At its meeting on 7 December 2018, the Federal Council opened the consultation process on the introduction of automatic information exchange on financial accounts (AIA) with 18 other states and territories.
The AIA is scheduled to enter into force with the states and territories listed below on 1 January 2020, with a first data exchange to take place in 2021. The expansion of Switzerland's AIA network takes account of current international developments. This extended scope of application of the AIA will create a level playing field worldwide, which will benefit the Swiss financial centre.
The Swiss AIA network is to be expanded to include the following 18 states and territories: Albania, Azerbaijan, Brunei Darussalam, Dominica, Ghana, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Macao (China), Maldives, Nigeria, Niue, Pakistan, Peru, Samoa, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey and Vanuatu. Before an initial exchange of data with these partner states, the Federal Council will once again check whether they fulfil the requirements of the AIA standard. The consultation period will last until 20 March 2019.
The press release and other documents are available here.
