On 30 August 2021 the OECD announced that Ukraine is committed to implementing the international Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (AEOI) by 2023. More than a hundred member countries of the OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes have committed to implementing AEOI by a specific date.

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) requires jurisdictions to request information from financial institutions and automatically exchange the financial information with other jurisdictions annually. The standard outlines the types of financial account information to be exchanged, the types of financial institutions that must report the information, the different types of accounts covered, the affected taxpayers and the appropriate due diligence procedures to be carried out by the financial institutions. In addition to the standard itself there is a model Competent Authority Agreement (CAA) for the automatic exchange of CRS information; commentaries on the common reporting standard and on the competent authority agreement; and a user guide to the CRS XML Schema used.

The Global Forum will monitor Ukraine’s progress in making the appropriate changes to its rules and procedures by September 2023 and OECD members and the G20 will be updated regularly. Ukraine will be supported by the OECD Secretariat in implementing the Standard and in dealing with any issues arising. Adherence to the standard will enable Ukraine to secure additional tax revenue by facilitating identification of cases of tax evasion and helping to ensure greater tax compliance.

The OECD’s Global Forum is responsible for ensuring that jurisdictions effectively implement the standard of transparency and exchange of information on request and the standard of automatic exchange of financial account information. The Forum carries out a monitoring and peer review process and there is also a technical assistance programme to build up the capacity of member countries of the Global Forum to implement the standards.

The Global Forum’s capacity-building programme aims to achieve widespread engagement by its member countries, effective implementation and practical use of standards. Through the programme more developing countries can benefit from transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes and this permits them to tackle offshore tax evasion. The most important objective of the Global Forum in its capacity building programmes is to improve the effectiveness of the support provided to members, adapting the support in relation to the diversity and specific needs of each country, the level of resources available to them and the practical effects for the country.