. plea~ provide furt her detalls:
d . Dates of prtvlOU!l requests on this maner:
10

15 . huln, OD of lnfOrnu.tiOD
I hereby conflml lhal confide lllluJlnfonnaUon Is trealed In compllunct: w1 lh Ihe Memorandum of Underslandlng and the laws of the Virgin Islrulds and where lhe Infommllon Is likely \0 be p.""tssed on. II .....111 be passed 10 Ihe following lhe body for lhe reasons stated below:·
Signed : •••••••••.•••••.••.•.•.....•............................

NAME:
TIlle:
Dale
II