Dubai: International Financial Centre Issues Common Reporting Standard Law Amendments
Dubai’s Ruler has issued amendments to the Dubai International Financial Centre’s Common Reporting Standard Law (DIFC Law No. 2/2018). The amendments were contained in the Common Reporting Standard Law Amendment Law, DIFC Law No. 6/2020. They came into force on 16 August 2020. The Board of Directors of the DIFC Authority also issued new Common Reporting Standard Regulations which came into force on 30 July 2020. The aim of the amendments is to ensure the Common Reporting Standard issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development is properly adopted in the DIFC and is applied consistently across the UAE. The amendments also introduce offences and penalties for providing false self-certifications and offences and penalties for financial institutions failing to obtain valid self-certifications. They also formally adopt the explanatory material issued and published by the OECD for the purpose of assisting with the interpretation of the Common Reporting Standards and there are other miscellaneous enhancements.