FRANCE: FATCA GUIDANCE FOR FRENCH “REPORTING FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS”

Guidance issued by the French tax administration sets forth instructions for French “reporting financial institutions” to follow in order to comply with the Model 1 intergovernmental agreement (Model 1 IGA), signed between France and the United States, for purposes of implementing the FATCA regime.

The guidance, a set of four documents, was published in the Bulletin Officiel des Finances Publiques-Impôts (BOFiP-Impôts) and, among other things:

• Summarizes the Model 1 IGA between France and the United States
• Defines French “financial institutions” and defines financial accounts subject to FATCA
• Provides general due diligence procedures and French “reporting financial institution” obligations regarding pre-existing and new accounts
• Summarizes the reporting obligations of French “reporting financial institutions”