CMA Guidance of 2023 · UAE Federal
Presentation on automatic exchange of information in the UAE under CRS and FATCA, summarising the legal basis and reporting cycle and listing satisfactory and unsatisfactory practices observed at reporting financial institutions.
This presentation by the Securities and Commodities Authority (now the Capital Market Authority) summarises the UAE's framework for automatic exchange of information under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) and FATCA. It lists the satisfactory and unsatisfactory practices found at securities-sector Reporting Financial Institutions during onsite and offsite engagements in 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, and tells institutions to fix the gaps urgently.
UAE Reporting Financial Institutions must report account data every year to the Ministry of Finance, which sends FATCA data to the IRS and CRS data to partner jurisdictions; the Ministry may also make ad hoc requests. The UAE signed the Multilateral Convention, the MCAA and the Unilateral Declaration in April 2017. Federal Laws No. 54 and No. 48 of 2018 ratified the Convention and the MCAA, and CRS took effect in the UAE from 1 January 2017. The presentation explains entity classification (financial institutions, non-reporting institutions, active and passive non-financial entities), the key definitions and tax residency, and refers to Cabinet Decision No. 85 of 2022 on UAE tax residency.
Institutions must register on the UAE AEOI Portal, identify financial accounts, collect and test self-certifications for new accounts, complete pre-existing account due diligence within deadlines, monitor changes in circumstances, file reports or nil returns by the annual deadline, and submit an annual risk-based assessment.
Good practice includes regular internal audits with follow-up, documented policy governance, systematic testing of self-certifications, TIN validation against OECD guidance, correct application of aggregation rules, and maker-checker review before filing. Shortcomings include unclear procedures, inconsistent collection of self-certifications, unrecorded reasons for missing TINs, delayed due diligence on pre-existing accounts, missed deadlines and weak controls that cause reporting errors. The presentation creates no new obligations or penalties.
Reporting Financial Institutions in the UAE securities sector supervised by the Capital Market Authority, such as custodial institutions and investment entities, that report under the Common Reporting Standard and FATCA to the UAE Ministry of Finance.
English official text in 5 passages. Open the full text or jump to a provision:
| Section – Automatic Exchange of Information in the UAE | UAE Reporting Financial Institutions report account data annually to the Ministry of Finance, which sends it to the IRS under FATCA and to partner jurisdictions under CRS; ad hoc requests may also be made. |
| Section – Introduction to CRS | The UAE signed the MAC, MCAA and Unilateral Declaration in April 2017; Federal Laws No. 54 and 48 of 2018 ratified them; CRS took effect in the UAE from 1 January 2017. |
| Section – RFI Obligations & Requirements | Register on the UAE AEOI Portal, identify financial accounts, collect valid self-certifications, complete pre-existing due diligence on time, monitor changes, report or file nil returns annually, and submit an annual risk-based assessment. |
| Section – Compliance and Governance | Satisfactory: regular internal audits with follow-up, documented policy governance and systematic self-certification testing; unsatisfactory: unclear procedures, inconsistent self-certification collection and infrequent training. |
| Section – New Account Onboarding | Expects timely collection and validation of self-certifications and TIN validation against OECD guidance; flags inconsistent capture of reasons for missing TINs. |
| Section – Reporting | Expects deadlines to be met, including nil returns, with maker-checker review and sign-off before submission; missed deadlines and weak controls causing errors are unsatisfactory. |
Polaris is not a Reporting Financial Institution under these rules. The presentation is useful when we classify clients' entities for CRS and FATCA, for example whether a holding company is an active or passive non-financial entity, or whether an investment vehicle may itself be a financial institution with registration and reporting duties. We explain the classification consequences when structuring holding companies and SPVs, prepare the self-certification information their banks and brokers request, and refer reporting work to the client's tax adviser where the entity is itself a reporting institution.
| Cites | Tax Residency Decision |
“Cites” and “Cited by” are built automatically from references in the full texts held in this library; they cover only instruments in the library.
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