India's Participation in TIWB Programme | 18 Dec 2023

India's participation in the Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme for strengthening Saint Lucia's (an island country in the Caribbean) tax administration marks a significant step in international cooperation in tax matters.

• India has been chosen as the Partner Administration and will provide Tax Experts for this 12-18 months programme.
  • TIWB is a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD),
• The focus is on strengthening Saint Lucia's tax administration by transferring technical knowledge and skills, specifically emphasizing the effective use of OECD's Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) framework.
• The CRS, established in response to a G20 request and approved by the OECD Council in 2014, mandates jurisdictions to exchange financial information obtained from their institutions annually.
  • This framework outlines the types of accounts, taxpayers, and due diligence procedures for financial institutions. It aims to combat tax evasion globally.

Read more: Common Reporting Standard: OECD