Armenia launches process of exchanging non-resident financial account information with partner countries – SRC
YEREVAN, September 17. /ARKA/. Armenia has initiated the process of exchanging financial account information pertaining to non-residents with its partner countries, as announced by Anna Torosyan, a senior official from the State Revenue Committee.
"This initiative is being carried out due to the adoption of the Common International Accounting Standard. In 2023, Armenia ratified a multilateral agreement among competent authorities regarding the automatic exchange of financial account information, which was developed and endorsed by the Global Forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The terms of this agreement are being executed through the Common Accounting Standards," Torosyan stated during a press conference, as reported by Armenpress.
She further indicated that the SRC will gather data on non-residents from commercial banks and investment firms, subsequently relaying this information to the tax authorities of the respective partner countries.
"For instance, details regarding a French citizen engaged in tax activities in Armenia will be sent to France, while information concerning a German citizen will be forwarded to Germany," Torosyan elaborated.
As per her remarks, the standard has already been adopted in 120 countries, and Armenia plans to establish information exchange with the competent authorities of 47 countries within this year.
"The list of these countries is set to be expanded shortly. This process is conducted on a reciprocal basis. Consequently, the tax authorities of these nations will also relay information regarding the financial accounts of Armenian citizens to Armenia," explained Torosyan.
The SRC representative indicated that the execution of the standard will enhance tax transparency, facilitate the collection of outstanding tax revenues for the state budget, and mitigate the risks associated with tax evasion.
"The information exchange process is currently in its concluding phases. A majority of the data from commercial banks and investment firms has already been acquired and is under review by the Committee, and it will soon be forwarded to the tax authorities of partner nations via the appropriate system," stated Torosyan.
Senior Tax Inspector Lia Gukasyan noted that the information exchange pertains to the financial accounts of non-resident citizens, specifically focusing on account balances as of the year's final day, along with dividends and interest income.
She mentioned that data exchange is also conducted to identify account holders and controlling individuals. This standard establishes a threshold of $250,000, which is applicable solely to accounts held by legal entities.
"If the balance in such accounts as of the last day of the year does not surpass $250,000, then information exchange regarding these accounts will not take place. There is no such threshold for all other accounts," Gukasyan underscored.-0-
