The Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI) is a response by national governments to combat tax evasion more widely and effectively. It refers to the process of tax authorities in CRS-participating countries / territories automatically exchanging data on tax residency with other participating countries / territories.

This is a natural person who ultimately has a controlling ownership interest in the Entity. Where no natural person(s) exercises control through ownership interests, the Controlling Person(s) of the Entity will be the natural person(s) who exercises control of the Entity through other means. For a trust the Controlling Persons are the settlor(s), the trustee(s), the protector(s) (if any), the beneficiary(-ies) or class(es) of beneficiaries, and any other natural person(s) exercising ultimate effective control over the trust.

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a worldwide information-gathering and reporting requirement for financial institutions, to help fight against tax evasion and protect the integrity of tax systems. 

Under the CRS, we are required to determine where you are "tax resident" (this will usually be where you are liable to pay income or corporate taxes by reason of residence in a jurisdiction) and give our local tax authorities information on those customers that are tax resident/paying taxes outside the country / territory where they bank. This information may then be shared between different countries' / territories’ tax authorities.

This is defined under the CRS as a legal person or a legal arrangement, such as a corporation, organisation, partnership, trust or foundation. An entity will therefore include any customer that holds a business account, product or service with Hang Seng except Sole Traders, who are treated as Individuals under the CRS.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is the name of the legislation introduced by the United States government, to help counter US tax evasion by encouraging better reporting of information. More information on FATCA is available on the FATCA page of this site.

A customer that holds a personal account or product with Hang Seng. Under the CRS, this also includes Sole Traders.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a group of member countries / territories plus the European Commission and Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa as key partners. 

A completed self-certification form may be used to confirm your tax residency status under the CRS. There are three types of Hang Seng self-certification form: Individuals, Entities and Controlling Persons. For some types of Entity, as well as collecting the Entity self-certification, we may also need to collect a self-certification from the Controlling Persons. This is explained on the Entities and Controlling Persons self-certification forms.

Your tax residency is the country / territory where you are resident/registered for tax purposes. Each country / territory has its own rules for defining tax residence. For more information on tax residence, please consult your tax adviser or the OECD website.

A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is a unique combination of letters and/or numbers assigned to you/your entity. Some countries / territories do not issue a TIN, but may rely on other issued numbers such as social security/insurance numbers or company registration numbers for entities. You may need to provide these if requested. The OECD has published a list of the acceptable Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) formats and their alternatives. For details, please refer to the OECD website.