On April 25, 2022, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) published an announcement regarding Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) return filings for reporting year 2021. The announcement reminds Reporting Singapore Financial Institutions (SGFIs) that the filing date to report 2021 information is May 31, 2022, and that they should submit reports early in order to resolve any issues, as the IRAS will be taking enforcement actions where FIs do not submit their FATCA returns on time. Further, new enforcement actions were added to the FATCA Filing Webpage stating that Reporting SGFIs may see enforcement actions with penalties of up to $5,000 for late or non-filing of FATCA returns. IRAS has stated that five months after the end of the reporting period is a reasonable deadline, and as such, they will not grant any extensions unless the Reporting SGFI is newly registered and has circumstances that fall within a specified list of acceptable reasons that include:
Newly registered Reporting SGFIs with a first return submission may receive one-month extension
Reporting SGFIs that have a breakdown of internet technology system or change of internet technology system or software may receive two weeks extension
Reporting SGFIs that have key personnel handling FATCA filing that are on an unexpected long medical leave may receive two weeks extension
IRAS will not grant extensions where Reporting SGFIs claim they do not have enough manpower to handle FATCA returns, that key personnel are located overseas or that they resigned without proper handover, or that new staff does not know how to handle FATCA matters.
Check out the IRAS latest developments here:
And the IRAS FATCA Filing Webpage here:
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