About the Common Reporting Standard
As part of global measures to counter tax evasion, all New Zealand banks and financial institutions are required to collect information about customers’ foreign tax residency and pass that and other personal and account information on to Inland Revenue, which may then be exchanged with overseas tax authorities.
Generally known as the Common Reporting Standard, it has been initiated by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) regime to achieve the exchange of certain information between participating countries. Currently more than 100 countries have agreed to implement the standard, including New Zealand.
Mandatory requirement
Collection of information and reporting under the Common Reporting Standard is a mandatory requirement for all New Zealand banks and financial institutions. If you do not provide this information to us we may not be able to open you or your entity’s account.
You may also be subject to certain penalties if you fail to provide this information or if you provide false or misleading information. For more information regarding the Common Reporting Standard please visit the IRD website.
Who the Common Reporting Standard applies to
If you bank with BNZ for your individual or business banking needs, the Common Reporting Standard may affect you. You may be asked to complete a self-certification declaring whether you’re a foreign tax resident in other countries and to provide details.
If you are unsure about your foreign tax residency, or have any specific questions regarding foreign tax residency, we recommend you talk to a tax adviser, as we are unable to provide tax advice. You can also visit the IRD website for further information.
If you’ve received communication about deactivating or closing some of your accounts/products
You may have recently received a letter or email from BNZ asking you to urgently provide the requested information regarding your current tax residency status to avoid having some of your accounts/products deactivated.
Under the Common Reporting Standard, we are required to deactivate accounts/products of certain customers who have not provided the requested information within a specific timeframe.
This information is required even if it is to confirm you are only a tax resident of New Zealand.
For further information on your obligations under the Common Reporting Standard/Automatic Exchange of Information, including why BNZ is asking you for this information and what could happen if you don’t provide it, please refer to Inland Revenue’s Automatic Exchange of Information Factsheet or search “Common Reporting Standard” on Inland Revenue’s website for more information.
More information on how you or your entity may be affected
Annual reminder letter for trust customers
We regularly contact our trust customers with a reminder about their responsibilities for their trust’s controlling persons. These responsibilities include providing a tax residency self-certificate to us if any controlling person/s has recently received any payments or distributions indirectly or directly. A reminder is sent at least every 12 months to make sure you and your trust's information is up to date and meets the annual reporting requirements from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Common Reporting Standard.
What you need to do
If you receive a letter from us, and your trust has beneficiaries who’ve not previously provided a tax residency self-certificate form to us, you’ll need to ensure that they complete a form and return it to us if they:
- have received a direct or indirect payment or benefit from the trust; or
- intend to exercise any vested rights.
For more information about who account holders and controlling persons are and what they may need to do, visit the Inland Revenue's website.
Providing the requested information to us
Sending us your tax residency information
- Update your tax residency under Settings > Your Details in your Personal Internet Banking (individuals only), or you can complete and return the requested information. See a list of PDF forms
- Return your completed forms by:
i) emailing scanned copies to bnz_global_tax_compliance@bnz.co.nz, or
ii) posting them to BNZ Global Tax Compliance Team, PO Box 995, Auckland.