Key Benefits:
Publics concerned: French financial institutions.
Subject: application of theArticle 1649 AC of the General Tax Code which submits financial institutions to a declarative obligation in order to comply with the commitments made by France in the framework of conventions enabling an automatic exchange of information.
Entry into force: the text comes into force on the day after its publication.
Notice: theArticle 22 of Act No. 2014-891 of 8 August 2014 for 2014 amended provisions of Article 1649 AC of the General Tax Code in order to clarify the new reporting obligations to be submitted by financial institutions under the Franco-American agreement signed on November 14, 2013 to implement the law on compliance with tax obligations relating to foreign accounts (the FATCA Act).
The purpose of this decree is to determine the conditions and times in which the declaration provided for by theArticle 1649 AC of the General Tax Code is filed. It identifies persons held to comply with the reporting obligation and sets out the nature of the elements to be reported as well as the terms and conditions for subscription to the declaration.
References: This decree is available on the website Légifrance (http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr).
The Prime Minister,
On the report of the Minister of Finance and Public Accounts,
Vu le General Tax Codeincluding article 1649 AC;
Vu le Decree No. 2015-1 of 2 January 2015 issuing the agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the United States of America to improve compliance with international tax obligations and to implement the law on compliance with foreign tax obligations (the FATCA Act) (all two annexes), signed in Paris on 14 November 2013 (FATCA agreement);
Considering the advice of the Advisory Committee on Financial Legislation and Regulation of 10 June 2015;
Considering the opinion of the Conseil supérieur de la pool of 23 June 2015,
Decrete:
I. - The financial institutions mentioned in theArticle 1649 AC of the General Tax Code agree before 31 July of each year a statement indicating the information required for the application of the FATCA agreement. Reporting financial institutions include securities deposits, deposit institutions, investment entities and insurance organizations.
II. - The declaration is signed by the financial institution or by a third party provider that it designates to fulfill its reporting obligations.
III. - Financial institutions exempted from reporting or deemed to be in compliance under Appendix II of the FATCA Agreement do not file a return.
I. - The declaration provided for in Article 1 shall include, for each declarable account:
1° The identification elements of the declarant and, where appropriate, those of the third party provider when the declarant is responsible for the performance of his or her reporting obligations: social reason, address and registration number assigned by the American tax authorities;
2° Identification of the account holder:
(a) For determined U.S. natural persons: the surname, surnames, address, the tax identification number assigned by the U.S. authorities (hereinafter "US NIF"), as well as, for accounts opened June 30, 2014 and, if not the U.S. NIF, the date of birth if it appears in the records of the reporting financial institution;
(b) For determined American legal entities: the legal name, the address and the American NIF;
(c) For non-American entities whose control is held by determined U.S. individuals: the legal name, address, and, where applicable, the U.S. NIF of the entity and, for each of the determined U.S. individuals:
1. The surname, surnames, address and U.S. NIF, or, if not, for accounts opened on June 30, 2014, the date of birth if it appears in the records of the reporting financial institution, for natural persons;
2. The legal name, address and American NIF for legal persons;
3° The account number or contract number or, if not, the unique identification number used to identify the account holder or beneficiary of an insurance contract;
4° The following amounts to be reported:
(a) The balance of the account or the value of the account, including in the case of an insurance contract or contract or capitalization voucher, the redemption value, and in the case of an annuity contract, the capitalization value, as of December 31 of the calendar year considered or immediately before the close of the account, if the account has been closed during the year;
(b) The total gross amount of interest, dividends and other income generated by the assets held on a Conservative account, paid or credited under such an account, including the total amount of all amounts refunded or redeemed to the holder in the calendar year;
(c) The total gross amount of the transfer or redemption of an asset held on a Conservative account during the calendar year.
II. - The information relates to the year before the filing of the return.
For the purposes of this Order, the notions of financial institutions, declarable accounts, determined U.S. persons and non-U.S. entities agree with those defined in Article 1 of the FATCA Agreement.
It is satisfied with the obligations resulting from Articles 1 and 2 by the communication of a computer support whose characteristics are fixed by the General Directorate of Public Finance.
I. - The information referred to in paragraph 4 of the I of Article 2 is related to the declarations filed as of January 1, 2015.
II. - The information referred to in b of 4° of I of the same article is related to the declarations filed as of 1 January 2016.
III. - The information referred to in c of 4° of I of the same article shall be referred to the declarations filed as of 1 January 2017.
The Minister of Finance and Public Accounts and the Secretary of State in charge of the budget are responsible for the execution of this decree, which will be published in the Official Journal of the French Republic.
Done on July 23, 2015.
Manuel Valls
By the Prime Minister:
Minister of Finance and Public Accounts,
Michel Sapin
The Secretary of State in charge of the budget,
Christian Eckert