29 October 2019 Qatar prescribes penalties for violating Common Reporting Standard rules Qatar’s President of the General Tax Authority (GTA) has issued Decision No. 8 of 20191 prescribing penalties for violating Common Reporting Standard (CRS) obligations. The Decision was made based on provisions of the Income Tax Law and Article 7 of the Decision of the Ministry of Finance No. 17 of 2019 on the implementation of CRS. The Decision applies to both reporting financial institutions (RFIs), namely banks, custodians, funds and certain insurance companies, and their account holders and investors. The following table is a summary of the penalties for violating CRS rules: Violation | Penalties (in QR) | Failure by any RFI to take appropriate measures to obtain a self-certification or any other required information from the account holder | 20,000 | Refusal by any account holder or his/her representative to submit a valid self-certification as requested by the RFI | 10,000 | Failure by any RFI to submit a report on financial account information within the deadlines as specified in the CRS rules | 20,000 | Submission by any RFI of a report on financial account information that has incomplete or false information | 500 for each incomplete or false piece of information | Failure by any RFI, person or intermediary to provide information and documents required by the Competent Authority within 15 days | 10,000 | Any person, intermediary or financial institution adopting practices aiming at circumventing the reporting and due diligence under the CRS | 500,000 | Signing or confirming an incorrect self-certification by any account holder or his/her representative | 500,000 |
Account holders and investors, as well as RFIs, should be aware of and compliant regarding their CRS obligations, particularly in relation to providing valid self-certifications, documentation and accurate information, to reduce the risk of potential penalties. 1. The Decision was published in the Official Gazette on 11 July 2019. For additional information with respect to this Alert, please contact the following: Ernst & Young Middle East (Dubai Branch), MENA FATCA & CRS Leader Document ID: 2019-6337 |
