7 Identification of reportable accounts

(1) Subject to this Regulation, a reporting financial institution shall apply the due diligence rules and procedures specified in Annex I to the Agreement in order to identify the account holder of the reportable accounts maintained by the institution.

(2) The review of low value pre-existing individual accounts to be carried out by a reporting financial institution in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph B of section II of Annex I to the Agreement shall be completed on, or before, 30 June 2016.

(3) Where an account is not a low value pre-existing individual account on 30 June 2014 but has an account value or balance greater than the relevant thresholds set out in the definition of “low value pre-existing individual account” in Regulation 2 on the last day of any subsequent tax year, the review of that account shall be completed not later than 6 months of the end of that tax year.

(4) The review of high value pre-existing individual accounts to be carried out by a reporting financial institution in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph D of section II of Annex I to the Agreement shall be completed on, or before, 30 June 2015.

(5) Where an account is not a high value pre-existing individual account on 30 June 2014 but has an account balance or value that exceeds $1,000,000 on the last day of any subsequent tax year, the review of that account shall be completed not later than 6 months of the end of that tax year.

(6) The review of pre-existing entity accounts to be carried out by a reporting financial institution in accordance with the procedures set out in paragraph D of section IV of Annex I to the Agreement shall be completed on, or before, 30 June 2016 where the account balance or value of that account exceeds $250,000 on 30 June 2014.

(7) Where the account balance or value of a pre-existing entity account does not exceed $250,000 on 30 June 2014 but exceeds $1,000,000 in a subsequent tax year, the review of that account shall be completed not later than 6 months after the end of the tax year in which the account balance exceeds $1,000,000.

(8) A reporting financial institution may treat a new account opened by a natural person as a pre-existing individual account where—

(a) on the account opening date, the institution maintains a pre-existing account for that individual, and

(b) the institution returns the aggregate account balance or value of—

(i) the new account, and

(ii) the pre-existing account referred to in subparagraph (a),

and for this purpose the account balance aggregation and currency translation rules set out in paragraph C of section VI of Annex I to the Agreement shall be used to determine the aggregate account balance or value of such accounts.

(9) Notwithstanding the requirements set out in Annex I to the Agreement, where—

(a) in the case of a low value pre-existing individual account, a reporting financial institution—

(i) has established the account holder’s status as neither a U.S. citizen nor a U.S. resident (in this paragraph referred to as the “account holder’s non-U.S. status”) from the documentary evidence referred to in paragraph D of section VI of Annex I to the Agreement, and

(ii) has done so in order to meet its obligations under a QI agreement, as referred to in that paragraph,

the due diligence rules and procedures referred to in paragraph (1) in the case of that account shall not include the requirement to carry out the electronic search described in paragraph B.1 of section II of Annex I to the Agreement.

(b) in the case of a high value pre-existing individual account, a reporting financial institution—

(i) has established the account holder’s non-U.S. status from the documentary evidence referred to in paragraph D of section VI of Annex I to the Agreement, and

(ii) has done so in order to meet its obligations under a QI agreement as referred to in that paragraph,

the due diligence rules and procedures referred to in paragraph (1) in the case of that account do not include the requirement to—

(I) carry out the electronic searches described in paragraph B.1 or D.1 of section II of Annex I to the Agreement, or

(II) carry out the paper record search described in paragraph D.2 of that section.

(10) (a) The due diligence rules and procedures referred to in paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to a financial account where—

(i) the reporting financial institution concerned maintains the account as a result of a merger with, or acquisition of, a qualifying financial institution which had established whether the account holder and any controlling person of the account holder is a U.S. citizen or a U.S. resident (in this subparagraph referred to as the “U.S. status of the account holder or any controlling person of the account holder”), and

(ii) the institution has no reasonable cause to believe that the U.S. status of the account holder or any controlling person of the account holder has changed.

(b) For the purpose of this paragraph, “qualifying financial institution”, in relation to a financial institution, means another financial institution—

(i) which has not previously been a related entity of the institution, and

(ii) which immediately before the merger or acquisition was a partner jurisdiction financial institution but was neither a registered deemed compliant FFI nor a non-participating financial institution.

(11) (a) Subject to subparagraph (b), where the due diligence rules and procedures referred to in paragraph (1) require a person to submit evidence of their identity or residence, such evidence shall be in such form as the institution considers reasonable.

(b) Notwithstanding subparagraph (a) and where requested to do so by an authorised officer, the reporting institution shall obtain such other evidence of the identity or residence of the account holder as may be required by that officer.

(12) For the purposes of this Regulation, references to the documentary evidence set out in paragraph D of section VI of Annex I to the Agreement are to be treated as if “other than a Form W-8 or W-9” were omitted.