Global Forum publishes eight new peer review reports on transparency and exchange of information on request

08/11/2023 - The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) published today new peer review reports on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR) for six of its members (Latvia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Poland, Serbia and Thailand), and supplementary reports that reflect progress made by two members (Botswana and Dominica) in implementing the EOIR standard.

More than half of the Global Forum members have now been fully reviewed in the second round of EOIR peer reviews and the ratings assigned are generally very good, with 88% of the jurisdictions obtaining satisfactory overall ratings (“Compliant” or “Largely Compliant”), 10% assessed as "Partially Compliant" and 2% as "Non-Compliant".

Key findings and recommendations from the latest batch of peer review reports include:

Botswana has made significant strides in implementing the EOIR standard since its previous review in 2019, especially regarding the availability of beneficial ownership information. In 2022, Botswana enacted legislative changes, aligning the definition and identification methods of beneficial owners with international standards. The Online Business Registration System, initiated in 2019, successfully transitioned the registry of companies from manual to fully automated, facilitating the availability of ownership, identity and accounting information online. While the register has proved proactive in updating data, there are still areas for improvement, particularly regarding the frequency of updates and the extension of anti-money laundering legislation to cover all legal entities. Botswana successfully responded within the imparted 90 days to the two requests received, demonstrating the effectiveness of its EOI unit's procedures in addressing previous recommendations. While Botswana’s experience in EOIR remains limited, its overall compliance rating with the EOIR standard improved from the “Partially Compliant” rating obtained in 2019, to "Largely Compliant" for this latest assessment. Access the report

Since its last peer review published in 2020, Dominica has improved the availability of ownership information by closing the international business companies’ sector, as well as amending the Companies Act to improve the availability of legal ownership information, and the anti-money laundering (AML) framework, aligning the definition and identification methods of beneficial owners with international standards. Dominica has also improved its supervision on the availability of legal and beneficial ownership, as well as banking information. Dominica has also made progress in respect of ensuring the effective access powers of the competent authority and the confidentiality of information. Challenges remain with respect to the availability of beneficial ownership information and in case of nominee arrangements, as well as with the supervision of availability of accounting information and the effective exchange of information. Dominica’s improvements nonetheless justify a “Largely Compliant” overall rating on its implementation of the EOIR standard. Access the report

Latvia maintained the overall “Largely Compliant” rating obtained in its Round 1 review published in 2015. The new peer review report acknowledges progress made to ensure the availability of ownership information, including through the establishment of a beneficial ownership register. It however recommends Latvia to take effective supervisory and enforcement measures to ensure the information held by the Enterprise Registrar is adequate, accurate and up-to-date. While Latvia answered the recommendation issued in Round 1 to broaden access to banking information for exchange of information purposes, the changes made are not yet sufficient to meet the EOIR standard, which prevented international tax co-operation in some cases. Latvia is therefore recommended to address remaining gaps in its ability to access and exchange banking information. The report recognises the effectiveness of the country’s exchange of information practice, with over 90% of its incoming requests answered within 90 days, but recommends that Latvia provides regular status updates for the remaining requests. Access the report

Mauritania has made progress since its previous peer review in 2016, by expanding its treaty network and introducing new requirements on beneficial ownership through its company and anti-money laundering laws. The Phase 1 peer review report highlights the need for further improvements, particularly in the case where there is a change in beneficial owners, and on the availability of beneficial ownership information for bank accounts. While Mauritanian law allows the issue of bearer shares and provides for mechanisms to identify the owners, there are no sanctions in place for a failure to comply with the obligations. The implementation of the legal and regulatory framework in practice will be reviewed, and an overall rating assigned, in a Phase 2 review that will take place once Mauritania will have sufficiently developed its experience in exchange of information, and at the latest in 2026. Access the report

Pakistan has strengthened its implementation of the standard, improving its handling of requests since the Round 1 review published in 2016. Pakistan also significantly expanded its network of exchange of information relationships. Although there is still room for improvement in this area, the country enacted in 2020 requirements for legal entities and trusts to maintain beneficial ownership information. Enforcing ongoing compliance with these obligations should also be improved, particularly with annual filing requirements for which the availability of both legal and beneficial ownership is critical. Further, more actions are needed in resolving the status of inactive companies. Pakistan’s legal framework ensures the availability of banking information, which is well supervised, and generally ensures the availability of accounting information through the tax framework, although the coverage of partnerships needs improvement. The latest peer review assessed Pakistan as “Largely Compliant” with the EOIR standard. Access the report

Poland has taken significant steps to meet the requirements of the EOIR standard since its previous peer review in 2015, specifically by making it easier to identify the holders of bearer shares and ensuring that information identifying settlors, trustees and beneficiaries of foreign trusts with a Polish trustee is available. Additionally, Poland has implemented a central register of beneficial ownership information since 2020, requiring all legal entities and arrangements operating in Poland to submit information to this register. Further improvements are required to allow for the complete identification of holders of bearer shares, as well as to ensure the availability of up-to-date legal and beneficial ownership and accounting information in specific circumstances. Overall, Poland’s implementation of the EOIR standard was rated “Largely Compliant”. Access the report

Having joined the Global Forum in 2018, Serbia was evaluated for the first time on its legal and regulatory framework for EOIR and its implementation in practice. The peer review report concluded Serbia’s legal and regulatory framework to be generally in place to ensure the availability of legal ownership, accounting and banking information. However, some areas for improvement remain with regards to the availability of legal ownership information on some legal entities and up-to-date beneficial ownership information. While a beneficial ownership register has been implemented since 2019 and represents a good complementary source of information, an effective oversight programme should be put in place. Serbia has a wide network of EOI relationships and a well-organised Competent Authority function with appropriate powers to access information. It has already received and sent out several EOI requests. The Global Forum peer review published today rated Serbia “Largely Compliant” with the EOIR standard. Access the report

Thailand joined the Global Forum in 2017 and was reviewed for the first time by the Global Forum for its compliance with the EOIR standard, on both its legal framework and practical implementation. Thailand has a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework in place to ensure the availability of legal and beneficial ownership information, accounting information and banking information, in line with the standard. However, the peer review identified some remaining gaps, notably a lack of sufficient supervision and enforcement to ensure that the relevant legal framework is implemented effectively in practice. While Thailand has a wide network of exchange relationships and organisational processes and resources in place, it was not able to respond in a timely manner to the requests for information received during the review period, due to various reasons. This was partly resolved when the country’s competent authority received full access power to information under a new law enacted in March 2023. Thailand was rated overall “Largely Compliant” with the EOIR standard in this first peer review. Access the report

» Access all EOIR peer review reports published to date

» Schedule of peer reviews covering all Global Forum members and relevant non-members

The Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the EOIR standard and the standard of automatic exchange of financial account information. These objectives are achieved through a robust monitoring and peer review process. The Global Forum also runs an extensive technical assistance programme to support its members in implementing the standards and help tax authorities make the best use of cross-border information sharing channels.

For further information, journalists should contact Manal Corwin, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (+33 1 45 24 18 80), or Zayda Manatta, Head of the Global Forum Secretariat (+33 1 45 24 82 29).