Financial institutions that manage the financial assets of customers are required to document the tax residence country and taxpayer’s identification number as well as other relevant data about customer and forward this information to the State Revenue Service.
CRS information exchange:
In 2014 The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) introduced the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) with the aim to automatically exchange information between the tax administrations of member states on financial accounts held by residents of other countries.
FATCA information exchange:
The United States of America (USA) has a law in place regarding the compliance of foreign account tax obligations, which is defined as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” or FATCA.
The government of the Republic of Latvia and the government of USA in 2014 signed an agreement on improvement of international tax compliance and enforcement of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). According to the concluded agreement financial institutions are obliged to identify customers linked to USA and to provide the information prescribed by the law to the State Revenue Service.
Tax residence country and Taxpayer identification number
- Based on the requirements of Latvian and international laws, financial institutions obtain information from customers about their tax residence country and the taxpayer identification number assigned in the specific country;
- Normally the tax residence country is the permanent residence and place of employment where income tax is imposed on a person’s income regardless of in which country it is received;
- In certain cases, a customer may be considered tax resident in more than one country simultaneously, e.g., if a customer has his/her permanent residence in more than one country, in this situation customer’s obligation is to provide information to the financial institution about each of these countries.
Questions and answers
Private individuals:
- On internet bank, in section: Settings → My data;
- Updating customer data questionnaire during Video meeting by booking an appointment in advance; (Video meeting | SEB)
- Updating customer data questionnaire in SEB customer service points by booking a meeting in advance. (Book a meeting time | SEB)
Legal entities (regarding beneficial owners):
- On internet bank, in section: Settings → Customer data;
- Updating customer data questionnaire during Video meeting by booking an appointment in advance; (Video meeting | SEB)
- Updating customer data questionnaire in SEB customer service points by booking a meeting in advance. (Book a meeting time | SEB)
In case it is not possible to use the above mentioned options, please contact SEB Customer Center.
CRS requirements apply to private individuals, legal entities, beneficial owners whose tax residence country is not the country of the financial institution and who have financial products covered by the CRS conditions.
FATCA requirements apply to private individuals, legal entities, beneficial owners with connections to the United States of America (USA), such as USA citizens and tax residents, USA residents (USA permanent residents, Green Card holders), companies registered in USA etc.
If the customer refuses to provide answers and binding documents, the financial institution may be obliged to inform the State Revenue Service (SRS) that the customers current tax residence country may differ from that indicated in the customers data questionnaire.
Useful information
- Information of the State Revenue Service about international cooperation: Starptautiskie līgumi un administratīvā sadarbība | Valsts ieņēmumu dienests
- Information of the US Internal Revenue Service: Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) | Internal Revenue Service
- The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Common Reporting Standard information: AEOI Implementation Portal | OECD
Please be advised that the information provided in this reference material is only of informative character.
