On 13 October 2017, the Federal Council sent the agreements on the introduction of automatic information exchange on financial accounts (AIA) with Hong Kong and Singapore for consultation. Switzerland signed the agreement with Hong Kong on the same day, the agreement with Singapore was signed on 17 July 2017 and the consultation period will last until 27 January 2018.
According to the press release issued by the Federal Council, it is important for the Swiss financial sector that a level playing field exists worldwide. The introduction of the AIA with competing financial centres is of particular importance in this respect. Hong Kong and Singapore have two of the world's leading financial centres.
The Federal Council intends to introduce the AIA with Singapore and Hong Kong by 2018 and to exchange data for the first time in 2019. Specific bilateral agreements form the basis for this. To ensure that the timetable can be adhered to, the Federal Council has decided to introduce the AIA with the two countries on a provisional basis as of 1 January 2018. The responsible committees approved the provisional application of the agreements in June 2017.
The Federal Council has six months from the start of provisional application to submit the transaction to parliament for approval. The Federal Council plans to adopt the dispatch on the two agreements in spring 2018. This will ensure that parliament can deal with the submission in the ordinary procedure.
The two agreements with Hong Kong and Singapore, the explanatory report, the relevant federal decrees and other documents relating to the opening of the consultation procedure can be downloaded here.
